"You've Got a Friend...."

James Taylor / Carole King  "You've Got a Friend"

Friends

We had a bunch of friends over yesterday. Seven of them to be exact. Needless to say, this was extremely overwhelming for Gracie. I warned everyone ahead of time that she most likely would hide upstairs in a safe corner of the bedroom (and that they shouldn't take it personally!) Of course everyone wanted to see Gracie, so I brought up one person at a time to just simply stand by the bedroom door with me so Gracie could see them and watch us interact as friends. I wanted Gracie to see my friends and I hugging each other and speaking lovingly towards each other to try to get her to see that these strange people walking in her home are safe and loving, just like mom. Some left a tasty treat for Grace near her before going back downstairs. I discovered that Gracie really likes cheddar cheese. Very hard for me to buy, since I am vegan, but I need to do what is best for her right now. (The veg cheese just wasn't cutting it for her!) She even took a piece of cheese from my friend Amber's hand!!!! Grace had met Amber last week while we were walking past her house one day. Perhaps Grace knew her as familiar and was able to accept a treat and eat it from her hand? I am hoping that is a good sign that in the future she will warm up to others as well. 

When everyone left, it took her about 30 minutes to come out of the bedroom. Once she did, we went outside where she proceeded to sniff every single chair out there and all around the table where people were sitting. Once again, hoping this is a good sign. With our friends I am just going to be super patient and let Grace decide when she feels ready to hang out downstairs with everyone. The day I post a picture of her with my friends hanging out will be a happy day! They are all so excited about her progress so far and have brought her lots of toys, treats, and gift cards already. I am very lucky to have such wonderful and loving friends!

Walks

We had a kickass walk in the morning! I was so proud of her! She was hesitant at first (ok, I had to force her a little to go out the gate) but once we got walking she was a rockstar! We walked 1.5 miles with her leash being loose about 90% of the time! The only time she pulled was when we passed a home where she could hear a baby crying loudly. Other than that I think she really enjoyed this walk!!!! Thanks to the mist in the air, there were not many other people outside. I loved it! Being from New Jersey originally, I don't get to experience much rain in Southern California. After a few years of living here I started to miss rain. Now I see why my students get so excited when it rains here!

Nighttime

Last night I did not get much sleep. I kept waking up and looking for Grace, looking for Béla (no muzzle on Grace tonight so I was on guard,) listening for Grace getting restless, wondering if she'd give me a warning bark if she had to pee, etc....

Well, she slept well and did give me a warning bark, but luckily not until 5:45am.

Good girl! I promise to always listen to your bark telling me, "I need to go out!"

I barely take naps, but looking at this.....

Zzzzzzzzzz........

 and this....

Zzzzzzz........

...makes me think I might need one today....

Random
For those of you with pets who shed...
I read about this trick to use a latex glove to clean pet hair.
I didn't believe it until I tried it. SO EASY to use!

Gracie doesn't leave hair anywhere, but Béla does leave some on the couch...

It's a scary world out there...but I'm getting braver each day!