www.sitmeanssit.com Getting my dog from his plane ride today. I always hear different dog people talk about what their dog was like when they first got him off the plane upon arrival. A young puppy, and in the case of my puppy, it is a very young black labrador retriever puppy that is only 8 weeks old, can be a very stressful experience. The puppy is gone from his siblings or mother all of a sudden and taken on a bumpy plane ride where he has probably been confined for hours, and then greeted by a stranger. Even adult dogs can naturally find this experience very stressful at times. I am not one that puts everything into how the dog reacts when he first comes out of that crate after the long plane ride, although we all would ideally like to see them act as confident as can be. That isn’t always the case, and it takes a couple weeks or longer in a lot of cases for the puppy to become acclimated and then you can give him a fair initial evaluation. This puppy had a very good initial response to all of these new things happening, and although was hesitant for a second or two, recovered very quickly and has done nothing but been a tail wagging and confident dog the more that he sees. I’m sure he’s going to just get stronger and stronger as the days go by. What was your puppy like when he first arrived? c

My black lab (Shelby) doesn’t seem to understand the concept of going in one door and coming out of another. When I left her on the front porch, then snuck out the back door and around the apartment, she thought I was a stranger. It was fun!