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| A picture from Leia's first day home, glad the 3rd day is going better! |
8:00 AM - Well our walk went pretty well, we met a dog on our walk (kinda looked a little mastiff like but short and stocky. Not quite sure what it was but he was very wiggly and happy). We let the dogs meet but within a few minutes Leia's tail lowered and I heard two little growls come from her. Didn't know she had it in her, maybe he was too over whelming. He was sniffing rather intently. Either way, we will work on it. She was good with the dogs she met in PetsMart yesterday. I know I want her to remain good with dogs, it would be nice to be able to go to a dog park or socialize with friend's pets.
9:00 AM - Looking up compression therapy and TTouch therapy. Getting certified in TTouch is probably out of the question for now, as it is almost 1k (yikes!) but they do have a video/book set which could help me learn how to help Leia and that is about $40 (It seems like $40 is the magic number with dog treatments, thundershirts are around $40, so is the TTouch DVDs. I am wondering if I am really exercising Leia enough. We do go for 3 good walks around the lake but I think I misinterpreted her panting as tired. Might try double laps and see if we can wear her out a bit more. Today should be either exciting or nerve racking, maybe both. Hang in there Leia, I promise this is for the best.
9:50AM - She's still not eating very well... It worries me a little but I am also trying to trust that if she is really hungry, she'll eat. --Oh my lord... literally as I was writing this she did something I have NEVER seen her do before. I have been reclaiming my space a little today by not letting her lie right next to the couch, and when she tries to, I basically walk gently into her so she backs off to sitting in front of the TV. Then what did she do? Go in the bed room and lay in front of the bed. She walked away and laid down. She is still very attentive to what I am doing, but she gave me space. Her ears are itching her, not sure if this is because of the few remaining fleas which I assume are still there but cant seem to find, or if maybe something is bothering her. I think I am over analyzing it. She's a dog, dog's scratch. Well she just came back in and tried to walk on over, I held out a "stop" hand and she went right back in the bedroom. Ha! Good girl. I wish I could say it but for now just silence. Still on the no touch, talk, eye contact rule (which I will now call "no TTE"). I kinda want to know what she is doing in there, but her legs seem to say she is laying down, possibly in her relaxed position.
3:30PM - Well our visit with G went well, Leia is fine with dogs around her, but when they start sniffing she gets a little growly. She can be corrected but she's just a bit like an old lady, a little crotchety. Before our visit I gave her a good walk around the neighborhood. She is still beat and is out cold right now. She also barked at G's daughter when she first came out (more of kinda a "what's that" bark) but we corrected and she realized that (essentially) I approve of her being here, Leia settled down. Gisele thinks Leia will need a good pack leader or leaders (which I strive to be) and that she is lovely, a good dog, and just needs direction. I agree. Leia is in her crate now (she had free time this morning) and once she has settled down for a bit I am going to go and speak with the neighbors and ask them to help me out with her if possible by letting me know if they hear her crying. This way maybe they wont be quite so offended with her for crying when I go out tomorrow.
4:20PM - well I tried to warn our neighbors and give them a little card to ask for their assistance as we train her. I left about 4:05 and when I returned at 4:15 she was still fine. Also, to figure out what I just learned, please check my next post "Leia Skypes."
I think I've come up with a plan for Monday:
____1. Wear her out. Really long walk tomorrow afternoon.
____2. Tranquility treat.
____3. Check in with Skype at break. (again see the post above to figure out how).
____4. Pray.
It seems like Leia is settling down and settling into our home. Here is hoping progress continues.
9:55PM - Well it's almost bed time here so I have her back in the crate and settling down. We tried a tranquility treat right around 7:30 to 8 PM and she seems nice and lazy. Hoping it works wonders tomorrow. I think she gets half about an hour before, and the other half chopped up in the kong along with peanut butter, milkbones, and maybe some chicken I might just make my own kong filling like pulverize some treats and mix in some chunks of goodness. I'm not feeling my best tonight so it's been a slow evening but she's been good. She got a massage before kennel time, then some down time, then we tossed one treat in the crate, she followed it in, and then got a second (please note, I bought the "small breed" milkbones and break them in half, so she chases 1/2 in and then gets the other 1/2, that way she doesn't get too fat and happy on training.)
I also made one mistake today. I thought "maybe running will be her joy" so I tried saying "come on Leia" and running a little with her. I should have waited. She was imediatly nervious and on gaurd, running low and looking over her shoulder as if something was chasing us. I felt like a heel... Sorry honey, I didn't mean to frighten you. She got over it and the rest of our walk went ok, but I think we will be waiting until her confidence blossoms to try running again. Live and learn.
Read our next chapter together! - The Test of Monday
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