December was a month of festivities and new experiences for PADS Maggie II. The start of a new workplace for her raiser meant the opportunity to learn to settle in a new office environment, which is going well.
During the snow days, Maggie learned to walk with her new winter boots to keep her paws safe and warm—she did the hilarious high goose step when first testing out the boots but, within moments, was happily walking as usual.
Once she completed her heat mid-month, she was back to mall visits with lots of hubbubs, which she took in stride. Maggie watched quietly as the littles visited Santa and walked among the bright lights along the White Rock waterfront. She is building on her skills to settle while a lot is going on around her—especially if other dogs are in the mix.
Her PADS puppy class cohort had a wonderful Ugly Christmas Sweater party that was well organized by her trainer and tons of fun! This provided another great opportunity to practice those settling skills and a bonus visit with Santa!
Maggie had lots of socialization in other people’s homes to help develop her best house manners—and there were so many interesting smells, including the aroma of roasted turkey! The month wrapped up with ringing in the New Year, and a sleepover with her PADS pal AFD Iris and family.
Submitted by: Sandi Chapman
