Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

We had a new pack member today - Benny!  Benny is a 5 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback, and he and Coco were playful with one another within seconds of meeting.  They're just about exactly the same size right now even though Coco is 9 1/2 months old, so Benny is going to be a big boy when he grows up.  When the hike started, Coco and Wesley romped off leash together.  Wesley is really enjoying getting off leash during the hike now.  Benny wanted to join them and pulled a bit on leash at first, but it didn't take him long to calm down and stay at my side, where he stayed consistently throughout the rest of the hike.

The Play Pack

Mable is gradually getting more and more comfortable coming to me when I pick her up; she actually came out to the edge and poked her head out from under the bed today!  She's much more confident at the park now, and likes to wander around and do her own thing a lot of the time.  She played some fetch today and I got another shot of her with a tennis ball in her mouth - I can't help it; it's so cute!  Benny was very gentle and sweet with Mable.  He was curious about her at first and kept trying to nose her, but she yipped at him to give her space and he proceeded to lie down and just watch her.  Benny made lots of new friends at the park.  There's a chocolate Lab named Cooper who tried to mount him a few times, but was corrected for it.  After that, though, Benny followed him around licking at his face and jumping on him playfully.  Benny spent most of the rest of his time just getting his bearings and greeting the other dogs at the park, but toward the end of the visit he got playful and ran with a few other dogs.  He did really well for his first park visit!  Coco played some fetch today and was great at bringing the ball back to me.  She's started to develop a habit of diving for the ball when I go to pick it up, but she's improving with that and restraining herself better lately.