Happy 4th of July!

Nick and I walked a couple of blocks to the starting point of our annual neighborhood 4th of July parade. Its something I always take my CCI pups to if I have the chance as its a good training opportunity for them. At about 15 weeks old, Nick is almost fully vaccinated with one more set of shots to go, so it is safer to take him to more places now.

The parade is a fun event for the kids and parents who get all decked out in red, white & blue, decorate their bikes, and parade around the neighborhood led by a Folsom fire truck and police. Nick and I didn't join the parade but stayed on the sidelines first watching the police and fire truck go by, followed by all the kids and parents walking or riding bikes. This year a small classic fire truck led the parade, but its siren was still really loud as it went by and I was ready with a lot of good treats for Nick in case he got scared, but he wasn't phased by it at all.

I intentionally put him in his CCI cape, mainly to let others know he was "working". Its amazing how clueless some dog owners are...I can't tell you how many let their dogs lunge towards him or walked their dogs up to him saying stupid things like, "Oh its ok, he just wants to say hi..." Uh, no its not ok...oh well, I guess I have to look at it as a training opportunity. On the other hand, it was also nice to hear how many people knew he was a CCI pup, especially the kids, as the school in our neighborhood has a CCI facility dog.

I tried not to let any dogs come near him since he hasn't had all his shots yet (although around here most people are good about vaccinating their dogs), he did get distracted but I was able to get his attention back on me, so I was happy with how he did with all the activity going on. There was a small, yappy, chihuahua dog about 50 feet away from us who was constantly barking and lunging to the end of his leash at us, Nick stayed in a down the whole time and could care less. His biggest distraction was when a couple walked by in the parade with a beagle...he got all excited and got up, I think he must have thought it was Spencer, his brother the beagle who lives at our co-raisers house! Too cute!

I left Hope at home as I wanted to focus all my attention on Nick during the parade. So after Nick and I got back home and I gave him his lunch, I put him in his crate and took Hope out to the lake for a walk and let her swim. We haven't been out for a while because the air has been so bad from all the wildfires out here, so it was nice to go for a short hike with her. She was so happy to be out. No pictures today though as I forgot my camera... :-(

Here comes the fire truck!

Watching the parade go by...