Finally after days upon days of rain, the skies cleared and the sun came out. I do not know who was more excited to get out of the house to take in the sunshine, me or the puppies? All I had to do was grab the leashes and the dogs went crazy. “We’re going on a walk! We’re going on a walk!” They sang and danced around the kitchen.

It appeared to be what every family with cooped up pups was feeling. The loop path was busy. It made for an interesting walk. Doodles, labs, shepherds, pugs, were all outside enjoying the fresh air with their humans. Each time we approached someone, Koda would begin barking his deep loud greeting. We would stop and smell one another (the dogs that is) and discuss how glad we were for the sunny day.

We came across a woman with two weiner dogs, one was the barker and one was friendly and eager to play. I felt a connection with the dogowner instantly. We both shared that exhasperated look of mothering a pair of dogs with differing personalities. We joked that we should get our friendly ones together to play.

I started to feel discouraged as we made our way around the neighborhood with how much Koda barked at oncoming dogs. But then a great thing happened, my good friend came out of her house when she heard us pass by. She brought her big yellow lab out on a leash for a quick hello. Bodhi’s bark was just as loud and deep as Koda’s. He was excited and eager to say hi to us. We talked for a few minutes and a funny thing happened, the barking subsided. Koda started to relax. It was encouraging. We agreed that we need to get together for some playdates and walks.

The rest of the way home I felt a little more relaxed myself. These ten month old puppies are still learning so much and part of that is how to play well with others, and to have good manners. I’m confident we will get there. We just need a lot more days of sunshine to get out here for socializing! We need spring!