Preparing for change

We have a new dog.

I have written a little about this in the main blog, as I was covering death and grief, but I was talking with a friend this morning and I realized some things that are worth writing about.

http://sporkful.blogspot.com/2013/12/adjusting.html


One was in which these dogs are very different is that Jane was hyper and bold and always into things. Adele is very shy. She is also straight out of the adoption kennel. We have never had that combination before. Jenny was very shy, but she had been in a home before, and lived with a few different people. We have had a few dogs come straight from the kennel, but they were fairly confident dogs.

Where this has become difficult is the combination of fear with lack of knowledge. She did not know the difference between a home and crates and this part is the yard, and you do your business out there, but because she was also scared to let us know that she needed to go, it made it harder to teach her. This led to a few accidents, but also for a while she was only peeing once a day, which I know can't be comfortable.

That part is mostly worked out. She understands that this is something that you do in the yard now, and we get her in the yard on a regular basis. The other level there, and what Geno does, would be going to the door when she need to go, and we would open it for her, but she does not quite comprehend that she has the freedom to do that yet.

Right now her safe spot is the dog bed between my closet and desk. She will wander a little beyond that, but then she gets scared and runs back. A couple of times a day I will lead her into the living room, and pet her and talk to her, and then she will run back. I do it to try and show her that it is fine to be out there, but I'm not sure that she is getting the message.

Seeing that Geno moves about comfortably may eventually help, but the thing that will probably help most is her desire to be with us. When I am working at my computer and she is lying down next to me, I know that she is comfortable and relaxed. I'm glad to give her that, and it is certainly better that it is this spot - the first day it was the bathroom, and she stayed in there as four women got ready for church, which was not ideal.

When I have her in the living room, she may enjoy the attention, but she is anxious. When she creeps out into the hall, and approaches the living room, she is very anxious. These times are good for her. They are part of her path to where she will be happier.

That's what came together today. I know home life is very different from kennel life. I feel pretty comfortable saying that home life is better. I know this adjustment is going to lead to good things for Adele. I just hadn't thought about how human it was.

Sometimes there are so many things we could do that we don't even know. Sometimes things could be so much better, and we don't even see it because we are afraid. But if a young dog can learn, then we should be able to reason it out.