Me and Daisy!!

About a week ago we took Daisy to DeSoto Memorial, a national park that hugs the shore of the mouth of the Manatee River. The Manatee River flows into Tampa Bay, which in turn, runs into the Gulf of Mexico! Our new pup Daisy grew up for the most part in a cage before we rescued her & has only a little bit of experience on a leash with me & Steve recently. So! I purchased this doggy back/front pack just in case for walks.

Daisy is fairly timid about new situations and when we first got there we put her on her lead. Daisy's behavior was ... sniff-sniff-sniff - with a couple of steps in between. Very slow going! She did fine when she saw other dogs, it just seemed to me that she was trying to assess this new location with all her sniffing of the ground. After about 1/2 mile of this, Steve & I both wanted to walk more. So I put the doggy pack on and put her in! She didn't mind at all! She weighs about 13 pounds, so it was okay for me too.

We visited the park again about a week later and Daisy sniffed less and after about 1/4 mile she started trotting down the path! It will probably take a few visits, but my guess is just like some of the obstacles she faced in our home (stairs, doorway thresholds) she relaxed into those with confidence as well. ♥️ I like this funny photo Steve took of me with my "baby" Daisy!!