Friends

It was a crazy, busy week last week.  I have several friends going through family sickness and deaths which has once again reminded me to count my blessings and enjoy life while we can.  I am so very lucky to have a wonderful husband and family, awesome pets and some of the greatest friends anyone could hope for. 

Patricia McConnell is one of my favourite dog authors/experts and she recently wrote a blog http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/youve-got-a-friend responding to the question of can dogs be friends.  This gets into all sorts of discussions related to the definaition of friendship and how humans keep trying to assign our emotions to our animals (anthromorphism).  I am in the camp of believing that dogs can be friends and that is based entirely on my own experiences.  When Lucy was a pup we often met up with other puppy owners in the area and years later those dogs would light up to greet each other even long after the crazy play times were over.  Riley and Lucy were definitely what I would call friends.  They never really played much together as Lucy was slowing down a lot by the time Riley came along.  They were however very compatible and happy to see each other and just be together.    Riley and Sam are littermates and I would consider them friends but there is also a crazy littermate vibe that seems different compared to what I would consider friends.

Riley and Stella have developed a wonderful friendship and I am super thrilled with how they interact together.  I have found it fascinating to watch the two of them develop a play style that works for both of them.  Riley is a rough and tumble play style and Stella is a zoom and chase player.  They have developed a play that is in between both their styles and obviously enjoy each other a lot.  I’m glad that this has developed over time instead of being an instant always crazy playing when we brought her home.  It has made it easier for me to train and work with both of them because they are not totally always wrapped up in each other.  I have seen people with multiple dogs that become so focused with always playing with other dogs that they then have a difficult time convincing the dogs that the person is also fun to train and play with.

I also find it very interesting that both Riley and Stella revert back to their regular play styles with other dogs.   Stella has beautiful dog body language and she has been taking a role as a “puppy ambassador” in training classes to meet the young puppies as she is very appropriate and non-threatening.  We are transitioning out of puppy classes now towards more regular obedience handling but it’s fun to get to play a bit with the puppies.

A huge thank you to http://www.donnaandthedogsblog.com/ for sharing the Versatile Blogger Award with me.  She has a wonderful blog about her three dogs with include a lab and a vizsla.

The rules for the Versatile Blogger Award are as follows:
1. Thank the award giver and link back in your post. (See above)
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass this award along to as many as 15 blogs you enjoy reading and let them know about the award!

I will hopefully get to passing this award on this week as well as one other I have received.   

This week we are on a winter holiday with the dogs so lots of snowshoeing, cross country skiing adventures and playing in the snow.  Expect lots of very cold looking pictures soon!