Under the Boardwalk, down by the sea...

Well, we were on the boardwalk, not under it, but if I have to have that song stuck in my head then y'all may as well too.

Seriously, if anyone wants to socialize puppies, come on up! I'll take you to the boardwalk, because it's a terrific place for it.

I took Magnum yesterday (without the big kids this time), and it was like going down a laundry list of people that puppies are supposed to meet. We met ladies pushing babies in strollers, an older man with a walker, small kids running back and forth, teenagers, and other dogs on leash. Since he still needs his second shot I didn't leave him down on the ground to meet the other dogs yet, but he didn't seem at all bothered by them being there.

Magnum did a great job of walking on lead and going to see everyone; all humans are now viewed as possible cheese dispensers. He liked the little boy who petted him, and he wasn't phased by the running, the walker or the strollers. And we met one lady who asked, "Is that a Cardigan?" Yay!

The police station is located at the public landing, and I went in to see if there were any uniformed officers on hand who might want to help socialize a puppy. There was an older lady there at the desk, and when I told her what I wanted, she looked at me like I had tits on my forehead. There were no officers on hand, as it turned out. After this I'll try a different station, hopefully one where there isn't a scary dragon lady at the desk. o_O

At the end of the boardwalk we went down to the little beach where I took the pictures of Ian and Elli a couple of weeks ago. It's nicely enclosed by rocks and a long set of stairs, and there was no one else on the beach at the time, so I let Magnum off lead to run around with me. Unfortunately, I stupidly left the camera in my car, for which I kicked myself hard. Picture if you will: Magnum picking up a dry, blackened piece of seaweed in his mouth and running around with it, looking for all the world like he had one of those villianous twirly moustaches. Could you just die from the imagined cuteness?

We played some chase-me-chase-you, and worked the recall, which he did a great job on each time. He doesn't really stray that far from me yet anyway. I know that will change as he moves into adolescence, but right now he's a dream. We went down to the water's edge, where he watched the little waves lap at the sand, and tried a lap of the water himself, only to discover it was most definitely not potable. Some things you just have to learn through experience.

We capped off the outing with a quick trip to Grammy's house, where he checked out the toy selection and scoped out the surroundings before crashing for a big nap. I may or may not have come home and followed his lead. ;-)