Hi Paul & Sarah,
Poppy has settled in well. We’re talking long walks every day, exploring the various parks, with my dad and his dog Jessie. The two dogs get on well, and Poppy is well behaved off lead ranging a short distance ahead with Jessie. Poppy especially likes walks through woodland. It is a pleasure to see her bouncy and uninhibited as she bounds through the woods, as she is cautious verging on timid much of the time. The circle of people she trusts is gradually expanding to include the wider family. We’ve been practicing sit and down, and Poppy has discovered the joy of chasing after a ball. We’re having a lot of fun.
Hope you’re well,
Caroline
She’s coming out of her shell, and is now perfectly happy trotting out of the house into the garden. Each day I’ve been introducing new experiences, yesterday’s biggie was a walk round the block, today was the vets. On the walk yesterday she met the postman, and two neighbours who made a fuss of her. She was happy in the vets although there was a little stretch of busy road we had to walk along to get there, which she wasn’t so happy about. I gave her some time to sit, listen and watch the traffic, then she was ok. My dad’s border collie, Jessie, has come to stay with us for a while. Jessie has shown Poppy where the best couch grass grows in my garden, and has demo’d some of the toys that Poppy didn’t know what to do with. Poppy is learning fast.
All the best,
Caroline
Hi Paul & Sarah,
I was just about to call you and let you know how day 1 with Trixie has been, when I realised I’d missed your office hours, so I thought I’d email instead since we’ve had such a great day today.
I’ve decided to call her Poppy, since she wasn’t responding to Trixie, but was listening when I did the pup-pup-pup-puppy call. Puppy, Poppy, Puppy, Poppy. It’s working and she’s responding to her name J
Poppy was very timid when we got home and we had a couple of accidents in the house which I’ve cleaned up without a fuss. She’s least comfortable in the garden and refuses to step outside (so I’ve been carrying her over the threshold). Anyway we’ve been out in the garden lots of times today, and each time she’s been braver, done more sniffing and isn’t sticking so close to me. This afternoon she even relaxed enough to do her business in the garden, which I’m particularly happy about J Little breakthrough this evening was that after coming indoors, having had a fun time in the garden, I turned around and went straight back out again and she followed me over the threshold without hesitation. I think carrying her outside will be a thing of the past very soon.
In the house she’s very relaxed unless she has to move. She’s identified lots of chairs/sofas/etc around the house which are safe havens and if she has to move (because I’ve moved to another room in the house) she does it in a dash. This too is becoming less of a thing as she gains confidence.
This morning my dad and his dog Jessie came to visit, which was a great success. She charmed my dad in much the same way as she charmed me. I’ve attached a photo taken this morning after dad’s visit.
I’ll be on the phone straight away if we have any problems, otherwise I’ll drop you another email in a week to let you know how we’re doing.
All the best,
Caroline
No comments:
Post a Comment