Caleb is doing pretty great. He's approaching us more and more every day for pets. He stays longer and wants to get scratched over more of his body. We had to start with barely touching an ear and one side of his head. Then we got to go from ear to ear. Then it was a little of his neck. But now he pretty much likes to get all over pets. And that is HUGE. He'll also sit much closer to us when we do this. Every day seems to be progress with him.
Lily is pretty much assimilated into the family. She's very attached to both of us. She loves to be snuggled by both the hubster and me. She just loves to be with us. She's still very frightful of visitors but we know in time she'll be fine.
It just takes time......................
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
The smiley one and the ankle biter
Caleb has added huge smiles to his progress. He has the happiest face I have ever seen on a puppy. He smiles so much after we come home. I am still trying to figure out a way to capture it on film. It really is just the cutest.
We are making huge progress with him. He comes up to us so much more now for attention. We still have issues with approaching him and he won't come for pets when called, but on his terms he is quite anxious for love. He gave me a huge treat last night when he sat down right next to me on the couch and nudged me for love.
He really is doing astoundingly well. We are so very proud of him.
Now, as for our little peanut. Lily is fabulous with the hubster and I. She is all about the love. She comes when we call her. She will sit in our laps and hang out. She's pretty much assimilated herself into our lives completely. The only thing we have to figure out how to deal with is her extreme hyperness. She bounces off the walls. We have been exercising her but she is still almost always wound up.
The other day a friend of mine came over. When she was walking out of the living room Lily charged out of the kennel and grabbed the back of her pants trying to bite her. As my friend put it, a mosquito would do more damage, but that's not the point. And as she and I further talked the damage could be far greater with a child. The second time she went at her my friend turned and looked at Lily and told her no. Lily backed off immediately.
My friend hadn't see the dogs since the week we brought them home. Her impression was that Caleb has made the most progress. She said he is fearful but curious. Where as Lily is just fearful and that her way of dealing with the stress is aggression. And she's right. We haven't had many people over since we got the dogs. But what we have seen is Caleb who avoids them but his tail is wagging and he's content. He'll go up to them for food but otherwise is just simply a little cautious around them. Lily on the other hand will sit in her kennel and growl at them the entire time they are at the house. And apparently, if given the opportunity will charge them. The hubster said she had done it before I was just off somewhere else so I didn't see it.
But, as in the case of my friend, as soon as she let Lily know her behavior was unacceptable Lily did back off. So she can learn. And she does listen.
It's just a matter of patience. And things will be just fine. They have come so far in so little time. We know what we need to work on and we are aware of the issues. We aren't in denial. We have more company coming on Wednesday. So it will be interesting to see how it goes. They know what to expect and the problems we currently have so they are prepared to help us along.
Anyway, I look forward every night to going home to my puppies. Our house is just so full of happiness. And I wouldn't change a thing.
We are making huge progress with him. He comes up to us so much more now for attention. We still have issues with approaching him and he won't come for pets when called, but on his terms he is quite anxious for love. He gave me a huge treat last night when he sat down right next to me on the couch and nudged me for love.
He really is doing astoundingly well. We are so very proud of him.
Now, as for our little peanut. Lily is fabulous with the hubster and I. She is all about the love. She comes when we call her. She will sit in our laps and hang out. She's pretty much assimilated herself into our lives completely. The only thing we have to figure out how to deal with is her extreme hyperness. She bounces off the walls. We have been exercising her but she is still almost always wound up.
The other day a friend of mine came over. When she was walking out of the living room Lily charged out of the kennel and grabbed the back of her pants trying to bite her. As my friend put it, a mosquito would do more damage, but that's not the point. And as she and I further talked the damage could be far greater with a child. The second time she went at her my friend turned and looked at Lily and told her no. Lily backed off immediately.
My friend hadn't see the dogs since the week we brought them home. Her impression was that Caleb has made the most progress. She said he is fearful but curious. Where as Lily is just fearful and that her way of dealing with the stress is aggression. And she's right. We haven't had many people over since we got the dogs. But what we have seen is Caleb who avoids them but his tail is wagging and he's content. He'll go up to them for food but otherwise is just simply a little cautious around them. Lily on the other hand will sit in her kennel and growl at them the entire time they are at the house. And apparently, if given the opportunity will charge them. The hubster said she had done it before I was just off somewhere else so I didn't see it.
But, as in the case of my friend, as soon as she let Lily know her behavior was unacceptable Lily did back off. So she can learn. And she does listen.
It's just a matter of patience. And things will be just fine. They have come so far in so little time. We know what we need to work on and we are aware of the issues. We aren't in denial. We have more company coming on Wednesday. So it will be interesting to see how it goes. They know what to expect and the problems we currently have so they are prepared to help us along.
Anyway, I look forward every night to going home to my puppies. Our house is just so full of happiness. And I wouldn't change a thing.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Head scratchings and snuggle bugs
The exciting news is Caleb has been far more tolerant and anxious for head scratches. We have even had some full body petting and scratching. Usually he lets us pet him from quite a distance. We have to stretch our hand out and we can barely scratch his muzzle and ears. But this weekend he has been more anxious for love. And he's not only stayed close for scratching but he has put his whole body under my hand. He's done it with dad as well. We are so excited.
Lily fell asleep twice in my lap Sunday. She was snoring like a freight train. It does my heart good to know that she feels safe enough to go to sleep with me.
She's really becoming quite the little sweetheart. She's still a pistol and a half but along with her high energy and puppy like enthusiasm a sweet and affectionate dog is surfacing. I knew she had it in her. It was just a matter of a little time and love. She's been affectionate for a while now but there is a new level of sweetness to it.
I can't express how thrilled I am at their progress. We still have a long way to go with Caleb but we made some promising progress.
He was also surprisingly social when our friends were over Saturday night. He didn't just hide in his kennel. He was out, his tail was wagging. And he took food from both our guests.
Exciting and promising all around.
Patience and time, it just takes patience and time. As well as a whole lot of love.
Lily fell asleep twice in my lap Sunday. She was snoring like a freight train. It does my heart good to know that she feels safe enough to go to sleep with me.
She's really becoming quite the little sweetheart. She's still a pistol and a half but along with her high energy and puppy like enthusiasm a sweet and affectionate dog is surfacing. I knew she had it in her. It was just a matter of a little time and love. She's been affectionate for a while now but there is a new level of sweetness to it.
I can't express how thrilled I am at their progress. We still have a long way to go with Caleb but we made some promising progress.
He was also surprisingly social when our friends were over Saturday night. He didn't just hide in his kennel. He was out, his tail was wagging. And he took food from both our guests.
Exciting and promising all around.
Patience and time, it just takes patience and time. As well as a whole lot of love.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Goofy puppies
We took Caleb and Lily for a walk during the holidays and discovered that Caleb hates water so much he preferrs laying in a puddle over walking through it. How odd is that?
But both dogs, once we got them on dryer ground walked quite well with us. It takes a while to get Caleb going strong but after a while he gives in and walks with the family.
He is still fearful of us but we see little glimmers of progress. For instance when we herd them into the kitchen to wipe off their paws he wags his tail more and is more anxious to get cleaned off. He doesn't cower any where near as much as he used to.
He also seems to come close for pets more often now. This morning he stepped over Lily to get me to give him love. It doesn't last for long but every time he does it he is braver and stays a little bit longer.
He even got up on the couch with me yesterday. He curled up on the other end of course, but hey, it's progress.
Lily is pretty much fine. She's very attached to us or at least seems to be.
We still have to work on the potty training with her when it comes to rainy days. Dad even built her a covered potty shelter to try to help encourage her to go outside.
Thankfully she isn't phased by snow. She's more than willing to go potty out when it's snowing.
That is a blessing.
But both dogs, once we got them on dryer ground walked quite well with us. It takes a while to get Caleb going strong but after a while he gives in and walks with the family.
He is still fearful of us but we see little glimmers of progress. For instance when we herd them into the kitchen to wipe off their paws he wags his tail more and is more anxious to get cleaned off. He doesn't cower any where near as much as he used to.
He also seems to come close for pets more often now. This morning he stepped over Lily to get me to give him love. It doesn't last for long but every time he does it he is braver and stays a little bit longer.
He even got up on the couch with me yesterday. He curled up on the other end of course, but hey, it's progress.
Lily is pretty much fine. She's very attached to us or at least seems to be.
We still have to work on the potty training with her when it comes to rainy days. Dad even built her a covered potty shelter to try to help encourage her to go outside.
Thankfully she isn't phased by snow. She's more than willing to go potty out when it's snowing.
That is a blessing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
