We had an unexpected test this morning.
I told you that we’ve recently been letting Amber out by herself several times a day. Today the mailman drove up the driveway because he had a box that wouldn’t fit in our mailbox. Amber was out. By the time I got to the garage door, the mailman was out of his truck and Amber was wagging her tail so hard she could hardly stand up. He was laughing and had gotten down on one knee to pet her. She was ecstatic, trying to lick him and get as close as possible.
We’ve lived up here for over 30 years now. My husband prefers dogs who bark, giving folks a bit of a pause before they ‘invade our territory.’ We’ve never had a dog who bit anyone, but we’ve sure had some that barked – deep-chested, full barks that would make ANYONE take pause. I told my husband that when we got a new dog, I wanted one we didn’t have to worry about scaring people.
Amber is definitely not a guard dog. We MAY have to worry about her deciding to go home with whoever comes up here to deliver something or visit. It looks like she’ll never meet a stranger, as far as people go.
We’re keeping up our play dates with Nikki, the dog of our good friend, Carla, because Nikki is teaching Amber proper doggy manners. Amber is a bit intimidated, her hair sometimes stands up on her back when she gets scared. Nikki is friendly until Amber gets too exuberant in her face, and then she lets Amber know she is going too far and growls.
I’m really happy with her reactions so far. The mailman was a good test. His reaction was ‘Great dog!” Her reaction was, “Great man!” My reaction was relief and a huge smile. “Good Girl!!!” (More lessons on not jumping up to follow…”
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