Play groups and seperation anxiety

[vanfam]

Hi All,

I'm new to this so please excuse me if I don't quite do this correctly. We have a little black spoodle, Bella, whom we love and adore (born on 23 March 10). She's just graduated, with honours I have to add , from puppy school and absolutely loved playing with the other puppies during the lessons. We would love for her to continue socialising with other doggies on a regular basis and I was wondering if anyone knew of any play groups in the Christchurch area that meet regularly that we could join? - she's having her last vaccination next Sat so in a few weeks she'll be ready to play and meet other doggies.

Also, in our last lesson, the trainer spoke about seperation anxiety. She said one of the major causes is the puppy sleeping with their owners in their bed. My parents always allowed their dogs to sleep with them and so we did the same with Bella but now I'm stressing about her developing seperation anxiety. I'm at home all day and I try and encourage her to spend time on her own but this morning when I went to get dressed she started wailing and I waited a while for her to stop but she only stopped for short periods. Also, our neighbours are quite close to us and I worry that when we leave her on her own for a while that she cries and bothers them though when we get back she seems quite sleepy. We really want her to grow up into a well adjusted happy puppy and we would love to hear anyone's thoughts on the matter as I'm not sure what's normal puppy behaviour and what we should be concerned about!

Many thanks!

[pj and rosie and brogan]

Hi what part of Christchurch are you in - we are near Riccarton Racecourse and would love to meet up with some other spoodles for a play date. Rosie is 20 months old and Brogan will be one next week. We rehomed Brogan when she was five and a half months old just before Christmas and by the time our puppy preschool opened again in January she was in heat and couldn't go. (She has now been speyed) She missed a lot of socializing and it shows when we go out to the dog parks - she is very nervous. I would love to have some playdates especially for her benefit. She is on the smaller side as spoodles go and Rosie is on the larger side.
Cheers
PJ

[Teddy]

Hey do you want me to upload an avatar photo for your profile PJ Rosie Brogan? just noticed its missings its picture from the transfer we did a while back

[vanfam]

Hi PJ,

We're in Redwood and more than happy to meet up near you if you prefer. Ideally we would like to meet on the weekend if possible as my husband takes the car to work during the week, does that suit you?

Bella's getting her last injection next Sat so she'll be ready to meet other doggies in about 3 weeks time. She's just over 3 months old and she's still quite small. She's very friendly and not overly boisterous. In her first puppy school lesson she spent most of the lesson sitting under our chairs but by the end of the second lesson she was playing very sweetly with other puppies. Our trainer told us that some puppies take longer to relax around other dogs and that we should just ignore her and let her venture out on her own and now she loves socialising.

[silverfern]

Hi there, Millie's owner here. Would be great to come for a walk with you and let the sisters meet again. I am busy this weekend, but next weekend (31st or 1st) is free at this stage. We live at Swannanoa, so Redwood is not too far away for me. Cheers, silverfern (Lesley)

[vanfam]

Hi Lesley,
I just sent you a message about meeting for a play date and then I read your post here We would love to meet for a walk! We're moving this weekend to Loburn, Rangiora so next weekend would be great. What time and place would suit you? - I'll send you a private message with my mobile number so you can text me if you prefer.

[silverfern]

Hi Chantelle, that sounds good. I did get your message, thank you, and have jotted down your phone number and email address. Our email address at home is
starlightalpacas@clear.net.nz and my cell number is 027 276 2441
Perhaps we could meet in Rangiora next weekend for a coffee with the dogs ?

Looking at Bella is like looking in a mirror, she and Millie are so alike. Millie has a only a couple of white hairs on her chest, and has a white toe on each back foot. I think she must have got the "boisterous" gene for both of them, because everything she does is done at full speed !! I'll send you a text next week, and we can sort out a time that suits. Cheers, Lesley

[vanfam]

Hi Lesley,
OK great! I remember going to meet Bella for the first time and I couldn't tell them apart. Bella has a white chin like she's been drinking milk and a white stripe down her chest but her feet are solidly black. She's fast asleep next to me now but she also has her moments when she runs up and down the passage and just doesn't stop. And she's been loving "helping" me pack lately (though her "helping" is carting things around the house - I opened the front door yesterday morning and found a pair of pants that she'd carted off earlier) At least she's kind enough to leave it on the front door step for me to find
Better go finish packing. Chat next week!