Friday had even more things in store for Keena and myself and it began at about 7 in the morning. I got up early to meet my mom down town in the parking lot of her office so we could go to the farmer's market. I love farmer's markets and not only are dogs allowed at this one, there is a man named Chris who makes organic, natural dog treats and brings his dog, Bear. The company is called Bear's Bone Bakery. My mom had talked about Bear before and I wanted Keena to meet him. He is a Great Pyranese and is absolutely beautiful. At the age of 6, he is obviously well taken care of with lots of energy and love to give. The too got along really well and Bear REALLY like her (he wanted to mount her) and Keena seemed to enjoy him too, minus the humping.
At the car in the parking lot, waiting to start the day!
Bear at his booth.
First meeting...I made her wait a few minutes because she got really excited when she first saw him.
"Why hello, Bear. I love what you have done with this space."
Checking out the produce.
A cool family farm. My mom is behind the sign buying a fresh bag of spring mix. Keena is posing by the sign that pictures all of the family's pets.
As you can see in the pictures I have been working with Keena on sitting and waiting in public with lots of distractions; she did surprisingly well, actually. After the farmer's market, my mom and I had some time to kill so we walked a few streets in Evansvilles downtown. Now, people who live in big cities will find our downtown laughable but it actually has some cute shops and restaurants. We walked down Main street and Keena was nice enough to pose onee or twice. Then, we went up to my mom's 7th floor office to meet her coworkers. They loved her (no surprise) and some were also slightly afraid. Keena got to ride in an elevator for the first time. It was funny because she kept looking at the floor everytime it would ding saying it was on a new floor.
Keena enjoying some cool local art from a gallery downtown.
In front of my mom's bank building.
Getting some love from a friendly coworker
Checking out the elevator.
Next on our list was to drop Keena off at a new doggy day care called O'Hair's Happy Dog Daycare. It is super cheap and on Fridays they have $10 baths!!!! I was ALL about that! She got to play all day long, make some new friends and come home clean! She was tuckered out when I picked her up at the end of the day. While she was playing, I went to hang out with my sisters, Abbie and Allie, and Abbie's two beautiful children, Macie and Gavin. They are so much fun to spend time with! We went to Chuch E Cheese, McDonalds, and then after they napped got into Macie and Gavin's pool. It was a lot of fun to catch up with my sisters and spend some time with my babies. Friday night we went to the Crazy Buffet for dinner (an early birthday dinner for me since I will be 24 on the 9th) and it was delicious. I ate too much and was miserable later but it was well worth it.
Gavin, aka "the dude" showing off his walking talent.
Macie on the big slide. She actually climbed all the way to the top and got to the tunnel parts of the play equiptment. We were all surprised and hoping she wouldn't freak out and make one of us climb up to get her! She's getting so big!
Keena, excited for day care.
Saturday and Sunday were more laid back. Mostly hanging out with immediate family and trying to get some sleep. I really wanted to walk Keena on the river front because it's only minutes from my parents house. After a very intense, short lived, and sudden thunder storm on Sunday we made it down there. She loved it and there were lots of things going on. This is where I'm going to ask a question to those out there who have Danes themselves or other giant breed dogs. Are your dogs tourist attractions? Keena draws in people like a moth to a flame! I have had people stop in the middle of the street (in their cars) and roll down their windows to ask me about her, or tell me how beautiful she is. I love being able to educate people about the breed and let them know that not all big dogs are scary, but sometimes a simple walk becomes show and tell! I try to always view it as wonderful socialization opportunities, not to mention Keena LOVES the attention. Who knew I would become a teacher!
Ohio river front view
A cute little out door theater. I tried to get Keena to take a picture in front of it but she wanted to lay down on the cool marble.
Really cool antique bikes.
more bikes
Very tired girl
Welcome to the world of Giant Breeds - ha! ha! You will never know privacy on your walks - or ANY outings - ever again!!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit - I used to love the attention and was very keen for Honey to be a "good ambassador for the breed", etc but after 8yrs of it now, I'm a lot less social and pretty fed-up of answering the same questions over and over *especailly when they're not asked with decent intentions but just people being stupid) - plus sometimes I'd just like to go out with my dog OCCASIONALLY^ and not be stopped every 5mins!!!!! Also, I worry sometimes about the impression we're giving coz a lot of people look at Honey and say they're going to get a Dane but I worry that Honey is giving them an unrealistic image - you don't get a dog like her without a lot of hard work in socialisation *& training and I think with a giant breed, you really can't skimp on the training like with smaller dogs...you certainly can't just hang on! So I'm always worried that we're actually doing the breed a disservice by giving people unrealistic expecations about their behaviour, because Honey is so well-behaved...Oh well...
Anyway, enjoy it while you can - it is very flattering to have your dog be the centre of so much attention!
Hsin-Yi
I know exactly what you mean, Hsin-Yi! I have been working with Keena very hard and still struggle with many things with her. She definitely has some separation anxiety and I am finally getting in touch with professional trainers. It's not that I thought I could do it all myself, it's that money is so tight for me as a recent college grad that it's hard for me to wrap my mind around paying as much as some people ask! I recently found a trainer who will do a private type set up along with "reality walks" were we walk in downtown Indianapolis with other dogs and lots of distractions. I try to tell people to rescue dogs because I love to, but they do come with a whole slew of problems that you may not figure out until much later. Due to her size Keena has actually done a lot of damage to my apartment in the short time I've had her....hopefully this trainer can help us!
ReplyDeleteAnnie
Oh....and I NEVER go into a pet store with her if I'm actually there to buy something. You simply cannot get any shopping done because we get swarmed by so many people. What bothers me the most is when people don't just come to see her, pet her, maybe ask a few questions but they stay for a chat! If I have her, I try really hard to never be in a hurry. :)
ReplyDeleteAnnie