Veris' Birthday!

Friday, April 9, was my birthday. The big 3-0. To celebrate, and also to introduce Quigley, we had a bunch of friends over on Saturday. Nothing big, just a gathering of good friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in a bit.

My biggest concern with throwing a party was how Quigley would do. Would he be a rascal? Would he be over protective, since he didn't know all of these people coming into the house? Would he be overly excited? Would he bark the whole time?

Fortunately, the answer to all of these was "No". At first, Q barked quite a bit when the first guests arrived, my brother Jo, and our friend Antonette. For some reason he just barked more than normal. But after that, he didn't really bark a whole lot once he realized that people would be coming in, and that it was OK.

We kept him in his crate for the most part, as I didn't want him to cause too much trouble, especially with some young children and their LEGOS in the house. He didn't seem to mind at all, though, and he seemed content to be in his crate. I let him out early in the party so he could have his dinner. He carried on as normal, and did a few of his commands with me, without seeming too distracted. After eating, he went back into his crate to relax. The next time out, was to go potty. Surprisingly, he didn't try to pickup any LEGOs or completely stop to say "Hi" to everyone. He knew exactly what I wanted him to do, and he did very, very well.

Another thing we're happy about is how well he does with kids so far. One of the kids there, Rubie, seemed very excited to see Quigley. She gave him treats, and wanted to let him out of the crate, though I didn't think it was such a good idea right away. My god-daughter, Evie, was afraid of him at first. After seeing her older sister, Rubie, taking such interest, and seeing that her younger brother Lucien was fine, I think she warmed up to him. =) She even asked me if she could say "Bye" to Quigley before she left. How cute.

After the kids left, I let Quigley out briefly. I passed out treats to everyone to give to him, and had them make him at least sit before giving it to him. I think he liked it, since he got to meet people and get food. What a better combo!

Overall, Quigley was absolutely wonderful during the party. I don't think I could've asked for a better behaved dog that day. =) Good boy, Quigley.