Visiting Family

Bruce Wayne and Alfred took a trip out to the suburbs this weekend to visit with my mom, brother, and their doggy aunts, Mary and Shady.  Bruce has spent a lot of time staying at the grandparents' house, but Alfred is still trying to figure out what it means to visit new places.  It was a nice, sunny day, so the boys were able to spend a lot of time outside on the deck.

But eventually they wanted to come inside and join in the rest of the family fun.

I feel very fortunate to come from a family of dog lovers, and their home is always open to our fur-kids, but I still don't feel 100% comfortable with Alfred's ability to behave in new places. We weren't able to bring him by much recently since hanging out on the deck wasn't an option during the cold months, but I am happy to report that Alfie has made some impressive progress!  His first visit inside involved a lot of prancing around from room to room, checking out all of the exciting new places and smells, but nothing too naughty ensued.  We sent him back out to the deck after a few minutes of exploring, but he was ready to come back in and show us his stuff.

let me in!

We let him back in a second time and pulled out his blanket and bone so that he could redirect if things got too exciting.  It didn't take long before he was settled in and all four dogs were basking in the sun together!

All-in-all, I'd consider the trip to be a big success, and am looking forward to making more family visits this Spring.  I was really proud of Alfred for his good behavior, but I think Aunt Shady and Aunt Mary still have mixed feelings on the subject.

We'll see if we can sway them with more visits soon...have a good week, all!