Playing with Picassa

Last week Kyle enjoyed a play date with Picassa and Sugar. Tuesday Picassa came over to play with Kyle. Kyle loved the interaction with other dogs on both occasions.

Kyle and Picassa spent a lot of time tumbling all over each other. While they played, I worked on my thesis, which means I was silly and didn't get any pictures of the fun they had together.

One thing that both dogs enjoyed was dinner time. Kyle gets slightly possessive of his food when other dogs are around, so this was a great training opportunity for him. He did a great job of waiting to eat even though another puppy was in the room. Of course, when Kyle finished first, I had to distract him so that Picassa could finish eating in peace.

(Kyle and Picassa intently stared at me while I prepared their meals. Picassa was so hungry, she even licked her lips.)

(Kyle did his nightly stare down of his food dish.)

(Picassa was also intently focused on her meal, but she was willing to look at the camera for a picture.)

Picassa has such a happy personality. Her tail is constantly wagging, and she seems really eager to please. I wanted the chance to play with her more, so I convinced Megan to trade puppies just for the night so that I could interact with her a little more.

My plans for Wednesday were mostly centered around working on my thesis. Picassa and I spent a lot of time in my thesis chair's office working on an important draft. We made the deadline, but Picassa spent a lot of time sleeping under my thesis chair's table.

(Picassa slept curled up like a little puppy under the table.)

Neither Picassa nor I could spend all day sitting and working, so we did fit in a few walks around the interior and exterior of the building to stretch our legs. We even stepped into a class for a couple minutes. Picassa handled the new environment wonderfully.

Picassa ended up being great moral support. When I was dragging and didn't want to type another word, she would pop up and put her head on my leg. Picassa didn't expect to be petted or try to get attention in any way, but she was just checking in. Honestly, if this girl doesn't make it as a guide, she displayed perfect therapy dog behavior. She would be great in that career!

(Picassa resting her head on my leg. She has sweet eyes in this picture.)

My thesis chair is not a dog fan. (I appreciate her because she is so supportive of my work with Kyle even though she doesn't like dogs.) It's taken time, but Kyle learned to ignore my chair because she ignores him. Picassa hasn't learned that lesson though. Every time my chair came near, Picassa touched her cold, wet nose to my chair's toes. I corrected Picassa, but inwardly I laughed at my chair's reaction. Thank you Picassa for entertaining me when I would have been bored otherwise!

After I finished my thesis draft, Picassa and I ran errands. She did a great job! Every little kid, and some adults, wanted to pet her. She received several complements for being a cute dog and being well behaved.

(Picassa loved running errands. She smiled up at me when I wanted to take her picture.)

At puppy club Megan and I traded back puppies although other raisers actually worked with Kyle for the duration of the meeting. Our meeting's theme was actually a surprise birthday party for Megan and Picassa. Their birthdays are only one day apart. Happy birthday to Megan today and Picassa tomorrow!

(Megan and Picassa posed with the sheet of brownies. The top is decorated with a paw print and the words "Happy Birthday Megan and Picassa!")

Picassa, you are an incredibly happy girl! You are welcome to play with Kyle and me whenever you want to do so.