More socializing

April 17th - I realized today I've been a little remiss on socializing lately - except for obedience class Sunny hasn't been getting off the property much lately, so off we went downtown today. Traffic, schools letting out, a loud motercycle, and she walked at a nice loose lead heel. Then off to the grocery store where I stood by the electric doors with people going in and out with carts - she just sat at heel and took it all in, though she'd never been out of the car at the store before. She was obviously out of her element but trusted me. Last I walked her in the parking lot while pushing a cart - nothing.
April 27th - Today it was back to the grocery store. Surprisingly only a couple of people stopped to pet her, but I was pleased that she again sat quietly with people walking inches from her without getting up or pulling to sniff and greet the people who didn't want to meet her. After the store we went to the skate park where she watched the kids on skateboards and bikes and a whiney motorized car on the dirt track (which I didn't give her time to spook at, so she didn't). Next was another park near home that she is familiar with but there was a big multifamily picnic going on. As we walked in that area people were coming and going and a couple of children came over to say hi to her. She has not had much practice at greeting new people, so I had her sit before they petted her, but for a dog who has very rarely seen children she did great at having 3 around her at once petting her, while a toddler of about 2 yrs old (one of identical twins) lunged for her then fell back afraid and screamed, then lunged forward again another 2 or 3 times. I was so proud of how quietly she sat through it all!
This has been my first week back at work since getting Sunny in December. I was very relieved to finally get a dog walker lined up at the last minute (after a month of looking for one) as she'll spend 10 hrs or more in her kennel each day that we both work. The dog walker will give her a mid-day run in the pastures for 1/2 hr, and she seemed to be doing well when I got home each day. I think I probably have more seperation anxiety than she does!