Third day, part 2: puppy shower (10/14/12)

On Sunday evening, seven friends came over to meet Chimera and celebrate! The idea to throw a puppy party was inspired by Dr Ian Dunbar, who recommends them as a way to socialize puppies to lots of people at once, particularly puppies who aren't yet leaving the home because they're not vaccinated. (Obviously I'm not worried about that part, since Cai is already going out and about.) I don't have guests over frequently, so the more important part, to me, was getting Cai used to people knocking and coming in through the door. Dragon used to growl and bark when he heard knocking because he was nervous about the sudden commotion, and worried about who might come through the door. Better to take care of these kinds of things while the pup is still in his critical socialization period!

At the beginning he was super energetic, and was running around, playing with his toys, and being an adorable active puppy. Sherry and Jacques the Papillon were the first to arrive and of course he again tried to play with Jacques, who jumped onto the couch to get away. All the guests cooed over him, with his giant ears and his fluffy, soft fur. I asked some of them to practice reaching for him and/or picking him up and giving him a piece of boiled chicken, which he went nuts for! After an hour or so, he crashed and ended up cuddling with the guests on the couch. Of course, after they left, he felt well-rested and was running around again.

Cuddling with Julie.

There was another instance of resourse guarding -- he was chewing on a bully stick and someone touched his back, and he whipped his head around and growled. I had her and another guest then practice reaching over and feeding him boiled chicken as he was chewing on the bully stick. He quickly lost interest in the chewie and just mugged them for treats.

In the evening I put him on my lap, from which he tried to escape. I want to be a lapdog! I noticed that he gets hot quickly -- he started panting heavily. After his first bath (on the previous day) I had put a coat on him because he was shivering, and again he quickly warmed up and started panting. I guess his thick puppy fur keeps him warm.

I put him in crate while I sat at the computer, and he immediately settled down to sleep without me having to stay by the crate. I was even able to go to the bathroom without him stressing. Hooray for crate training progress!

His left ear is still floppy.