Double play-date weekend

After a very sad weekend (the death of a colleague and the unbearable tragedy in Newtown, CT), it lifted the spirits to have some puppies over to play. Get ready for the deluge of photos…

SATURDAY

Juniper, our landlords’ pointer/pit mix, came over for a brief romp while our plumbing was being repaired. She is a muscular sweetheart. This was Pyrrha’s first introduction to Juniper and the two of them played very nicely together. It is fun to observe how differently every dog plays. Juniper is a playful growler and she likes to use her strong body to block and check, as if she were a hockey player. And so Pyrrha would alter her body language accordingly.

Cute little incident: Juniper is apparently both cuddly and protective. I would crouch down to watch them play, and Juniper would sidle up next to me and lean against me. If Pyrrha tried to approach us, Juniper would snap at her and challenge her to a wrestling match. I thought it was cute and interesting; I’ve never seen a dog so quickly take “possession” of a new person.

SUNDAY

On Sunday, we had lots of friends come to play: Loki, my coworker’s five-month-old Newfoundland was the first to show up. And he is such a doll. Just look at that face!

Pyrrha’s gregariousness was a little much for him at first, but he warmed up very quickly and was soon flopping around and chasing her.

As you can see, he was very soon holding his own:

Roland, a dear favorite whom you may remember from previous play-dates, arrived next. (Check out Loki’s expression in the following photo… Cracks me up.)

And then we had a newcomer, Stella, the young Jack Russell terrier, who was none too pleased to join in the fun. She was terrified when she first arrived and emitted these sad, high-pitched screams whenever the other dogs would approach her. Poor girl. I don’t necessarily blame her: She is about the size of her playmates’ heads.

Stella eventually sought us for comfort and was more than happy when her mama, Audrey, showed up to take her home.

Aside from poor Stella’s fears, everyone else got along very well and we had a great (if chilly) afternoon in the backyard. I’m looking forward to keeping up these Sunday play-dates again after the holiday season.

Another Sunday play-date with Roland

Roland, who is quickly becoming one of Pyrrha’s BFFs, came back yesterday afternoon for another great play-date. As you can see from the photos below, they had a great time!

Getting some love from the ladies.

I am so thankful that Pyrrha finally has “friends.” The first few months we had her, I was worried that she would never get along with other dogs because of her fear. It’s amazing what some time and gentle encouragement can do! She now loves nothing better than romping with a canine pal. I’m grateful for Roland and his mama being in town!

Play-date with Roland

We had beautiful and unseasonably warm weather this weekend, so it was a perfect occasion for Pyrrha to have a friend over. We invited the recently adopted Roland, who was brought over by his surrogate handlers, my friends Celeste and Casey.

Hi! What’s your name?

As you can see from the photos, Pyrrha and Roland were very well-matched. They got along beautifully, with no fear issues or squabbles from either of them.

We all laughed about how dogs treat objects like small children. Their reasoning goes like this: If the other dog has a stick, I MUST HAVE said stick, even if I don’t particularly like sticks. Pyr and Roland went back and forth with this general gambit for some time. Thankfully, our yard has a plenitude of sticks, so they were never bored.

Friendz!

At the end of the session, they were both tired and happy—and covered in each other’s slobber. (Roland also had some grass stains from sliding on his pretty white fur.) Watching dogs play is one of my all-time favorite hobbies. I could do it all day! And Pyrrha certainly needs more of it in her life. Very happy to have found another great local playmate for Pyr.