We hope everyone had a fun Labor Day 2009 weekend. Bonnie certainly did! We visited my brother where there were about fifteen people and and four other dogs. Bonnie is getting more comfortable with lots of different canines.

When dogs are playing, especially puppies, it's important to stop them and let everyone calm down before things get too rough. I've been doing that with Bonnie, because being a puppy, she sometimes doesn't know when to settle down.

All I do is take her gently by the collar and tell her it's time to calm down. I use the words "calm down", but anything will work. If she settles down, I pet her and tell her she's a good girl. I only do this for a couple of minutes and then I let her go play again. If the dogs get too rough, I calm her down as many times as needed.

Here are some of the other dogs with whom Bonnie played. First is Peaches, who is a miniature Dachshund. She's six years old and the smallest dog at the picnic.

Alfred is a twelve year old senior collie who has arthritis. He doesn't play as much as usual, but he stayed close and watched everything. Sometimes he fetched the ball when someone threw it. Most of the time he sat on the couch, just like some grandpas would, and watch the activities.

Lexi is the newest member of our family. She was adopted by my brother's family just a week ago. She's a mixed breed dog who is about a year and a half old. She loves to play. She enjoys running up on the hill looking for rabbits. One time when Bonnie was being too annoying, as puppies can be, she turned and snarled at her. She was warning Bonnie not to play too rough and to leave her alone. That's how dog's communicate.

The most active dog was Millie, an English Springer Spaniel, who loved swimming in the pool. She would dive into the water, retrieve the ball, and swim back to the steps. She couldn't get enough swimming. She loved it!

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