Zoe Settles

Well, it's been a few weeks since the dog trainer visited and things are progressing stunningly well. There's been some hiccoughs and the odd sleepless night but the overall situation is vastly improved. Zoe is a different dog now! Happier and more settled. She sleeps indoors every night, in the tiny hall space outside my bedroom door. She's blocked from coming in my room by my indoor washing line which is collapsed down and wedged into the door way. On the other side, she can't get into the lounge because of a wooden child fence. As long as the bathroom, toilet, and studio doors are shut, she's penned into a little bed space where she can't get into mischief but can see me. It's working a treat, and the extra company through the night is calming her down amazingly.

I'm staying on top of the more interesting dog food too, i did another shop at my favorite local butcher today and came home with a box of food and treats. Here's her collection of 'raw soups' being made up today to be frozen: These are a toy to be given outside when I'm going away for awhile such as to college classes. They give her something to chew and keep her entertained. Today's are beef broth, with chicken necks, kibble, and corn kernels. She has to chew through the plastic and then lick away the ice to get to the yummy bits. She absolutely adores them.

She also gets quartered marrow bones to gnaw, and the Kong toy is regularly stuffed with treats. I'm getting the hang of that too, my freezer now always has a basin of Kong size treats such as tuna or baked beans frozen in ice cube trays, or little bite size bits of meat or banana. Her treat bag for clicker training is filled fresh every night from a container of finely chopped nibbles kept in the freezer. I currently alternate the type of treat to keep her interested. She has had tiny bits of fritz, and tiny bits of cheese. Today I fried some pork sausage on special and chopped that up super small for the treat bag too. I feel like a good pet owner finally. :)

I bought her another extra tough chew toy recently and she's bonded with it and won't sleep at night unless it's in her bed with her...cute! Walking on the lead is progressing slowly but surely, as is the sit and watch, and she gets tucked into bed with a treat when guests visit until they've settled and that is hugely helping curb the manic jumping. She is coming to training this Saturday with Rose and I for the first time, I'm nervous and excited for her! We'll also be gently introducing her to crate training soon, which opens the door to sleepovers and camping trips!... fingers crossed. The progress so far had been great, I wish I'd done this sooner! :)

Last night we went to the beach and practiced coming when called (not bad, unless there's another dog around) and sit and watch in public. She ran herself silly while Rose and I walked to the jetty and then came home and slept for hours... how that warms my heart!