Fourth of July

We decided to go to the dog park during the afternoon last Friday to celebrate Independence Day. We didn't stay for long because it was pretty warm. Even Cedric tired quickly. We have been visiting the Hondo Dog Park not too far from our place. It has a  small/timid dog side, a winter side, and the regular side with a walking path around a hill in the middle. There are trees, benches and, of course, a water fountain for fresh H20. Ellie has come out of her shell while at the park. She's been rolling around, running, and even approaching strangers! Oregon seems to have brought her out of her shell.

Conveniently located trashcans with nice art.

Brandt and the pups enjoying the shade
during the hot afternoon last Friday.

This picture is from this week,
but Sparrow's cuteness must be shared.

Ellie is also cute!

The girls are terrified of loud noises such as thunder and fireworks. July 4th and the weeks before and after are never fun at our house. People here were actually respectful and we didn't hear many fireworks before Friday. Then, there were just a few the few days after. However, Friday was as loud as we expected. We couldn't hide in the basement like last year so hunkered down and watched Netflix.

Guard dog Ellie on the lookout as fireworks began.

We'be been training them not to bark at sounds from the apartment complex and we took this as an opportunity for some intense training. We had tiny treats ready and rewarded the dogs as the stayed calm. A few fireworks even made me jump but I held onto Sparrow to keep her from running away. Overall, the evening was very successful as far as minimal barking. Sparrow was still terrified all night.

At one point, when most of the fireworks had died down, Ellie scratched at the door to go out. I warned her that she didn't want to do that but she stared me in the eyes and scratched again. I leashed up all three and took them out. Of course, there was an explosion and Sparrow insisted I hold her. She climbed as far up my chest as she could and neither Ellie nor Cedric were doing anything productive. I took them back in and it took Sparrow 30 minutes to calm down.

When she's upset, Sparrow pants and overheats herself. She already has a short snout so the panting does nothing to help her. By the end of the evening so was completely exhausted, as you can see in the last picture. Ellie barley reacted to the fireworks, which was an amazing surprise. The boy was a little jumpy but really enjoyed the treats.

Staying safe from fireworks in my lap.

Sparrow was DONE with the 4th of July.