Over the holiday I took our big puppy, Augustino, to see the ocean for his first time as he is smart and we love to watch him explore through new experiences. Of course the professor in me believes he learns and acquires motivation through anticipation of rewards, and sensations of pleasure that correlate with happiness. Thus far, his motivations seem to be linked to “toys” rather than “foods”. Just like people, it is important during his early development to foster curiosity and exploratory behaviors. I admit I was disappointed that he did not seem interested in the ocean waves this first time, rather he loved to watch the other dogs and people. Maybe he will love the waves the next time?

As it is fun to watch him learn and even “think”, we will continue to expose him to new and unfamiliar stimuli to observe his reaction to unknown versus more familiar and repetitive stimuli. I want his curiosity to turn to attention to whatever he enjoys. You can see that we love to watch him grow, and GROWING he is doing. He is huge and still growing! And, he is SO STRONG now.

Because he thinks he is a lap dog and loves to climb on my lap, we turned the tables on him one day and got into his outdoor crate and shut the door. He could not come in. We played with his toys and watched his reactions as he paced round and round the exterior and watched us. He seemed puzzled by this change and his inability to “get to me”. It was fun to play with him in this way.

In brief, you can see how much we love this big puppy! He is adorable, fun, playful, teases with his toys, and pure joy to be around. With gratitude I/we share these stories with you. I hope you enjoy stories about this big lovable guy. Sometimes I call him “King Kong”. I bet you have fun pet stories of your own?

Remember they say “dog” is really “God” spelled backwards, and I believe Augustino is a gift to us from God. From such a tiny puppy, who could imagine this big guy now? With gratitude to all of you….. we will keep sharing Augustino stories…..

#gratitudezero