"Wild horses.....couldn't drag me away....."

 Wild Horses...

Walks
I seriously felt like I was being pulled by a Clydesdale tonight. The walk started off on the wrong foot before we even left the door. I grabbed my hat, threw it on, got my sneakers on, and went to get Grace for her walk. I was going to do exactly what I did this morning - take her ID collar and bring her towards the door, THEN put her leash on there with some treats. As I approached her, she bolted upstairs.

I stood there, stunned.

Is this the way it is going to be?  
All I want to do is take my dog for a walk before she goes to bed...
Is that so wrong?

And then I realized....

I was wearing a HAT.

Joyce had told me that sometimes greyhounds are skittish around people wearing hats because the handlers at the racetrack always wear hats (and shorts.) I completely forgot. I was just throwing it on because my hair was not looking its best. Arrrgh!

So, in realizing that as a possible issue, I waited about 5 min for her to come back down on her own, before trying again (minus hat.) She got up with me easily and came over to the door, letting me put on her martingale collar + leash, but not accepting treats. We started our walk and it did not go very well. The good news was that a cat surprised her from behind a trash can. *I* didn't even see it coming. Her reaction was to simply stop and look away. I guess that is an excellent sign for outdoor cats!

The bad news was that she pulled about 80% of the time. Not  just regular pulling, but pulling like a HORSE.

There was just too much going on during this walk - people taking out trashcans, kids outside, people in their garages making noise, people on the sidewalks, wind blowing, you name it.

So I cut our walk short and brought her home.

She was stressed, I could tell.

I walked in the door feeling disappointed.
But when I went upstairs and she followed me up only to lay on the floor near me, I couldn't help but smile.
Last week she would have never done that.

Last week she would not:
~go up the stairs...now she comes up to sleep and follows me up to lay in the office with me while I am on computer

~let me pet her...now she lets me pet her when we are outside in the yard sometimes or when she is laying down. Sometimes she even comes UP to me for pets now, especially in the office or yard.

~eat if I was in the same room...now she eats breakfast AND dinner in my presence. Plus, I can move around the kitchen while she is eating. (Tonight she finally ate dinner while I was in the kitchen! Woo!)

~eat if I was moving anywhere near her...now I can put dishes away or go back and forth from fridge to counter

~pass by me anywhere..now she will pass me in the hallway and even the stairs!! We are still working on her passing me to get in and out of the backyard, since she is hesitant to pass in the narrow kitchen still. She will even pass Béla closely as long as she is not hissing at her.

~let me pass her anywhere...now I can pass her while she is laying in the hallway upstairs, pass her while she is eating, and pass her on the stairs. She will also let Béla pass her, as long as so hissing is involved.

~go anywhere near the big scary leaves in the yard...now she lays under them

So much progress for one week with this little scared girl!

So instead of being disappointed, I am going to go to sleep with a smile...celebrating in my mind all of the progress Graice has shown this past week! So much to be happy for really!

~She continues to be AMAZING with the cat. I need to keep that in mind. She is still going strong with showing ZERO interest in chasing/eating/playing with the cat.

~She has NOT had an accident in the house. Nope. Not once!

~She has NOT chewed or destroyed ANYTHING.

~We can leave for hours and she does not show ANY signs of separation anxiety.

~She will go to the bathroom out in the back yard in the same spot, especially right before bed (I think she figured out that she gets a treat for going to the bathroom in the same spot in the yard.....and a cookie at last turnout!)

~She lets me brush her teeth every night.

For all of the challenges we face, Gracie truly is an amazingly good dog.

LOVE!

See the heart??  I sure do!  LOVE!

With Sarah Jessica Barker (my friend's little girl gave this to her yesterday.) She carried it upstairs this morning.

Being cute outside!

Letting me pet her using the Love Glove (grooming mit!) - Big step!

Oh,...

Did I mention....she's amazing around Béla?


Oh, yeah... I know I did!  :)


Rock on, Gracie!!!!!!!