Dinner = Epic Fail

Tucker did well this morning walking around with me and then napping on the deck while I read. 

Dinner, however, was not as successful. 

Lessons Learned:
1. Don't even try to look nice when going out to dinner with a 9 week old puppy at the beach.
2. Even if the puppy seems tired after his 10 minute walk - keep going until he can't go another step.
3. Always go with your first puppy raising instinct.

I asked if we could go to one of my favorite seafood restaurants as an early birthday dinner since this will be my only trip to the beach this summer.  Before we left, I took Tucker on a short walk to go to the bathroom.  I should have walked him longer, but he kept sitting down like he was tired and I was trying to keep my hair from blowing into a hot mess and from getting sweaty again. (Mistakes #1 & #2)  When we got to the restaurant, they said we could sit on the covered porch.  We sat down and I sat Tucker under the table as usual.  Unlike our normal restaurant outings, he refused to settle down.  I gave him one of his toys in an effort to keep him lying on the floor, but even that didn't work.  Mom ate her dinner quickly, so she took over the leash so I could attempt to finish mine.  We were constantly telling him to sit back down, to settle, to lie down.  About 10 minutes before we left, he finally started to fall asleep on the floor.  When we finished, I picked him up and started to walk towards the exit.  It was suggested that I put him down and let him walk since he seemed to have so much energy earlier.  Although my instinct said I should carry him out just in case he needed to go to the bathroom, my frustration took over and I put him down. (Mistake #3) Twenty feet later, he was peeing on the floor. 

Needless to say, tonight has been the most frustrating outing thus far.  Tucker has been so good and is so smart that sometimes I forget he's still only 9 weeks old. 

Lessons learned?  I think so.