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Mar. 23rd, 2008 05:32 pmBella had a great day at the All About Pets Show yesterday. Going into another weird, echoey building filled to the brim with people and animals of all shapes and sizes didn't faze her at all, and she was noticeably braver at greeting unfamiliar people than she was last weekend at the Toronto Sportsmen's Show. By the end of the afternoon, she was lying down and accepting belly rubs from passersby and playing with a stuffed cow that one woman pulled out of a bag for her. I'd say that this experiment in really-weird-places socialization has been a success.
She also got to meet lots of other dogs, which she always likes. When we arrived, she was immediately surrounded by nearly half a dozen Tollers, several of whom were very interested in her. I mean, VERY interested. One of them, by name of Cassidy (an intact male), liked her so much that he started screaming every time he saw her.
You know what this means, of course: my little girl is becoming a woman. ::sniffs:: They grow up so fast! ::wipes a tear:: It seems like just yesterday...
(Okay, okay, I have no kids of my own--I had to have one chance to be the weepy mother. :-)
Yup, she's in heat. If Cassidy's screaming weren't enough of a dead giveaway, his owner went off and found another fellow with two males (one intact) and brought them back for a litmus test. The intact boy's lips immediately started quivering, so it was a positive. I knew she was due to come into heat anytime, but I was still a little surprised. I had her in a room full of dogs at the obedience club on Wednesday evening, and none of them paid her much attention at all. Also, I've read that it's common for females to change their behaviour when they go into heat (I guess dogs get PMS too), and she's been her usual Bella self. Still is, for that matter. Anyway, I'll have keep her on the leash for the next few weeks, which is kind of drag because she does like to run around in the snow, and keep an eye on her when she's in the backyard. She's never tried to escape before, but that doesn't mean she won't now.
Jim took a couple of nice shots of me and Bella near the end of the afternoon. We gave her a bath on Friday night, so she was extra fluffy and soft on Saturday.
A couple of women commented on how well her leash matched her coat. It's important to accessorize properly, you know. :-)
By way of comparison, this is Bella greeting audience members in January at an Atlantic Voices concert:
She wasn't upset, but she was pretty much glued to my legs. You've come a long way, baby!
She also got to meet lots of other dogs, which she always likes. When we arrived, she was immediately surrounded by nearly half a dozen Tollers, several of whom were very interested in her. I mean, VERY interested. One of them, by name of Cassidy (an intact male), liked her so much that he started screaming every time he saw her.
You know what this means, of course: my little girl is becoming a woman. ::sniffs:: They grow up so fast! ::wipes a tear:: It seems like just yesterday...
(Okay, okay, I have no kids of my own--I had to have one chance to be the weepy mother. :-)
Yup, she's in heat. If Cassidy's screaming weren't enough of a dead giveaway, his owner went off and found another fellow with two males (one intact) and brought them back for a litmus test. The intact boy's lips immediately started quivering, so it was a positive. I knew she was due to come into heat anytime, but I was still a little surprised. I had her in a room full of dogs at the obedience club on Wednesday evening, and none of them paid her much attention at all. Also, I've read that it's common for females to change their behaviour when they go into heat (I guess dogs get PMS too), and she's been her usual Bella self. Still is, for that matter. Anyway, I'll have keep her on the leash for the next few weeks, which is kind of drag because she does like to run around in the snow, and keep an eye on her when she's in the backyard. She's never tried to escape before, but that doesn't mean she won't now.
Jim took a couple of nice shots of me and Bella near the end of the afternoon. We gave her a bath on Friday night, so she was extra fluffy and soft on Saturday.
A couple of women commented on how well her leash matched her coat. It's important to accessorize properly, you know. :-)
By way of comparison, this is Bella greeting audience members in January at an Atlantic Voices concert:
She wasn't upset, but she was pretty much glued to my legs. You've come a long way, baby!