3 week Progress Report 11/15/09

It's finally safe to say that she is in fact progressing.

She is still the same normal and happy dog when she is in the backyard with my other dogs. She is playful and loves to run around and wrestle with them. When I am in the yard standing or walking around she is now walking normally around me. If I am upright she will stay about 3-5 feet away and follow me around the yard but if I squat down she all but tumbles on her side for belly rubs.

The biggest (and best) change that I have noticed is that she no longer has issues with coming in and out of the house (unless I have company). She will even come in if I am standing in the doorway (not just behind the door).

She is also okay with me approaching her crate and no longer shrinks to the back or side walls. More importantly I no longer have to be conscious of my approach, I can walk in straight line to her, body facing forward, making eye contact and she will still stay toward the front of the crate... head down but tail wagging feverishly.

Every evening I sit in front of her crate (with the door open) petting and talking to Harley and Tuck and she now sticks her head through the door to sniff and greet me. She is comfortable with all handling and occasionally paws at my hands for more. When she greets me I massage her head, tug on her ears, give noogies to her muzzle, and tell her what a weirdo she is over and over again. She seems to find it all very relaxing and I just laugh at her and wonder if she will be the longest ADR foster EVER...

She is still not housetrained and I think that is going to be our biggest hurdle. Housetraining in my house has always been me giving lots of praise when the dogs do their business outside and if I catch them in the act inside I make a ton of noise and promptly escort the dog outside to finish their business. Unfortunately, making a ton of noise and rushing her out the door isn't really an option with this one.

I do let her loose in my house to explore when she comes in from outside but only for about 20 minutes. She is fascinated by the puppies and if I have one in my lap, you can all but guarantee that Quinnie's head is there too.

She has started to take notice of what is going on outside of the fenced yard and she is unfortunately a barker. I of course treat her like I do the rest of my kids and yell at her to shut her mouth, its really only effective if I come outside and take notice of what it is she is barking at, which leads me to believe she just wants me to know what is going on.

When friends are over and she is outside she does bark at them while keeping her distance. If they sit on the ground or crouch down she will stop barking, move closer to sniff (10ft away) and occasionally chuff. A friend of mine, who visits often, has not been shaving the past week or so and Quinnie has taken a noticeable dislike to him recently. She has always been very reserved but she is down right weary of the beard. I have never felt that she has been abused as much as she has been under-socialized but this has me wondering.