Visit with Santa 2016
It’s Santa time!
Surprise – Kane is really good with Santa! He wasn’t exactly sure what to make of him, but he wasn’t really scared either.
You guys have been good? Then maybe, just maybe, you can have a baby brother for Christmas.
Santa Claus 2015
Christmas is Auggie’s favourite time of the year.
He was born November 15th, which means most of his puppyhood was during Christmastime. I still remember going to pick out which puppy would be mine – I had my choice of two little males who would make great pets with sport potential. Auggie and his little brother (called “Dee” at the time) were ripping around his breeder’s living room, running underneath and behind the Christmas tree. I still believe this is why, when we set up the Christmas tree, Auggie makes a beeline to lie down underneath it. Fond memories of his puppyhood and time spent playing, and maybe occasionally napping, underneath the Christmas tree.
Christmas is my favourite time of the year, too.
We did two Santa trips this year. I brought along the bowtie and tie from our professional Christmas photos. I’m not sure if Auggie and I will get another Christmas together, so I wanted this one to be special.
First, we went to Country Arbors, a nursery nearby. Their Santa setup is really cool, and this year they had a firepit where they were burning pine tree branches. First, we got our Santa photo.
And if you’re wondering why I’m in the photo this year, again, no idea if I’ll ever get another chance with Auggie, so I took advantage of the opportunity before I don’t have it.
Next we went and hung out by the firepit for a while. It was nice and warm and smelled amazing.
After Auggie’s vet appointment, I didn’t really have a lot of cash to pick anything up, although the white birch logs are beautiful and healthy, and really are a great bargain. Maybe next year!
Our next Santa was a couple weeks later. The local humane society always puts on a Santa pet photo event with the Subaru dealership. The Santa is really great and, being humane society folks, everyone working the event is awesome with pets, too. I also love their backdrop – you can’t see it in this year’s photo, but they have this really beautiful old timey looking street light with a big red bow on it, and I just love it.
I got in the photo with Santa here, too, but my favourite happened to be the one of just my two boys and Santa.
May all your Santas be jolly and all their whiskers be real.
Santa
Look at Pepper.
She went right up to him to sniff him. I put her on the bench next to him and she sat there no problem.
I can’t get over this.
The other dogs are pretty good too. ;>
Dear Santa…
I was very, very naughty this year.
I threw up on my mommy’s hardwood floor.
I ate something gross in the yard several times.
I totally blew the very last contact when I would have had a Q in an agility run, and then I laughed about it.
I woke my mommy up in the middle of the night approximately 20 hojillion times.
Sometimes I even finagled her into letting me sleep on her bed, and woke her up by standing on her back with my face shoved next to hers, smiling like a lunatic and staring.
I lie about having to go outside and potty at least once every day.
I have taken to biting at mommy’s knees and ankles because it’s fun.
I threw my twist n treat down the stairs, even when my mommy had just told me not to.
I got up to sniff a bitch in an obedience trial because that was more fun than a sit-stay.
Can I still have a baby brother anyway?
That darn Santa isn’t buying the whole “naughty” thing at all.
Auggie’s progress with children
First… I disclaimer this post. I am upset about what happened because of the parenting involved, but also upset because I failed to be watching. It could have gone HORRIBLY wrong and I would be (at least partially) to blame. In hindsight, this was not a good situation to put Auggie in. I screwed up and I’m lucky it didn’t end bad.
On Monday, I took Auggie to the mall to have his photo taken with Santa. There was a young boy ahead of us… maybe 6 or 7. His mom and dad were with him. Ahead of them was a guy and his CUTE CUTE dog, I’m not sure what she was – maybe a mix – but she was a pretty good sized dog.
Kid is being a huge pain in the butt. He almost hit the other dog, he almost stomped on her feet and her tail (while the owner has her in a sit-stay), just generally being an obnoxious brat.
“Great,” I think. This kind of behaviour – erratic, flailing, strange movements – is what Auggie doesn’t enjoy from children. To a lot of dogs, particularly herding dogs, they “see” children a little differently. Their weird movements can startle and frighten them. I have no idea what to expect with this kid or from Auggie as we stand behind them, but I’m pretty much prepared for the worst, and keep Auggie back as far as I can.
Auggie sits down next to me, looking at the kid. His tail is wagging and he’s smiling. At first it seems like everything will be a-okay. The kid starts leaping around – this is where he almost stomped on the other dog’s tail – and I expect Auggie to react, and I get ready to take Auggie on the OUTSIDE of the line and climb back over the wall when it’s our turn… but he does nothing. He just sits next to me quietly and watches, tail still wagging, still expecting if he behaves he will get nice pets and maybe a cookie.
See, this is the result of the careful, positive socialization this summer. Children are a good thing. If you see a child and behave well, you will get petted, you will get praised, you will get cookies. I think to myself “Oh! This is some real SUCCESS!”
And then – and this is my fault, I let my guard down – the kid all of a sudden LEAPS at Auggie, and sticks his face RIGHT into Auggie’s face.
HOLY S***. I FREAK out and take a HUGE step backwards, yanking Auggie back with me – I expected Auggie to react. And it could have been teeth right into that child’s face.
NOTHING. HAPPENED.
Auggie didn’t react at all. He was startled at me hauling him backwards, but he didn’t bark or make any kind of motion towards the kid.
Of course, at the time I was terrified and shaking, but later my mom pointed out how GOOD Auggie did. She’s right – he was wonderful. If somebody had told me a year ago that a small child would leap towards my dog and stick his face into Auggie’s I would have thought the end result would be DEATH for sure.
At that point, I should have gone ahead and stepped over the wall, separating Auggie from the kid… not because of Auggie’s behaviour, but because of the kid’s. But the kid’s dad hauled him back and told him “DON’T YOU EVER DO THAT. Don’t stick your face in a dog you don’t knows face – NOT EVEN WITH A DOG YOU KNOW!!!” He starts telling him that it’s not safe and he could be bitten and not to do it ever ever again.
“Good dad,” I thought, and figured the kid’s dad is watching now, and the kid has been told not to do it. Maybe the kid will settle down a bit?
WRONG. He settled down for a while, and about fifteen minutes later (the line was terribly long) he looks at me, smiles… and then suddenly propells himself forward and LEAPS INTO AUGGIE’S FACE AGAIN.
SON OF A… Auggie, to his credit, doesn’t react again. He keeps sitting.
But get this… the kid tries it a THIRD time, immediately after he straightens up.
This time, the kid lunges straight into my LEG – because I’ve now stomped my leg down and physically placed myself BETWEEN him and my dog. “DON’T do that,” I flatly tell him. I am not about to play nice, this kid has just crossed the line. I was wearing my snow boots, and if I’d stomped down on his fingers with my boots getting between him and my dog… I wouldn’t have felt bed. I was PISSED.
Oh yeah – and that “good dad?” He wasn’t paying attention. Mom hauls her kid back this time (she wasn’t paying attention either, but me stomping down and snarling at the kid apparently got her attention) and the dad scolds him, then goes “Oh, what’d he do?” What you just told him not to do, you big goober!! Dad lectures the kid again.
And then they stand there in line for another, I dunno, probably 30 minutes so the kid can go sit on Santa’s lap. While the kid continues to flail around, kicking the set the mall put up, hanging on things, yanking on things… great parenting at work. Kid does something dangerous, gets lectured on it, does exact same thing TWICE not twenty minutes later, and then gets to go see Santa anyway? Sigh.
Kid is on the Naughty List, I’m telling you.
I moved away from them about ten feet and put Auggie behind me anyway. The people behind me were very nice and understanding about the huge gap in the line.
Seriously, I can’t believe Auggie behaved so well. And I can’t believe how stupid I was to not have trusted my instincts. I could have picked Auggie up and held him, or gone ahead and stood outside the set wall like I thought, or moved all that way back in the first place… and certainly the second time around, I should have done more than just try to move back even further.
I know better. I NEVER trust children around Auggie. I’m not really sure why I did this time – maybe because our socialization was going so well this summer, and because Auggie’s initial reaction was encouraging that I dropped my guard. There was no bad ending… but there definitely could have been.
So, folks… trust your instincts when it comes to your dogs. If you think a situation is bad, it probably is. If you can do something to avoid the situation, don’t wait. Do it.
Hopefully that kid learns his lesson or he’s likely going to end up getting his face bitten off.
REGARDLESS… Auggie saw Santa. Santa loved him. Auggie tried to give Santa kisses. Santa thought that Auggie had been a very good boy (for THAT performance he just gave? He’s a FREAKING SAINT.) and that he wanted a steak for Christmas.
A steak? Well, maybe some raw one way or another.
