Socialization Activities

Some of our socialization activities in the last 2 weeks. We went to a park and watched the kids play. Several kids came up and asked if they could pet her. We took a trip to Jerry's Home Improvement Store. Took a walk at the Waterville Pond using the pack to keep her safe, visited some goats, chickens and ducks, and sat out in the front yard. We watched the life flight helicopter demo and watched the take off and took a trip to Wilco (and Izzy picked out a toy).

We've been doing socialization activities every day. Some days are quieter with a walk around our forest or down our driveway or a nail trim and some days are more exciting. At both Wilco and Jerry's, Emmi walked through the automatic doors like a champ. When we visited the park, we spent time watching the kids play. Initially she was a bit nervous with the yelling and screaming and fast movements but with some treats, was soon enjoying watching everything. She interacted with the kids and the kids loved her. One little girl spotted her and yelled "Guys it's a golden retriever...a golden retriever puppy!" and Izzy soon had a group of kids asking if they could pet her. After petting her one of the girls said "this is the best day". I love how happy Izzy makes everyone. We also took her to the skateboard park there. She showed a little fear the first time a skateboard came close but with some treats and encouragement was soon watching them with interest. We had her in the stroller which allows her to watch activities but also feel safe. Emmi was really reactive to skateboards and bicycles and was fearful of automatic doors, so I wanted to make them positive for Izzy. The Life Flight drill was exciting, and she watched it all with interest. Here's a short video from that activity. It is so fun to work on these socialization tasks with Izzy. She is like a sponge and enjoys everything we do.