Well, we're barely into week three and, I am beginning to see why Grace's last family returned her; she is quite the handful. That is not to say that I am contemplating sending her packing.

Grace has come a long way as I mentioned in my previous post. She has recently been switched to a retractable leash. She really likes the freedom that it gives her. It's not as heavy as the other one, so it doesn’t scare her.

Also with the retractable one, I don't use the choker. She is used to me following behind her as we walk, so she's not startled to the point that she needs to run and hide like she did the first night.

Since we're on the subject of our walks, I have just begun trying to get her to actually run when outside instead of just sniffing around and going potty.

The way I do it is to run up behind her. At first she was scared by it because she didn't know why I was running up behind her. She would then run a short distance, stop, turn towards me, and cower.

Now, I think she realizes that I'm not a threat, and she runs a little further. When she stops, she no longer cowers but, sniffs the ground. She still looks back while she runs to make sure that it's still me.

I've also realized that she seems to be experiencing some severe separation anxiety. On Thursday, I forgot to stop at the store on my way home. Once I got home, I took her out to go potty. I figured once she had done that, she would be okay.

I put her back in the room and closed the door behind me. I expected to hear some scratching at the door. What I did not expect was the howling that she started.

I walked back in to find her standing on top of her kennel. So, I set up my video camera to record her while I was gone.

I was gone for roughly 25 minutes. When I returned, she had cleared off my dresser, pulled things off the back of my door hooks, and pulled some things off my shelf.

After looking at the video, I learned that for the entire 25 minutes that I was gone, Grace was running around the room in a crazed state of mind. I couldn’t see everything, but I could certainly hear it. That howl I mentioned earlier was fairly consistent. She sounded so lonely.

I cleaned up the mess and sat at the computer. I was in Google mode.

The behavior that she exhibited was exactly what I thought it was: separation anxiety. The Humane Society website has an excellent article on this condition that includes tips on how to work through the anxiety. So, I am in the process of trying some of these tips.

On Saturday, we took our first ‘road trip’. We drove to my Uncle Bill’s house to surprise him for his 50th birthday. After about ten minutes in the car, and some winding road, Grace’s stomach decided it had had enough. Luckily, we happened to have a towel in the car, and I was able to clean up the majority of the mess.

Most of the rest of the trip was good. Grace slept for almost the whole three hours. She did experience a little more sickness once we were off the interstate.

My uncle has a big back yard that Grace fell in love with. It is fenced in, so I was able to take her leash off and let her run free when she had to go to the bathroom.

Our time there was good. Grace was balled up on the couch since she didn’t like all the people that were around, but she did well; no accidents in the house.

The ride home was much the same as the ride up, yet she only got sick once. Poor thing.

So, as you can see, Grace has come quite a long way in the last two weeks. We only have to work on her response to me leaving her alone. That will be the most difficult part, but, once we get past that, everything should be just peachy.

Thanks for reading.

Update

I have set up a secondary camera.

Grace will be on a trial run on Tuesday, January 26th.

She will be cut loose during in the bedroom during the day, and we will be able to see her from two angles now. I still need to figure out the best position for the second camera, but like I said, it's a trial run.

Click here.

Fridays on Grace-cam

I just want to apologize to anyone who may have tried to check on Grace for me today. My mom does not work on Fridays, so she spent the day with Grace.

This will be a regular thing.

Thank you to those who check in on her. I know it's not anything too exciting, but it's kind of cool to see what a dog does when they are home alone.

We will eventually get to a point where Grace will be out of the kennel/crate and we will be able to see her more active side.

The First Week

So last week, I talked about the adoption process of my new dog, Grace. That was an exhilarating process.

This week, it's all about her progress thus far. You may recall the note that was passed to me from her previous adopter that outline Grace's progress after a month with them; she learned her name and the command 'come', she would even let them rub her tummy while they watched TV, etc.

Well, it's been one week since I brought Grace home; her progress has exceeded my expectations.

Let's start where we left off:
(Insert ripples and flashback sound effects)

Grace and I spent the first two nights with Amanda up at Council Crest where she lives; she also happened to be house-sitting for a neighbor.

As I mentioned before, I was not planning to take a dog home when I arrived at OHS last Wednesday. So, needless to say, I had no equipment to aide in raising a dog. Luckily, Amanda has a family of dog owners.

We got to the house that Amanda was sitting and set Grace down in the bathroom and shut the door; we had to walk to Amanda's so that we could grab a kennel/crate that her dad has lent to me. Amanda also had dog walking duties of her own to attend to.

During the 30-minutes that we were gone, Grace had made a mess of the bathroom. After cleaning up the mess, I took her downstairs and put her in the kennel with some food and water. It was getting late, and I had to work the next day so, I decided to shower and get ready for bed.

Once in my pj's, I thought I'd try taking Grace outside for a walk. I hooked her up just as I did at the shelter, and carried her outside. She still seemed to have little interest in the outside world. However, we walked around for about five minutes.

Suddenly she stopped walking. So, I called to her and gave a slight tug on the leash; she didn't like that one bit. In an instant, she turned into the Tasmanian Devil from the cartoons and started jumping and rearing and spinning. She didn't stop until we both realized that she had slipped out of her harness.

That trainer's words rang through my head. I was pretty pissed off at myself for "letting" Gracie break away knowing that I would have to possibly face that trainer and admit that I was a failure at dog ownership.

Despite the way I felt, I sprang into action and called for Grace to "come". If you remember, the first family that had her was able to use that command with her. Well, it didn't work for me. It also didn't help that every step closer to her that I got, she ran four. Eventually, she ran up behind the house across the street, where it was dark.

Once I decided to get Amanda's help, and a flashlight, it didn't take long to find Grace. She had ended up around the corner at the bottom of this steep slope covered with ivy and sticker bushes. As soon as she spotted the light (and Amanda spotted her) she took off up the hill.

Because Grace was more responsive to Amanda at the shelter (and because I was wearing slippers), Amanda offered to trudge up the hill after her in her rain boots and leopard print pajamas.

Because she was freaking out, scared out of her mind, Grace eventually reached a point on the incline where she could go no further. She backed up into a bush and waited for Amanda to grab a hold of her.

After that incident, I realized what I did wrong. When training a dog to walk in a harness, it is important to have a back-up plan. In this case, it is a slip-knot method. You hook the clip of the leash to the hook on the harness, and wrap the ‘handle’ of the leash around her neck, similar to how you would set a yo-yo on your finger. If the dog should happen to slip out of the harness, you will be able to cinch up the slip-knot to keep a hold of the dog until you can calm them down.

I have since found a special leash in the box of goodies that allows an easier slip-knot effect, and I use it every time I take her out.

Furthermore, Grace is really beginning to enjoy being with me. The first night back at my house was, likely, overwhelming for her. My niece, Kiara, and nephew, Lorenzo, were over for the weekend, too.

We have learned that for some reason, Grace is not comfortable with Lorenzo. Saturday morning (after the first night) someone walked by the bedroom door towards the bathroom. Grace was cuddled up with me in bed, and perked up her ears, and let out a protective growl; one that is quiet yet deterring. I thought it was cute. Throughout the day, if Lorenzo came into the room, she would growl at him; she even barked at the sight of him once.

In summary, Grace has made tons of progress since that first night:

• She plays with me just before bed, either with her toys, or we ‘wrestle’, meaning I put my hands in her face, and she tries to bite them, and swat them away.
• She has not gone to the bathroom in the house since the first night here, not even on the wee-wee pads. When she is in her kennel during the day, she tears the pads up, and waits for me to get home to go out and go potty.
• She walks with her leash without any trouble, and knows why she is outside; to sniff the entire ground before going potty.
• She understands that I am here for her protection, and to provide her with the love and affection that she had not experience before she was rescued.

There are still some things to work on too:

• She is not comfortable with anyone but me.
• She wants to tear things up, as puppies do.
• She is still terrified of any sound that she does not know, i.e. the wind the other night got her barking, and growling; she is very jumpy.

As the trainer at OHS told me, this is, potentially, a 14-year commitment. I have plenty of time to bring her up to that full potential that I saw that first day at the shelter.

If you haven’t done so yet, please take a look at Grace on the webcam that I have set up. Click here to visit her home page, and follow the link that is there.

Grace Cam is up!

I have set up a web cam, and Grace is the star! I put it up mostly so that I can keep an eye on her when she's alone.

Click here to check it out. (It requires Windows Media Player, I believe...)

Of course, nothing will be showing while I am home, just because she won't need an eye kept on her... :)

Check it out between the hours of 6:00am PST and 4:00pm PST.

The Adoption of Grace Isabella

"Grace was rescued from Tillamook, OR. There, she lived with too many dogs and did not receive enough human attention. In her new home, Grace will need patient owners who understand that it will take her time to adjust to family life. She will need time to feel comfortable in her new home, and get used to interacting with people. Given time, we think that Gracie's personality will begin to shine!" --Oregon Humane Society (OHS)

Grace arrived at OHS in early December from Tillamook. She was one of 107 rat terriers (I will be referring to her as a short-haired terrier) that were surrendered when the breeder was charged with animal neglect.

Grace spent a few days at OHS before being adopted by another couple. When she arrived at her new home, her first instinct was to run and hide under a cabinet in the corner. After one month with her new family, she was running freely around the house, cuddling, and would even let them rub her tummy.

Grace made such wonderful progress with her new family. Unfortunately, they were unable to keep her longer than one month. Grace was returned to OHS on January 10th with a letter that outlined her progress.

On January 13th, I was reading the days local news stories on FOX12 as I do every morning. One story that caught my eye was of a handful of chihuahua's that were being transferred from Merced, CA to Portland. California has too many chihuahua's to care for, and these pups were at risk to be put down.

A young chihuahua named Smeagle caught my eye. As soon as I saw him, I made the decision to adopt; if not now, then soon. To adopt Smeagle would have cost $250. So, I put in a request for an advance in my pay (that I would pay back out of MY money). However, I was denied once they found out that it was to be used to adopt a dog, and not for an emergency expense.

I was pretty upset. That is when I realized that the reason I have been feeling the way I have, and acting the way I have could possibly have been the onset of a depression. I put two and two together, and realized that I NEEDED a dog for therapeutic reasons.

So, Amanda and I drove out to OHS after I got off work. I didn't have anything in mind, nor did I even intend on adopting that night. We walked through each section of the shelter, mainly focusing on the smaller dogs (I live in an apartment, people!).

When I first came across Grace Isabella, she was very shy towards me. As soon as I stepped in front of her kennel, she walked to the back; she was extremely shy and skiddish. I could see that she needed someone to give her unconditional love and attention; I had plenty to send her way. I pulled her card, and gave it to the gal at the front desk so that I could meet with Grace.

As I sat in the stone 'meeting room' with the handler and Grace, I could see so much more of her. It's hard to put into words. She needed me.

I returned to the front after about 10-minutes in that room, and filled out the paperwork.

Several minutes later, Amanda and I were approached by one of OHS's certified trainers. This lady, Laurie, was very... Umm... In your face with here explanations of Grace's personality. I believe that it was her job to make me see the worst possible scenario if I were to adopt Grace. "Grace does not like leashes, how do you plan to deal with that?" "What if her behavior does not change for the rest of her expected 14-years with you? You do realize that this is a long-term commitment that could last for that long, right?" Stuff like that. She also informed us of the reason that Grace was returned by her recent family. She said it was behavioral, and that Grace was not making much progress, and that it was likely that she wouldn't make much progress.

Then, she wanted to see how I did with Grace, and attempting to get her into a harness and leash. So, back to the stone 'meeting room'. After fumbling around with the stupid harness (it was only difficult to see which way it went), I got it on her correctly, and hooked her onto a leash. Next, we went outside to see how I interact with her 'shut-down' behavior. I did just fine, I was calm, and patient. I believe that trainer started to see that I was intent on taking this dog home that night, and that I was going to give her all I had.

We went back inside, bid adieu to the trainer, and the rest of the wait began.

Okay, it wasn't that long a wait. We met with the adoption consultant and went over Graces short medical history, and the progress she made with her previous adopters. This is where I learned that Grace not returned for the reasons that the trainer told us, but because they were preparing to put their house up for sale, and that they were unable to add that to their plate with Grace.

That is when I really realized the true potential that Grace possessed. In the month that they had her, she had learned the command "come," to call her to their side, as well as "kennel," to get her into her kennel at night, and when they were leaving. They also outlined the things that she was not so clear on, such as going to the bathroom. She would go outside at times, if they were able to get the leash on her, and other times she would go on her Piddle Pads. Of course, Grace also had accidents on the carpet at times.

I didn't let any of that deter me. I was ready to sign the papers and pay the fee so I could take my new friend home. And, that we did.

Next week, I intend to post an update you with some highlights (and lowlights) of her first week with me.