Tonka Takes a Vacation

While I went to Ohio to join my family for a few days at Put In Bay on South Bass Island in Lake Erie, Tonka went to the home of a friend who has trained and showed dogs for years.  Marge has a young Labrador Retriever and an older Golden Retriever and a fenced-in yard where the dogs can play.


Tonka fit into the household easily and before I left the day I dropped him off he was already busy playing with the Lab, DelC, and had found some great toys to chew and squeak.


Marge says Tonka did very well while at her home, he adjusted easily to the change of environment and to the new dogs he met.  She agrees that he is a special dog who will need training and guidance, that he is a dog who wants to please and needs to be busy and have a job.  She is afraid that if he is not given enough mental and physical stimulation he is the type of dog who could get destructive if his energy is not focused in a positive way on learning new skills.


Tonka enjoyed his time away on vacation and I'll share a couple photos of he and DelC hanging out together.  I'm so glad he had a chance to play with another dog besides my Rocky, as all this socialization will help him in his relationships with other dogs in the future.

Tonight I took Tonka to a local park where he played and met more people.  Tonka was really curious about the children playing nearby and was hoping the young boys would come play with him.  A young 2-year-old girl did come to visit him and threw his ball for him to fetch.  Tonka did well and did not jump on the small girl and with the ball in his mouth he was too busy to even think about mouthing her arm.


Everyone who met Tonka tonight thought he was the cutest dog and he made lots of new friends.


Tonka is quite tired tonight after all his adventures and he's sleeping contentedly in his crate.  I'm so glad to have him back in the house and he and Rocky are glad to be back together.