Pip makes some friends

I took Pip to Trempealeau, Wisconsin, for a night when I was speaking and leading a field trip for International Migratory Bird Day, and we stayed with Judy and Emily, two lovely women and their older, sweet Gordon Setter Shelby. Then, during The Biggest Week in American Birding, an amazing bird festival centered at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory in Ohio, I've been staying with one of the organizers, a wonderful naturalist and bird bander named Lester Peyton. His pug, Yoda, is a sweet thing, and like Pip is a female with a male character's name. (My nickname in high school was Sam, and my nickname in college was Chuck, maybe explaining why I tend to not worry about the sex of a character when selecting a name.)

Pip is quite tiny compared to most dogs, is still learning basic social skills, and is teething, so I was a little nervous about how she'd deal with other dogs, and how other dogs would deal with her, but it's gone splendidly. The setter is an older rescue dog, but was very tolerant of Pip.

Yoda is a playful and extremely sweet pug. She and Pip quickly hit it off and have been playing really well. Here they are playing tug-of-war.

Pip and Yoda play tug

Of course, dogs don't always like sharing, and when I gave them each a bully stick, Yoda didn't want to share hers. Pip is apparently one of those "grass is always greener..." dogs, but she figured out with just a little coaching that she should focus on her own stick rather than Yoda's.

Pip learns when NOT to share.