It's hard to believe that its taken 8 Months for Orin to actually get into a hall. In normal circumstances I'd have been carting him round every Ring Craft and every show from about 8 weeks old. I've always believed the risk from disease to a puppy is minimal, but the risk from lack of socialisation is great. Puppy should have immunity from the mothers till about 4 months, early socialisation before vaccinations kick in is paramount. Of course I'm sensible. I would carry pups into a training hall. I would
bring a vet bed and put it on the floor, I would carry them to friends houses and pubs and garden centres. For Orin, like his generation it has been different, we've done all we could but it was never going to be as good. So when the opportunity arose for us to have Ring Craft in the village hall I jumped at it. Following Covid regulations only 15 of us are allowed in the hall, but we have opted for 10 dogs maximum. Last night, our first night and we had 7 dogs, it was great to be back together, though apart ..lol
To the untrained eye Orin was excited from the word go, but reading him correctly you would realise that he was edgy and uncomfortable, He kept jumping up and grabbing my sleeves. He was desperate for reassurance and I felt the best thing I could do was remain totally calm, it was hard! Within no time at all he had settled, he also realised for himself that using his nails to grip the shiny floor just made things worse. I came home feeling immensely proud of him and how well he had coped in this totally alien environment, that pride only increased when I saw this photo.
