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| Zola at her first event. |
She had a bit of a rocky journey when her plane was delayed last Wednesday night by 2 1/2 hours due to a storm in the Boston area but arrived seemingly unaffected by it all. She made it clear right away that she much preferred to be outside with Sweet Pea and Tuloon than in the house. So that we get ample time to bond with her and to introduce her to the things inside the house, we "make" her come in for a few hours in the evening. Otherwise, she will sit by the door and whine until we let her out.
She went to her first event for socialization on Thursday evening. The University of MN put on a fun Pollinator Party near Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. Needless to say, there were LOTS of people and strange sounds around to make an educational impression on the youngster. She loved the people and the music but was a bit cautious about young children running quickly up to her. Just an indication we need to seek out events and places where there are young children so she can be desensitized.
On her second day, since she didn't seem the least bit distressed by her big night out, we spent the day letting play groups out around her kennel. She got to meet all of the other dogs through the fence, with Sweet Pea closely watching for any suspicious behavior and taking action to keep Zola away from the fence, if she deemed necessary. Sweet Pea is definitely up for raising yet another motherless puppy. I say "motherless" because Sweet Pea has made it clear, over the years, that if the puppy has a mother living in this kennel, she is not the least bit interested. If the puppy has come from outside of the kennel and needs a mother, she volunteers and puts her heart and soul into the job.
Today is her third day at Points Unknown. Why slow down now? We went to puppy class! I made sure to arrive before anyone else so she could scope everything out without drama. The first puppies to arrive were a boxer and a lab. Oh boy! What good examples of dogs with opposite personalities to the Hedlund Huskies. Hedlunds greatly dislike other dogs flying in their faces, even as little puppies. This line of Alaskan Husky is extremely good at setting boundaries and displays excellent dog body language. It wasn't long before both the boxer and lab entered Zola's space without permission and as if they were engaged in a full body contact sport. Zola screamed and hid under the chair.
It took a third time of this seemingly outrageous behavior, to Zola, to nip it in the bud. This 9 1/2 week old puppy had enough. She flew out from under my feet, snapped at and yipped at the boxer. The boxer looked confused but also appeared to have gotten the message as she then sat and watched as Zola did the same thing to the lab. Zola's confidence grew from her courageous display and I saw her begin walking around as if she owned the place. From that point forward, all of the rowdy puppies got the message that Zola was to be respected and would not put up with any unnecessary shenanigans. She chose to hang with the softer and more quiet puppies and acted as a buffer between the two groups when the play got too rough. Such amazing behavior for such a young pup.
No more plans for the day other than to catch up on things now that Neil has headed back up north to help finalize our building project, Phase 1. I think Zola is appreciating her nap, at the moment. My next adventure with Zola will be to introduce her to a road trip up the north shore, Lake Superior and our Hovland property when I run up this week for a quick visit to check the progress.
To see more photos of this beautiful new baby, please click here.
