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.
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