It’s been too long since I posted.

First of all, two weeks ago Zoe and I drove into upperstate New York to visit with friends from the BC Rescue. Zoe crammed herself into the very small wedge-like area underneath one of the folded-down backseats and refused to move. I left her there for a while when we went out to eat.

When we got back from brunch I brought her into my friend’s house while we worked on a fundraising project. Zoe did pretty well, honestly. We were there for hours, and she spent the first half of that underneath the kitchen table by my feet. My friend’s dog was a little perplexed by this, as he kept walking up to her with a toy in his mouth, squeaking it provocatively. Zoe wanted nothing to do with him or his toy. He was positively crushed. (I played tug with him to make up for it!) It’s not really that Zoe’s afraid of other dogs - she honestly couldn’t really care less if he was there or not.

My friend also has two cats who hate dogs. She asked me first how Zoe is with cats. I told her - Zoe loves cats. But if they dont’ want to play with her then she leaves them alone. The first time she saw one of the cats she stood about 5 feet back and whined a bit. I think she knew right off the bad that this was not a friendly cat, but she still wanted to go up and say hi. A few hours into our visit the other cat poked his head around the corner down the hallway. I guess it started Zoe and she had no idea what it was - all you could see was a shadowy blob with glowing eyes - because she suddenly got to her feet and started growling in a very threatening way. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard her make a sound like that! I asked her what the heck was the matter and she seemed to make sense of it all. Soon as she realized it was a cat she started whining again. (The cat wasn’t very amused by it all.)

So we ended up being there all day, and Zoe did really really well. By the end of the day her tail was up. My friend had a bunch of stinky dog treats and Zoe decided she wasn’t all that scary if she gave out free treats. By the end of the day she was actually running over to her! Her tail was up in a relaxed manner even, just walking around sniffing things.

There was a very unfortunate pee accident on the floor though. :sigh: And that was totally my fault, as I didn’t realize how long we’d been there for.

All in all I think it was a positive experience. I’m not so certain Zoe would agree - she survived, but I’m pretty sure if asked to repeat it she would still vote for “No.” (Not like she has a choice in that!)

I just love my doggie. I got home a little early from work today so I had time to shower before going to pick hubby up from work. And I decided that since she was out of her crate I’d take her with me.

She really doesn’t like the truck. She wouldn’t get in on her own, I had to leash her and coax her in. She still is very nervous when she gets out of the truck at Den’s work, but she followed me inside as usual and dragged me to his office. I think it’s really cool that they let me bring the dogs into the office building.

Then on the way home we stopped at Den’s gram’s house to pick up some chairs (Zoe didn’t like it there AT ALL, too noisy with traffic, she went straight back into the truck). And our second stop was the feed store to buy some dog treats and dog food. She did pretty well inside! Skittish, as usual, but she handled it. No major freak-outs. And I learned from last time - this time I put her in the front seat while they loaded the stuff into the cargo area. She actually really likes riding by my feet under the dashboard. I think it’s pretty safe for her - it’s a confined space, and she’s away from the airbags. She just likes to hide.

Just now she had to go out to pee. So I just let her run off-leash as I walked with her to the backyard. She behaves SO well! She trots along ahead of me, went and did her business in the brush, then came out and we played tag for a few minutes. Back and forth, me chasing her then her chasing me. I love playing with my dog. I must look silly, out there in a turtleneck and skirt and winter boots, running around with my dog like a kid would do. But it’s just so much fun. We both had huge grins on our faces. Then she trots along with me back around to the front door and inside.

I just love that dog, what can I say.

Last weekend we had a party at our house, a birthday party for my brother-in-law’s twin daughters who are now 6. There weren’t a lot of kids, I think only three plus the twins. But all of them were begging Den to pleeeaaassseeee see the doggies. So Den took them in the bedroom a couple at a time to say hi to the dogs.

Zoe didn’t like that. Her crate was open, and while she wanted to see and be with Den and me, she was already nervous from all the people in the house (whom she could hear, even though she couldn’t see them). Kids like to try petting her, and that makes her nervous. She ended up under the bed.

Zeeke was barking to be let out of his crate. Den did let him out for a very short time, holding him by his collar to prevent him from knocking any of the kids over. Zeeke licked them excitedly. He was just so hyper.

So later, when the kids were outside, I leashed up Zoe and took her out to make a potty run. The kids followed us and I had to tell the one boy to back off and cut it out, he was trying to chase her (and he was the oldest of all the kids, he should know better). I just stood outside with Zoe and let her try to soak it in a bit. As much as kids make her nervous because they move a lot, she actually seems less intimidated by them, in a way. She won’t let adults pet her, but she’ll let kids - I think because they’re smaller and inherently less intimidating. She sat between my legs as the little girls gently touched her.

Then Den brought out Zeeke. That’s usually a good plan, it distracts kids from Zoe. And Zoe got excited that Zeeke was out there too - she just wanted to stick with him. The girls were generally a bit intimidated by Zeeke and as much as they wanted to “pet the doggy” they were too nervous to go up to him. When he tried bounding over to lick them the’d back off. But the boy liked him. So Den gave him the leash, explained how it worked (the flexi leash) and let Zeeke and the boy run around our yard for a while.

Now that was one HAPPY dog. Zeeke had an absolute ball. He just loped around beside “his boy,” running back and forth and exploring the yard together. His tongue was hanging out and he had a huge grin on his face.

I guess that eases many of my fears about Zeeke and kids - it’s obvious he adores kids, at least older ones. This is not the first time he’s played with older boys and LOVED it. But that’s the one hitch - older boys. He still is just too excitable and boistrous for small kids. And with infants we have no idea, I am well aware that for dogs an infant and a child can be two very different things. I said to Den that Zeeke will have so much fun when our kids are older and Den just gave me a quiet look and said, “Honey, he’ll be dead.” It was a bit of a shock to realize that. German Shepherds live to about 12 or 13 in general, and Zeeke’s already 3.

Zeeke and I are on pretty good terms lately, strangely enough. He’s listening to me, and he’s cuddling with me - well as much as a very large, gangly dog can cuddle. He head-butts me and lets me give him hugs and kisses on the nose while he tries to lick my chin. He’s just been acting slightly deferential to me. Which is very good. He still can be a major brat, he’s still harassing the cat every chance he gets and stealing food that he shouldn’t have, but in relation to me he’s been good. And he’s taken very well to not being on the furniture… we moved his dog bed from Den’s office to the bedroom, so he’s been sleeping on it every night. Both dogs really love that dog bed. And Zeeke looks so adorable all curled up asleep on it.

Today Zoe went with me on some errands. The first stop was the vet, to get her weighed: 29.6lbs. Perfect. The second stop was the feed store, to buy some more dog food since we were out. It’s one of the few retail places around here where I can take her with me. She did pretty well at first, following me down the aisles - but then some people were tossing bags of kitty litter onto a shelf and she got nervous. I got someone to grab the food and litter I wanted to buy and we went to the cash register. She really wasn’t happy about that. I paid, we went to the truck, she jumped in. Then the guy put the food in the back of the truck.

When I started driving away I caught a smell. “Oh no, Zoe, no. Don’t tell me.” After a few more seconds it was a sure thing: she’d pooped. I took a quick glance in the back during a red light, and saw smears on the fabric of the cargo hold. Uggg.

I held my breath and opened the windows for the ride home, then grabbed the disinfectent and sprayed and scrubbed the cargo hold. Gross. Even worse was Zoe herself. She had been scared at the time, so her tail was tucked. And… yeah, she pooped on her tail. Smeared, in fact, since she had then proceeded to move around and sit as much as possible.

So miss Zoe got her first bath. She didn’t like being put into the tub, but when I turned on the water… holy moly, you’d've thought I lit a fire under her. She wanted out of that tub and out of that bathroom. I ended up washing her rear by clamping her head between my thighs as she tried climbing out of the tub, trapping her rear end in the tub. I sprayed her down, lathered her up, and sprayed her down again. She was ever so relieved to be let out of that tub.

And that was my fun for the day. My, can we do that again?

:: ::

Two days ago Jojo had his annual vet appointment. I realized it with only 5 minutes to go, for some reason it had slipped my mind, so I was racing around the house grabbing things. First I grabbed the kitty kennel carrier. He hates carriers. He went nuts last time he was put in it. So I tossed that idea and grabbed his harness and leash.

He did well enough in the truck, though he was obviously unhappy with the whole situation. He apparently does NOT like vehicles. He yowled and pawed at the window. But once we were there he was great! I walked in holding a cat under my arm and announced his arrival. I took a seat down from a large boxer, who was panting in delight at being there (oh he was just so excited!). Now most people would worry about having a harnessed cat within sight of a large dog. But Jo was a star. I put him down on the seat beside me and he proceeded to look around. The dog didn’t merit any kind of special attention - it was out of reach and not too interesting looking, apparently.

In the exam room Jo flopped out on the exam table and let the vet do what needed to be done. Even the shots he got didn’t warrant any kind of reaction. Now Jo wasn’t happy to be there - a few times he crawled under the bench and layed down. But he was no hysterical kitty either.

I paid my bill with my cat standing on the floor, attached by leash to my wrist like any dog would be. He sniffed and tried pulling me towards the door.

And this is why we say he is more like a cat than a dog. I think he’s a bit confused. But that’s okay - we like him just the way he is.

Hubby is away for two weeks on business, so I am in charge of the zoo - good and bad, it’s all me.

The first day was rough. Normally I really look forward to that time of day when Den comes home and I can pass responsibility of Zeeke off to him and get him out of my hair. Right now I get two options during the day: he can either bark and chase the cat around, driving me crazy, or I can put him in his crate and I spend the day feeling guilty about it. And no matter what, he can’t stay in his crate all day.

First of all I’ll mention that since our labor day weekend vacation - we were both gone for 4 days and I had my boss come over to feed Jo once a day - Jo has been somewhat like sticky tape. He has definitely overcome his distaste for - and distrust of - Zeeke in order to be where we are, all the time. We are very happy to see Jo reach this point, we’ve been working on it for a year and a half, but unfortunately, Zeeke’s attitude has not evolved quite as much as Jo’s. He is still obsessed - and very, very obnoxious about it. So basically we spend all day with Zeeke following the cat around, growling and barking when Jo is in a spot he can’t get to. Plus they tend to knock a lot of things over, pull things off shelves, etc etc. I’m trying to keep this place clean and organized, and they’re like a little whirlwind of destruction.

So I’m trying to find some balance between me having some peaceful quiet hours, and Zeeke getting out to play and have fun. I think it’s going well - I am getting lots of things done and feeling sane, but Zeeke isn’t suffering too much. But with Jo out all the time, it’s time to face this problem head-on - or Zeeke will never spend any time out here. So we’re practicing down-stays - a lot. When he starts getting rough and pushy with the cat, I put him in a down. It usually takes 3 or 4 times of me getting up and putting him back before he “gets it” and gives up trying, but once he reaches that conclusion he’s doing really well. 15+ minutes I leave him there, with the cat walking around. The true measure, to me, is that Zeeke actually relaxes and puts his head down - still watches the cat - but isn’t on a hair-trigger. Currently I have released him from his stay, but he decided he was happy where he was and is asleep on his side. lol

Zoe has stopped blowing her coat, it’s back to normal with her - though she feels a lot thinner (no wonder, right?). And she has a lot of slobber on her from Zeeke. I used the rake to give her a light brushing today in the house (barely got out a handful of undercoat), but I’m going to have to use more tools tomorrow to get the sheen back in her coat and the slobber out of it. Yuck.

I took her to one of my meetings this week. The temperture has dropped to Fall levels, so it was nice and cool in the truck, where I left her - I didn’t want to waltz into the building with her. The ladies did come out with me afterwards to meet her. Zoe was far from impressed. She barely sniffed a hand or two, but she just wanted back in the truck, please and thank you - where she then hid. But I expected that. I hate seeing her like that, but if I don’t take her out to be around people, she’s never going to get over this. I was invited by the person who owns the building (my boss) that I could bring her in the room for the meeting - I’m debating whether that’s a good idea or not. I could easily set up a blanket in the corner or at my feet for her to lay on, and there’s only four of us in the meetings. But on the other hand I’m worried that it would be too much for her and that she might lose control of her bowels if she was freaked out enough. So I’m on the fence. There’s really no way to take her in before the other people. It might just be too much for her at this time. But I think I am going to continue bringing her with me and leaving her in the truck - quiet time in the truck is good for her to get used to being in a strange surrounding with nothing *active* happening, she can just chill and take it all in. (And she’s fine in the truck, she just lays down and/or naps. No chewing on things like Zeeke did/does.)

One thing I am thankful for: Zeeke and Zoe are both past the shoe-eating stage. Yay! I have left my shoes in the living room by the front door for I’d say over 6 months now, with only one or two small incidents (Zoe carrying one off, and looking puzzled when I take it away from her and give her her own toy - but no chewing has occurred). Zoe does have issues with my bedroom items - just earlier today I found she had gotten ahold of one of my small post-it note pads and chewn it. She also likes things like pens, ack (a few of mine have some dents in them from teeth). But honestly, unless she finds something on the tv tray or nighstand that she wouldn’t normally have access to (like post-it notes!) she’s very good. And Zeeke, at 3, is thankfully past that stage… though he will eat anything and everything food-like. Unfortunately the combination of Zeeke’s previous seperation anxiety issues and his propensity for pushing his way through barriers to get to things he really shouldn’t have, leaving him loose in the house when we’re gone is still something that makes hubby and I very nervous. Zoe, on the other hand… I’m considering that she might be at a stage that I can do that for short periods. Although I wonder if it’s even worth bothering - if given the choice, she would much rather be with Zeeke, wherever he is. So if he’s in his crate, she wants to be in her crate. I guess it doesn’t really matter one way or the other. It’s really too bad that the bedroom is her worst room, in terms of trustworthiness, or I’d start some trial runs.

In any case, our crew is doing well. All are currently sleeping, as I should be. Mom’s surviving. Let’s home I get through one and a half more weeks by myself.

What a great day today!! Today was Dog Dayz and we did end up going, but only for Saturday - unfortunately we didn’t know in advance if Den would be available for Sunday, and besides that, we own no camping equipment. Makes it a little more difficult.

It was a one and a half hour drive into upper New York state farmland. Zeeke didn’t do so well with the drive up there, we stopped once to let him empty his stomach. I just don’t know what it is with him. *sigh*

It was very exciting when we got there. People were doing agility run-throughs, there was a flyball demo going on, a dock jumping dog and owner doing some demos (which was really fantastic! I’ve never seen a dog fly like that before!), and even sheep in a pen for a later herding demo. There were also booths set up for raffles, border collie memorabilia for sale, grooming/nail trimming (which we should have done with Zeeke - hindsight), and some great leashes for sale. We didn’t buy any leashes or collars yet, but I’m definitely still thinking about it.

We spent some time walking around watching the demos and letting the dogs check everything out. Zeeke was, as usual in public, the perfect gentleman. He greeted strange dogs and humans alike with politeness, even the rare times when a dog snarled at him (someone’s foster dog, who is still working on socialization). Zoe was doing very well with Zeeke beside her - I knew it would be a good thing to take them both, even if they can be a handful (like when we split up to use the washrooms or whatever - they hate being split up or even just one of us parents walking off!). People really got to see the real Zoe, with her tail up and everything. She was approaching people to sniff them, though she stopped shy of being petted and would generally back off again. But she wasn’t spending the entire time hiding behind my legs, which is great!

At one point I got Den to bring out the flexi leashes so we could let the dogs play in the pond. Other people were letting their dogs off-leash, but our two aren’t at that point of trust yet. Even with the flexi Zoe didn’t so much as dip her little paws in - apparently water is not an interesting thing and she couldn’t seem to understand why Zeeke was in it. Zeeke definitely liked it. First thing he did when we approached the pond was go splashing in. Actually, there was a small kiddie pool filled with water for a water bowl for the dogs, and Zeeke got in THAT too (not the first or the only!), He didn’t go right for swimming, but he went in as deep as he could and still touch. So we took him up on the dock and encouraged him to jump in. He definitely was interested, he was just trying to find an easier way in! But we kept encouraging and finally he leaned down towards the water. He put out his front paws and held himself up by his back paws, leaning forward, leaning forward… until the weight was too much and he let go. SPLASH! There was a look of horror and panic on his face as he disappeared right under water, head first. He came up flailing with his front legs, apparently forgetting that he CAN swim (he has before). Finally he stopped flailing and started swimming and swam to shore. At that point both Den and I were doubled over laughing. I was nearly crying I was laughing so hard. The look on his face as he went under was priceless. He ran around up to the dock and, with more encouragement from us, did it again - so it couldn’t have been too bad!

They served lunch in a dirt-floor building that they obviously use for agility training as well. People were lined up with their dogs standing beside them on leash (not everyone, but some). It again made me proud of all these well-behaved dogs! Zeeke, being so tall, was just too interested in all that food so Den stood to the side with both dogs while I got our lunches. Eating it was a bit tricky, though, as we had to sit on the grass to eat…. and sitting, with food, and dogs? Oh Zeeke wanted our lunches very badly. Zoe at least only sniffs, and then sits back when I tell her to leave it. So it was a bit of a juggle to get the dogs to not eat our stuff, but we managed. In fact, Zeeke ended up laying down. Did I mention we were sitting on a hill? Well we were. And Zeeke, the doofus, tried laying down and almost went tumbling all the way down the hill. Ha! It took him a few tries to figure out that he needed to lay facing UP hill. Den was pretty tired as well so he layed down on his back after lunch…. and there was a “HUMPH” sound as Zeeke noisily layed down beside him, flopping his head across Den’s stomach. Cute award!

Then I talked Den into trying the agility lessons for newbs with Zeeke. I ended up trying it with Zoe as well, though I went in saying, “I don’t know how much she’s going to be willing to do, if anything.” Den wasn’t sure Zeeke would do much, either - he kept saying, “I don’t think he’s going to do well, his attention span is so short” and “He’s really not going to like that teeter totter thing.” But we tried it.

I was right about Zoe - she didn’t really want to do anything. The tunnel thing? HA! Her? Go THROUGH that? Are you kidding her? So we just praised her for going up to it, sniffing it, sticking her head in it. That was as far as we got. She wasn’t so okay with the tire at first, though I do think half the problem was the trainer holding her leash. But after a couple of tries (and eating treats off my hand while sticking just her head through the tire) she walked through it. Big praise! The jump (set very low) was okay with her, she hopped over it (slowly). She did a sit-stay on one side, I’d call her from the other. Yay. The teeter thing was another matter entirely. They had a tippy board (a board with something underneath in the middle so it “tips” when the dog walks on it - it’s what they use to condition dogs to it. So wouldn’t so much as put her paw on it. She saw it moving when Zeeke tried it - nope, nope. I did get her to approach it, put her nose on it, and then I got her to “paw” it, which was great! It was suggested that I either make a board like that, or just use a garbage pail lid upside-down on the floor, and teach her to touch it with her paws, and then walk across it. It’s obvious with Zoe that it’s going to be a very long journey with very small steps. Everything is scary to her, so we need to de-sensitise her to it, then work up to it in baby steps. It’s going to be hard on me, because every little thing I do makes a huge impact - if I rush her even the slightest, she’ll freak out. I can’t push her. If I bump something - or someone else bumps something - while she’s sniffing it it’ll put her back. So yeah, it’s going to be a lot of work. But, I think it will indeed be a good confidence booster for her, once she learns that things aren’t so scary as she thought they were.

Zeeke was another story entirely. We walked in the ring and as we were standing there, Zeeke attempted to climb the A-frame. Den got him off it, of course, but Zeeke wanted to so bad.

First up for Zeeke was the tunnel. He took a while to get what we wanted - like, say, 5 seconds or so - and then he ran through it. Daddy had a cookie at the end! This is pretty cool, says he. After that the trainer could barely hold him back from running through the tunnel until Den called him. The trainer ended up lengthening the tunnel for him. No problems, Zeeke flew through it. So after a while she put a little bit of a curve at the end, saying that most dogs have to start from scratch again when there’s a bend in the tunnel. Zeeke? No problems. Bigger bend - no problems! So she scrunched it up small again and got Den to “send” Zeeke through the tunnel a few times. A little more problematic, although Den remarked, “I think he’s suffering from Bad Handler.” lol So Den was directed on how to hold his body to make sure Zeeke went where we wanted him to - the tunnel - and Zeeke was off. No problems! This tunnel thing sure is fun, dad! The funniest part about the tunnel was that every time Zeeke successfully made it through the tunnel, Zoe would get super excited and jump on him (or jump up and down if she couldn’t reach). It was like, You’re back! You survived!! It didn’t eat you!! Oh she was so happy. And yes, I think his ease and success made it easier for her to approach the tunnel - she wouldn’t go NEAR it before seeing him go running through it. So I think he is going to be a big boost to her training.

The tire wasn’t even worth mentioning to Zeeke. “So I jump through the tire thing? Okay, next?” They did have a bit of troubles with Den running beside Zeeke and sending him through the tire - Zeeke kept going around it. (So then they’d go back to calling Zeeke through it to make sure he succeeded, before trying it again.) And for the tire thing the trainer just unhooked Zeeke’s leash. I think Den and I both had a little heart-hiccup when we saw him go running through it with no leash on, but he obeyed perfectly. He tried wandering off to sniff the fence (it WAS a mostly fenced enclosure for agility), but came with Den called him. So honestly I think that was a big thing for Den and I, to see him doing well even off leash.

Next was the tippy board. Den said, “He isn’t going to like that, this is what he’ll have problems with.” The trainer walked him around the tippy board. Zeeke stepped on it. Click! Praise! Treat! Zeeke’s eyes lit up. He started jumping onto the tippy board, then looking up expectantly for that treat! So they moved him over to the very low training teeter. Zeeke walked across it perfectly! Not one issue with it tipping beneath his feet. Click! Praise! Treat! So he was very eagerly walking back and forth across that thing! And while he was doing that I moved Zoe over to the tippy board to start conditioning her. And as I’m trying to get her to put a paw on it, Zeeke comes running over, jumps on the tippy board (bang as it tips over), and looks at me for a treat. LOL! He definitely knew how that thing worked! “I jump on it, it goes bang, I get a treat. Can this get any easier?!”

Den was SO proud of Zeeke. I was too. I expected him to do well, but I certainly didn’t expect him to go running through everything with no fear and no hesitation, acing everything in two seconds. So someone pointed us in the direction of an agility trainer, who as it turns out lives and trains only a half an hour from our house! She has shelties, which are known for being very anxious and scared of things like Zoe is, so she’s familiar with working with dogs like this. She seems very nice. So we exchanged information, and we’ll try to set up some agility lessons for both dogs! Woo hoo! We’ll have to start with just me handling them both, as Den’s going to be away two weeks in September, but I hope to have Den take over Zeeke’s handling. I think it’ll be a really wonderful thing for both of them. We are a little concerned about the cost - $90 per dog for 6 weeks. I do think it will be worth it, though. Just seeing the look of joy and accomplishment on Zeeke’s face - and echoed on Den’s. And of course Zoe will really benefit from overcoming her fears, though I don’t really see her ever trialing - Zeeke on the other hand… he has the potential to be really really good.

Oh and we ended up winning a raffle, too! A picnic set of dishes - I haven’t really looked at it yet, but it has melamine plates and big plastic tumblers and even some little votive candles. Sweet! And Den was saying how we never win anything.

The drive home was completely silent. I had THREE asleep in the truck - two dogs and a hubby! That’s the FIRST time I’ve ever seen Zeeke laying down and quiet in the truck for any length of time. It was amazing. We stopped on the way home to get some shakes and fries from McDonald’s, and then it was silence again. When we got home Den layed down on the bed and immediately fell asleep, and Zeeke went into his crate and followed suit. He didn’t even bother finding the cat first. And Zoe, well, she figured if big brother was sleeping in his crate, so should she. I found her laying there after my shower. And then I crawled into bed and we all had a nice nap! It was a wonderful day, tons of fun, and we are just exhausted!

I’m so proud of Zoe! Yesterday I took her with me to pick up Den from work - I’m still so thankful that he works with great people who don’t mind me going in there with a dog. They just adore Zoe. Well we got into Den’s office, which is where Zoe usually relaxes a little, and two strangers were in there working, plus Den. Zoe did not like that, she hid behind my legs. Well as we chatted and stuff Zoe did manage to relax slightly, and the woman who was in there crouched down and put her hand out to see if Zoe would be okay with getting petted or whatever. Well Zoe actually sniffed her, didn’t pull away when the woman touched her, and Zoe even licked her hand a few times! Serious!! I was thrilled.

Of course then we got out into the hallway where it’s SCARY and Zoe wouldn’t go near anyone for anything, but that’s okay. Baby steps.

Wow, I never wrote about the park. I’m so bad!

The park is a small enclosed area in a large park. It only has a 4′ fence, which worried Den at first since Zeeke would jump it if he wanted to, but I think there’s so much going on inside the park that he doesn’t even give a thought to the idea. There’s a mulch groundcover, lots of large trees for shade, two picnic tables, a firehydrant water tap, and a bunch of balls and rope toys laying around for the dogs. A little small, but otherwise quite nice.

No other dogs were there the first time we went. Zeeke spent the entire time sniffing every single thing he could, and peeing on every tree - or at least lifting his leg on them, there wasn’t a whole lot of action going on. He was off in his own little world. Zoe seemed to enjoy herself, her tail was up and she was running around with a grin on her face. She followed Zeeke around, followed us around, chased balls. I really think it was a good first impression on her. After we’d let them sniff around for about 20 minutes Den and I started walking slow laps of the perimeter, and Zeeke just followed us around. It was rather funny. Zeeke ran around with Den very briefly, but got tired quickly. When we left we just walked over to the gated area and both dogs happily followed us, got their leashes on, then dragged us to the truck. The ride back was uneventful, Zeeke even layed down almost the entire time!

That was monday; on tuesday while Den was at work I had to take both dogs to the vet for their bordatella vaccination. That was quick, though hectic - having two unhappy dogs at the vet is more than twice as much trouble as one unhappy dog at the vet. Zoe blew her anal glands while getting the vaccine, since they took her in the back to do it without me. Sigh.

So after that I figured the dogs needed something happy to do, so I took them back to the park. A couple of dogs were there this time. Zoe was okay with the other dogs, timid and submissive, but not freaking out. She didn’t like it when I stood around with the other people though, so she tended to follow Zeeke around sniffing trees. She’d come when I called her, though - but wouldn’t get within 5 feet or so of anyone else. I had hoped Zeeke would play more with the other dogs, but he still seemed to prefer being off in his own world, sniffing. Hopefully that will change.

Part way through that visit a lady arrived with her two daughters (young teens or pre-teens) and a small shih tzu. The little dog was a little unsure about the other dogs, and basically stayed right by or under the picnic table the entire time. Well after about 10 minutes I guess Zeeke decided he wanted to formally greet the dog and came over to do a sniff exchange. The little guy was obviously very put off by Zeeke’s size, and hid under the picnic table. Zeeke stuck his head under. The little dog ran out the other side, Zeeke ran around - and so on. Ended up with the little one running around the picnic table with Zeeke following trying to sniff - it was the same situation as with the cat, if he is allowed to just sniff another dog he couldn’t really care less after that, but with the dog playing hard-to-get… well, Zeeke takes it as a challenge. The little one ran out of patience and turned and snapped and growled at Zeeke. The owner looked freaked out, obviously worried that it was going to start a dog fight. But you know what, Zeeke paused, stared at the little dog, then walked off. I was so proud of him! He did try it again a little later, but again walked off when the little dog told him off. Yay. He has pretty good doggy manners…. other than the chasing. *sigh*

So then yesterday Den and I took the dogs to the park again. There were a bunch of dogs there, including some larger, playful dogs (one husky type, one boxer, and later a brittney spaniel joined in). Zeeke enjoyed chasing them, but the husky seemed to unnerve him a bit - the husky kept pawing at him trying to get him to play, and Zeeke wasn’t sure what to make of it and kept running off. I was a little surprized about that. Zoe on the other hand wasn’t happy with the playful dogs at all. They were all running around happy-like and Zoe got a little freaked out and started running… so they all joined in, thinking it was a fun game, and Zoe really panicked. Den said her mouth was open and he was afraid she was going to snap or something, but I really don’t think she was… I think she was just panting. In either case, it was over quickly and the other dogs went off elsewhere, and Zoe calmed down. She would stay at the edge of the commotion, staying out of the way and away from the people, but I think it’s good for her. Other than that brief moment she was unsure but okay - and it gives her a chance to observe and be around other people and dogs. I think she’ll get used to it. I know Oreo was just as freaked out the first time I took her to a dog park. (Only difference is that Oreo would indeed turn, snap and snarl if another dog got too close!)

Oh my gosh I am SO proud of my Zoe-monster!! Today we had a family bbq - with just some of Den’s immediate family. It was outside. First only Gram and Den’s uncle was here, and we were sitting and talking. Den says to me, “How do you think Zoe would do out here, off leash?” I told him she wouldn’t come anywhere near the strangers, but she certainly wasn’t going to leave our property. So I went and got her. I was very happy that he suggested I bring her out. So I did. She happily trotted ahead of me out to the backyard, halfway across it - then took a giant double-take and flattened herself to the ground when she realized there were strangers there!! Just as predicted, she didn’t want to go anywhere near them. I sat down and she wouldn’t come any closer than 20′. After a few minutes of pacing back and forth at that distance, she trotted across the yard and around the house. So I hurried to catch up, and I found her just where I expected: standing in front of the front door, wanting in. So I got her long 50′ leash and clipped it to her, and walked her back around, putting the loop end under my chair leg. She stayed at the end of the leash, and wouldn’t come close - but at least she couldn’t just pack up and leave the scene.

When some other people arrived she started barking, then panicked a little, pacing. When everyone sat down she calmed down again. Rinse and repeat until the kids arrived - Den’s twin 5 year old nieces. They of course went running towards her. I told them she was scared of people and to not do that. Errg. Well, they played merry-go-round for a bit, sort of *following* the dog slowly around trying to say hi to her, and I was losing my patience a bit because Zoe was not happy. She just didn’t want those kids close to her. She stayed out of reach. I was trying to keep track of one dog and two kids, and one time I turned around to find no Zoe behind me - she had run over to Heather (the kids’ new step-mom). A few minutes later one of the girls jumped forward and gently touched her back. Zoe jumped, but then just sat there. And for the rest of the night Heather remained a Good Guy in Zoe’s eyes, and she’d follow her around if she couldn’t find Den or me.

One of the reasons the girls left Zoe alone was that Den put a harness and leash on JoJo and let the girls “walk” him around the back yard. They love that cat. Wouldn’t you know it - he LOVED it. He ate grass, he played with the toy they brought out for him, they lugged him around like a sandbag. When they lost interest we just looped the leash around the table leg, and that’s where the cat stayed until dinner - laying under the table, playing with grass and stalking bugs. I swear he’s the strangest cat ever. He had the time of his life. At one point we had a fright - he saw a squirrel and totally spazzed trying to get out of his harness so he could hunt and kill it. Den and I both jumped out of our seats and lunged at him. We grabbed him, fixed the harness, and he calmed down after that. (No more squirrels in sight.) He did have to be put back inside at dinner time, though, because we were having pork tenderloin and Jo wanted that meat so bad he was trying to get onto that table if it killed him.

After that initial furor, it died down - the girls said hi to everyone and went to play games like hide and seek, and Zoe stayed back. Over an hour or two she got closer and closer to me and Den, until she finally just stood at my side, or in front of me… or under me. She got tangled around my chair legs a few times. Well the girls kept asking me questions about my dog - what her name was, was she a girl or a boy, how old she was - and after a while asked if they could give her some food. I said they could give her little pieces of chips. At first Zoe wouldn’t take anything, kept skirting to my other side. But then she took one, and ate it. And another. So I kept letting the girls give her little bits of chips - and cheese. Zoe LOVED the cheese. So much, in fact, that after a few tastes she was walking towards the girls to get the cheese. I was thrilled. That’s a huge step.

Zoe showed no signs of leaving my side by that point, and she kept getting tangled around my chair, so I let her off the leash. She stayed that way the rest of the night. She startled at quick movements near her, or loud noises - like chairs being moved, or the kids shouting. But the reaction got less and less all night. She stayed by my side. She followed me to the house and back when I went to get food or the laptop, then followed me right back out. If she shied too far away from us or tried inching off towards the front of the house I’d cluck and call her, and she’d come right over. Though, the first time I went into the house she followed me in, I grabbed what I needed, turned around and Zoe was gone. I couldn’t find her in the house! I panicked, calling Den, then I heard the jangle of her collar - I looked out the open windows and she was out back, following Heather back to the circle of people! Call me astonished. I have no doubt it was because there were people in the house at the time and Heather was the lesser of two evils, but still. When I got around back she was sitting beside my chair, waiting for me to get back.

So really, she settled down and behaved very, very nicely. I was so proud of my girl I was going to cry. She stayed right with the people off-leash. She was taking food out of peoples’ hands and letting the kids pet her head. (Sometimes she’d pull back a little, but half the time she’d let them.)

Yes, it WAS very overwhelming for her, and at times it was too much. BUT I think the over-stimulation over the long period of time actually helped her. I saw a ton of progress in just one night. We did try to get Zeeke out there to comfort her, but he was so hyper spazzo we couldn’t let him around the people. :? So he stayed inside today.

Today when I took Zoe out I practiced a recall with her (which she did wonderfully), then I went out towards the mailbox. I hear someone shout, “Emma come!!” I look up and see the golden lab from across the street come barelling across their front lawn and the road towards us. Now I know this dog from experience, though I never knew her name - she’s loose quite often unfortunately, but she’s a big chicken. She sometimes comes a few feet into our front yard to sniff all the Zeeke-and-Zoe-smells, but then runs off when Zeeke barks through the window. If I’m outside she’ll stay at least 20 feet away, just watching. So when I saw her running towards us it didn’t worry me at all. She did indeed stop about 10 feet away, only to creep up another 5 feet. One of her teenaged owners came running as well. Emma was watching Zoe, but is too shy to actually go up to her. So I clucked at her and when she came my way I gently snagged her collar and handed her over to her owner (whom she was evading, because of course owner=going home, which is no fun!)

And that whole time, with a strange dog and a strange person coming towards us, Zoe never even hit the end of the leash! She was on the flexi so she had quite a bit of distance, and she was back a ways, but she didn’t freak out, she didn’t try running, she didn’t hide. She wasn’t even plastered to the ground. She was just standing there, watching. I am SO proud of my baby!!