Durham

Grouchy and Sassy came along for the trip to Durham to attend Lori's wedding.  Well, they didn't get to go to the wedding but at least it was sort of a vacation for the four of us.  

The drive each way was about 14 hours, including the rest stops and short walks for the dogs and the TRAFFIC in the VA, DC, MD, DE, NJ area.  I think it added 1-2 hours.

It was a great trip for Grouchy!  We stopped briefly in DC to see Theeng and he was excited.  She had spent a week with Tobasco and me when he was a young puppy so I was pretty sure he wouldn't remember her and would treat her like all other strangers.  Not sure if he was excited because he had been in the car since 6 am (it was 3 pm when we arrived - although they did get a good walk from 930-1030 and rest stops along the way).  He even had a bit of excited pee spray.  But we went on a nice short walk and Theeng had the peanut butter tube so both Grouchy and Sassy got licks of PB.  Theeng also patted Grouchy's head because she forgot she wasn't supposed to - but he didn't care at all!  The overall walk and interaction was short but I was thrilled at his response, it may not have gone so well if it continued on longer, or if he hadn't been in the car for 4 hours prior to getting out, or well, there are a lot of hypothetical situations, but I'll take any little bit of good interaction because I think it helps him, even if it is just a tiny bit.

In Durham, we checked out a bunch of new trails and he even happily walked around the neighborhood.  Most of the walks were short - it was really hot and humid and poor Sassy panted the whole time.  They even got to eat a popsicle at Locopops - chicken broth with a rawhide stick.  Sassy didn't quite know what to do with her and Grouchy held it in his mouth for a while, then figured out he could just chew and swallow it.  

Sassy was not so good.  She managed to escape her crate - which means she un-did the latch and lifted the door up and then pushed it out - not sure how she managed that, well, it was probably due to chance and luck - and then trapped herself in the master bathroom.  She turned on the water faucet in the bathtub too.  And then clawed at the closet and bathroom door trying to get out.  This was on Friday night when we had a dinner to go to.  She was fine on Thursday night when we went out to dinner so we didn't suspect she'd have any issues!  So now, we have zip ties to secure the doors.  

Not to mention at home, she's eaten my cauliflower and brussel sprout seedlings from the vegetable boxes.  Difficult girl! 

But I took her participate in the Memorial Day parade last night and she was an angel.  The whole thing lasted 2 hours, maybe only 40 minutes of walking (20 min in the parade and 20 min back to the car) and a lot of waiting around.  She did try to play with some playful dogs but she didn't bark, she got petted by lots of strangers and kids which she stood or sat nicely for.  She saves her mischief for home whereas Grouchy saves his to display in front of company or strangers!

Sassy takes her CGC test next Wednesday.  Better tire her out - maybe 2 hours of walking beforehand...