Visit to Santa Paws 2012

Dumdadum - that time of year again.

Last year's Santa Paws visit was a bit hurried to say the least. And, while Bella felt quite important to be at the mall, she was not happy to see the beast man.  It is a bit to ask of our dogs - to sit next to a huge creature that looks like prey but smells like person. We are lucky they they love us so much.

This year, the humane society had pictures with Santa Paws. They do this every year.  The proceeds from the mall event went to the Humane Society.

Last year Bella was kind of scooped up and dropped into the big man's lap. This year, my goal was to have a calmer visit with Santa.

We went later in the afternoon so i had time to prep her. All that day she was handed treats accompanied by the words "Santa Paws!" said in a happy excited higher pitched voice. We played tug to the mantra of "Santa Paws! Santa Paws! Going to see Santa Paws," followed by more treats. Ear massages, belly rubs, butt scratches were all given while talking about visiting the big guy.

And then the time came. As i said, we went later in the day. In fact ours was the last visit. So, that helped to keep her nervousness down a bit. The visit was better than in the past. As we entered the room she got treats. Santa Paws gave her treats. She jumped up next to him when asked, and stoically sat until told she could leave. As you can see, she also let Santa cozy up a bit.  So..... all in all, not bad.

The biggest drama was the wait. There were cages holding cats on either side of the line. This caused quite a bit of tail tucking and bolting for the exit until i took a seat on a bench and had her sit between my feet. I can only assume that if dogs made horror movies, at least one would entail a room filled with cats in some way.

Whether Bella is just mellowing or whether my word association exercise worked, i don't really know. Next year i will remember to incorporate the words "cages of cats" into the treating, & will see what happens then.

Happy Howlidays everyone!

P.S - Remember that the United States Humane Society has absolutely nothing to do with your local humane society. Nor do they receive money from the USHS. If you want to donate, please donate locally.

Peace

visit with the big guy.

This year you could take your dog to the mall for photos with Santa Paws. Of course the whole draw of this for me was taking my dog to the mall. & the dogs were allowed to enter from any entrance so a nice long walk around the mall was the plan.

Bella was the perfect mall dog. She somehow knew that she was in some strange part of people land that she is not normally privy to and was on her best behavior. As we walked through the mall's concourse, she politely sniffed at the entrances of the stores but made no attempt to enter.

While waiting in line for Santa, she waited patiently; quietly and curiously taking in the sights around her.








She was much more calm and open to the waiting experience than she has been in years past when we've gone to the Humane Society  for pictures with Santa. That just makes sense. The energy of a shelter is 1,000 x more intense.
& the yummy pizza treats that we purchased from the Golden Barkery helped keep the puppy nerves calm too.

Honestly my dog is a very very good dog. Stores would get a heck of a lot more of my business if they would allow my dog to come with me when I shop.

I mean, just look at how good and sweet she is. She knows how to act.

But then......... 

We met the Man in Red..........

She tried. She really tried to be polite. She sniffed his hand and his boots, gave a polite wag of her tail and was ready to leave. I tried to get her to sit at his feet using the "get in" command that she is pretty strong with. There was just something about those big black boots. 

 In her defense, Santa looked tired and a bit overwhelmed with his day. I got the feeling that he did not sign up to be Santa Paws and was really just waiting for the whole thing to be over so he could fly his magic sleigh to snooze-ville.

 Check out her body language. She could not be any further away from him.

 In the shot of her looking to the left - she is looking at me. I moved to the center behind the photographer. It took her a minute to figure out where I went. You can see her looking around.

& here she has just figured out where I am. (If I could've figured how to place the pictures in order. You would not have to figure out what the heck I am talking about)

And - in her defense - she could've bolted at any time. Not even Santa with all his holiday magic could've held on to her 80 pounds of muscle had she really wanted to leave. I had asked her to stay and she truly wants to be a good dog and listen well. 

She is certainly on the nice list.