Back to work

Vacation is over and its back to work for me. Sitting at a computer in an office is so high on my list of priorities right now...not. The only good thing is that Riva seems to have adjusted quite easily into being left alone for short periods, he settles down quickly or plays quietly with his own toys. Now the days are just getting longer but hopefully we will find a good rythm soon like with the older dogs. I sometimes used to work at home and thought the dogs would enjoy having me around during the day. I was pretty disappointed when instead of hanging around with me the dogs all retreated to their favorite spots and went to sleep at exactly the time I usually left for work. And if I suggested a walk in the middle of the day they all looked at me like I was seriously disturbing their beauty sleep.

Its funny to see people's reactions at work when they find out what I have been doing during vacation. The idea that someone would travel halfway around the world just to get a dog seems to be quite incomprehensible to many. "Couldn't you have gotten one from Finland?" is a frequent question.

But yesterday was still vacation and we enjoyed every last minute of it. I took Riva for a walk in the woods around my place and it was so wonderful to watch him taking in the World with all of his senses, chasing butterflies, climbing rocks and jumping fallen branches. I took a toy with me and during the walk we played a recall game. I'd whistle the way I use to call my dogs and when he turned to look where the sound came I invited him to play with the toy. After a short play I'd exchange the toy to a treat and let him go exploring again. After a few repetitions he started to race back to me as soon as he heard the whistle. :-)

One of the nicest things about living in the country is that I can give the puppy a lot more freedom than I would if we lived in a more urban setting. I can take him for small walks and I don't have to worry about traffic or strange dogs or people coming to interrupt our little training and learning games.

Riva has also little by little befriended our cat, Lasse. At first the cat didn't want anything to do with this wiggling little puppy but now he will stay still as Riva goes over and sniffs him (very nicely) and then Lasse will rub himself against the puppy. So cute!

A couple of days ago Riva had his first nail trimming in Finland. I don't think he actually noticed at all that someone was doing something to his nails, he was too busy eating the pancakes that I had. I held him in my lap and fed him while my friend cut the nails.