Miller and his new brother playing

Robin has a new name, Miller. It is a great name for him. Miller and his new brother didn't waste any time and got right to playing together. You can see what a great time they are having.



This was too cute not to post. The two dogs took off chasing each other around the table. Unfortunately I missed the early part which was very energetic. By the time I thought to take a video things had calmed down but they were having a blast.

Robin and Cuddles playing

Robin and Cuddles went out to play. They were having a grand old time and then I realized I didn't have my camera. So back in I went. In the mean time they sort of tired each other out.

Here is a video of them playing together in a less energetic fashion. It is silent, unlike most of their play sessions, which sound like they are engaged in a world war. Of course they aren't, they are just having fun. On this one towards the end Robin sits on and then just sort of lays on top of Cuddles.



The pink toy was very popular this morning. Mostly they ran with it between them, both holding on but I didn't get a picture of that.




Robin takes time out to chew a piece of wood.




After a hard morning of playing its back to sleep. Robin is using Cuddles as a night shade.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........................

Playing in the morning!

Every day after breakfast I take Robin out to play with my dogs. Today I took some pics of the fun.
































And then when it was all over...

Robin passed out in the house.

Robin and very small children

We do not have kids so it has not been easy to gather data on Robin with kids. At the adoption event he was fine with the older kids petting him. One small boy petted him and kept moving in closer to his face and he did a small back of the the throat growl.

Today at the mall we walked past the mall playground. Three very small kids came bounding over to pat the dogs. Robin was wagging his tail and looking happy to be patted by maybe a 5 and 7 yr old. A little boy (maybe 4) patted his head and he was OK with that but then came around his side and kept trying to grab the leash from me. Robin was still OK but then the boy started patting Robin's rear end and I could tell Robin didn't like it so I asked the boy to only pat his head. I repeated it several times and the boy wouldn't listen so I was getting ready to go when Robin gave him a small growl. His sister called him away and off he went.

So the good thing is Robin doesn't seem to dislike kids on sight. He hasn't snapped or lunged at them and seemed to welcome controlled petting. The bad news is Robin will not tolerate everything that young kids are likely to do. So the verdict for Robin will be, no kids.

One good thing is that Robin has no body sensitivity for us. We can touch him all over even while eating and he has no issues. I can put my hand in his bowl, the other dogs can eat from his bowl and he has no reaction. He is fine having his paws touched, his teeth brushed and his ears inspected. If he darts ahead of me through a door and I grab him by the hind legs to hold him back or even grab his tail he has had no negative reaction. Not even a hint of it.

So could Robin be trained to be more tolerant of little kids? Probably. I could have had the three kids stand in line and offer him a treat if they were the type to listen to instructions. Instead they were sort of all crowded around him which was probably a bit overwhelming. For kids who can't follow instructions or are too young I would limit his exposure until training could be done.

Getting toys from the toy box

This was just too cute! Today while I was eating breakfast Robin went and got three toys from the toy box instead of cruising for something to chew on in the house. Yesterday I showed him how to get one and today he did it all on his own without my directing him to it. Now, if we could just get him to put them back. :-)

One of the toys was brand new and still had one of those half fabric half paper tags. He pulled it off and was chewing it. I went to get it from him to throw out and he immediately swallowed it. So I went to the other new toy and pulled that tag off and threw it out. That is how it goes in the life of a puppy...

So easy...

Robin is so easy to train. Today he was laying under the table and decided to sample a power cord. I gave him a gentle, very soft, 'eh, eh' and lead him over to the toy box. I pointed at it and he picked out a toy, came back, and laid down to munch on it. He wasn't even bothering my shoes which were also under the table. What a GOOD BOY!

Socialization for Robin

Robin is going through a bit of a shyness period. It is critical during this stage that he have lots of positive experiences with people. Toward that end I took him to the local outdoor mall. I got at least 20 people to give him treats. At first he was a little shy and then he was sitting for everyone he saw. After this we went to the local boutique pet store where the employees love dogs. Robin got more treats and lots of hugs from the employees. He was constantly complimented for his calm demeanor, good manners and cuteness. He did bark at one customer who came in the store. She was very dog savvy, came up gave him some treats and then he was a total love to her. Good for Robin! Were going to keep up the socialization exercises until he clears this period of shyness.

At the mall.


Sitting for a treat.