Social Studies

Clover was shy around bigger dogs but last night he had a bigger dog who he snapped at. This morning, he avoided most of the dogs we passed until he got a bit more comfortable. He does have this habit of following a person who catches his attention but, getting distracted by something, realize they are getting away, and hurry to follow more. He seems to be happier with people then other dogs but being in New York there are so many of both that it's important to make sure he adjusts.

Part of the plan to have him be socialized beyond long walks is to go to day care one or two days a week. On the after-work walk today, we took him to the place nearest to us to learn more about available programs and introduce him. It turns out that Tuesday nights is a free puppy hour that starts at 7:45 so we just went back a bit later to try the place out. The first women we spoke to took one look at him and scooped him in her arms (Clover loving this, of course) saying "Look at you! You're going to be HUGE!" It seems to be the consensus of dog-loving people that instead of being a small to medium dog that there is a good chance he will tip over 100 lbs when he grows up.  So much for being terrier-corgi-sheltie. The latest observation that gave me heart palpitations? "He looks like a white German Shepard."

Clover really enjoyed being off leash and playing once he got into it. Some other puppies were loud or scared so it felt good to be in the company of other young dogs learning how to socialize. Clover has a tendency to...um... mount other dogs (and people) and the supervisor nicely corrected the behavior each time it happened. He certainly wore himself out, as you can see from the photo below. Everyone seemed to think he is both adorable and had an impressive first day!