faceplant
Søren gets social
Upon learning that I was getting a new puppy, random people shared various dire warnings about all the ills that could befall a new puppy. The first was about parvovirus. I heard a lot of “parvo will kill your dog.” So, with that in mind, I was told that Søren had to stay inside until he’d had the full series of puppy vaccinations because, living in San Francisco, there is no dog-free area for Søren to play. Not even our backyard. Since parvo apparently lives on the ground for months after a dog “sheds” it, no place where adult dogs frequent is safe. The result is that Søren can’t go outside until he’s almost 16 weeks old.
The other dire warning that I heard was that, if we waited to expose Søren to other dogs until he was 16 weeks, he wouldn’t be properly socialized and would have a whole host of behavioural problems. This formative window, from 8 to 16 weeks old, is when dogs learn good dog manners, to be social and not scared of other dogs, and to not play too rough.
So, I was faced with a dilemma. Did I want to expose him to deadly disease or make him socially retarded? The answer came in the form of “puppy socials.” Of course, this isn’t completely safe. But, to attend the puppy social, you must prove your puppy is healthy and had the appropriate vaccinations for his age. And, there are no adult dogs who might be unwitting carriers of the parvovirus.
I was afraid that Søren would be intimidated. He’s short. And, he hasn’t been around any dogs since he left his litter mates a few weeks ago. But, I didn’t need to worry. He was momentarily intimidated by the friendly barking of a large lab puppy. Soon, though, he was zooming across the room, herding a timid german shepherd puppy, and happily getting tackled to the floor by the lab puppy. He ran underneath the legs of the taller puppies and got way too friendly with a beagle puppy who was the only dog as close to the floor as he is. The beagle puppy put him in his place and he zoomed away to get tackled again. He has no idea he’s short. I’m not going to tell him.
Even though his ears aren’t up yet, he’s definitely all corgi. He was the bossiest puppy in the room. I wanted to get some pictures, but I was too busy being a nervous puppy owner. When we got home, he faceplanted into the floor and went to sleep immediately.