It has been a very hectic few days although I didn't do much today :P...... well other than playing with the dogs. I am still incredibly anxious at the moment as I really don't want to get too attached so that I can make a 'sensible' decision, but it is honestly getting harder and harder to do! Well, I picked her up by 10am on Friday and she behaved really well (and looked spunky clean!). She is such a people dog wanting to get into your skin and always be touching you one way or another - a true velcro dog (and I thought Leo was!). Unfortunately Friday turned out to be MUCH busier than I anticipated and I think that threw Lacey out a little bit today. When I first took her to the car she was a little bit unsure but the great thing about her is that she recovers quickly. It is like she assesses the situation and then decides she can deal with it. Anyways I was waiting for a friend to turn up, and played a little with Lacey in the park behind the carpark.. she is one sharp puplet learning things very quickly so i'm going to have to be on my toes to keep up with her!!! She is also super, super bouncy so a great agility dog too :D. I actually had to hang around for a while in Pakenham so I ended up taking her down the Main st. Although a little scared, she coped with it very well. I then took her into a friends pet shop (don't worry, this friend is very UTD with everything - she did the dog training course with me) which again she was a little nervy about but was playful and interested in all of 2 mins, so a very good recovery. Then I had to go for an unplanned visit to Cranbourne to meet up with said friend (haha - notice I haven't mentioned what happened :P), so Lacey spent a little longer out than what I intended... she was very well behaved and confident at Kylie's house and not at all cautious or nervy really, so I was incredibly impressed. However, due to meeting another friend in the arvo, and Lacey constantly tangling herself in the car, I had to take her with me (stopping at home for all of 10 mins) to Templestowe in the late arvo. I went to get her a harness from the pet shop (another scary place, but nice people to come and pat me) and she stayed at Sarah's house for a bit and again easily fitted in with Sarah's dogs.... such an easily adjusted dog!!!! Eventually made it home at 7:30pm and we both flomped!!!! It was waaaay more than I intended to put into one day and I think that lead a little to the 'issues' or rather 'concerns' that came up today.
Lacey seemed a little aprehensive this morning when Mum & Dad came outside, doing a 'Murphy style' greeting... walking up, staying out of arms reach, submissive posture and a bit of a grumble.... this suprised me as she didn't seem like the type of dog to do this, being so confident when I met her. After a few mins, she recovered, but on our morning walk she did the same with any person that walked by. Again, after a few mins, she wasn't readily seeking out pats but was accepting them quite happily (waggily stump and all *g*!). The only reason I can think for this behaviour is the fact that yesterday was all so overwhelming and today everything has just sunk in and she is not sure about anything... she snuggled up to me all day, whenever she had the chance so on that scale of things it is still ok. Another thing that leads me to believe she is a little aprehensive is that she doesn't really want to play with toys... she won't chase them when thrown (I really want her to), but I think this will be overcome once she is more comfortable.... when we were playing with Leo she would eventually chase him with the toy and then they would chase whoever had the toy and she would also grab toys off the floor etc... so there is hope yet *g*!
The ears are still an issue as when she tilts her head back slightly or the wind catches them, they both go pricked but the right ear is worse than the left. So on that aspect I really have to sit down and consider how dissapointed i'll be if I couldn't show her.... try as we might to correct the ears (trust me I'll try everything)... From my perspective I think it is better to consider the worst case scenario and see how I would feel about that! All afternoon she has been getting more and more confident, but I haven't done anything other than let her sleep (after yesterday, who can blame her!) and having lots of cuddles. Leo has been a little put out and won't come up to me if she weasles her way in when i'm talking to him. This is breaking my heart as I hate to see him act like this... makes me feel sooo guilty! But he also has been becoming more like himself as the day goes on and the two of them are getting along like a house on fire. I've been encouraging Leo over while i'm patting Lacey, but if he puts on the 'sulks' I ignore him, if that makes sense... but I want him to know he and Lacey can be patted together. I am sure he will be fine in a few days as he usually does this whenever another dog comes over for an 'extended' stay. After he realises they aren't going anywhere he then proceeds to 'tell them off' should they get too pushy which is fine with me. I did take him out on his own this afternoon though and since then he has been a lot happier. Geez this is a long post but there was a lot to tell!!! Basically my main concerns at the moment is the sudden 'people shy' behaviour, which seems sooo unnatural 1) for Ana's pups and 2) from what we saw at Ana's place... so i'm hoping against hope that she returns to that bouncy, bubbly, run up to anyone puppy!!! The other concern is the ears as I really have to decide how i'll feel if they do go up!
Ok now for some photos!!!! (you deserve them after reading through all of that!)
To show how well the two of them get on already!
The 'bat eared dog'.... what she looks like if she tilts her head back!!!!!
I just 'had' to add this pic in - taken today... notice she is holding her ears lower...
3 comments:
Hahaha so why did you have to wait around for ages again lol. whoops. So sorry bout that i feel really guilty now hehe. stupid old melways :(
Gorgeous pics. Lacey is soooo cute :p
I'm sure she was just overwhelmed with the day before because she was certainly a very friendly outgoing little girl when i met her hehe. Coming from the expert here of course bahahaha.
Hi Amanda, Sorry, I did see your blog earlier but 3x I've tried to reply, 2x my helpful child has pulled the power cord out and then the last time pressed the power-off button on the CPU. Stinker is too smart for his own good!
Anyhow... just wanted to say that Lacie is a CUTIE! Was her brother at the Vic spec as I think I must have seen another pup about her age with a similar face there too?
I would tend to agree with you that her first day was way too busy/stressful for her... I probably would have been tempted to take her home and keep her there to settle in for a few days but I tend to be quite conservative. She *is* a very new littlie, and away from the people/places that she could feel secure and take her cues off of... I found that big time with Bella, once she'd bonded to me and Cade, if she wasn't sure about something she'd glace at us to see how WE were reacting and if we were cool and calm, she'd take it in stride. Bella was obviously a case of *extreme* unsocialization, being a 4 yo puppymill broodbitch without so much as a name when I got her.... but maybe useful for you guys?
From what you've described, I also wondered if later in the day she was actually less 'easy' than she may have appeared with the other dogs/places. Obviously I didn't see myself but being a young dog, away from any familiar surroundings and people, when she was showing nerves a few other times that day, I'd wonder if she wasn't a bit flooded-out and the 'easy' was a sort of non-action? It's hard to describe but I saw it with Bella sometimes, it's like a faked nonchallance iykwim? Obviously you can gauge far, far better... knowing her and being there, but maybe give her a few very quiet days to settle in, doing pretty much nothing and wait for those stress-hormones that are probably still a bit 'up' in her to settle back down. Then once she's not going to be hormonally 'up' and less able to cope, maybe have a little set up with some dog savy friends, having them approach while you stuff her with super yum treats from the time they're a blip on the horizon and if at any point she starts to look antsy about them, physically step in front of her, asking the person to back off. The person then of course does and you get to show her that people=yummo stuff and be a bit of a hero to her, protecting her from what she percieves as worrying... maybe a big weight off her shoulders if she doesn't feel like she's got to deal with all the worrying stuff herself yk? You probably already thought of it but I figured it was worth mentioning. It really helped with Cade when he was worried after a dog attack and with Charlotte as well to know their mum wore army boots and would protect them from the scarey maltipoos... ;-p
Gotta say, I can't wait to meet her in person and I'm sure Sisi will appreciate if another puppy wants to chanel some of Hope's energy for awhile!!!!! LOLOLOL
Hi Amanda,
thanks for your comments. You are right, I did think about most of that and I honestly did want to just take her home on Friday and let her settle in and absorb it all, but it just didn't work out that way (no hard feelings Kylie!). So Saturday she took it easy as for today (and tomorrow) also... sure, we are still having 'outings' such as going for a romp in the park, but nothing big... just letting her all take it in her stride etc. I did take her to a dog club today to watch on the outskirts and she didn't really participate (we weren't members anyway) and she coped with that remarkably well. She definately is still showing the 'people issue' which to be honest is still a real concern, but she is getting better and better, she is just really unsure... so i'm riding it along, giving her a bit of space and trying to find the fine line between socialising and just letting her 'absorb' it all, coz lets face it, after spending most of your days in the backyard, this is a BIG change. Each day she is getting better and better, but I think she has decided I am her security blanket to cling to... I'll keep you posted as to how she goes. As for the food thing - yep i've been doing that, and asking 'passer-by's' to 'pat the black dog'.... well... i've done it once today and will do it as time goes on. I just really hope she fits in and nothing goes wrong if ya get what I mean! As for how she reacted throughout the day - I think you are right... but she also did take it all in her stride... I just hope that she 'recovers' from the shock! LOL!
Post a Comment