Day 6 (09/16/17): puppy party

Terra and the boarding Welshie played a lot this morning. Terra ate and drank water and played with toys and had diarrhea and went back to sleep for the entire afternoon.

My sister (Agnes) arrived early and brought her chihuahua-type dog (Frankie). I had them go into the yard ahead of us, then brought the three dogs out. When Terra saw Agnes and Frankie, she immediately turned and went back into the barn. But after a minute she came back out, sniffed Frankie, then cautiously approached Agnes. Another minute and they were friends.

We let the dogs hang out outside for a while as we finished prepping for the party. When we came back in, Terra went to the bedroom and fell asleep again.

Becca was the next guest to arrive. Terra didn't come out from the bedroom, and was asleep every time we checked on her. The other dogs hung out with us in the kitchen and enjoyed petting.

(Chimera says: This is a GREAT puppy party so far!)

Finally Terra woke up, came into the kitchen, and went to Becca and crawled in her lap. Awww!

Two more guests arrived during the next hour (Kiem and Sherry). Each time, Terra retreated when they came in, then returned when she judged it to be safe. The more activity there was at the door, the longer it took her to return, especially when Sherry's Papillon Jacques came in. We always let her choose what she wanted to do. When she chose to approach the guests, they praised and gave her cooked chicken, and petted/cuddled her when she wanted it. They never lured or cajoled her to come over; they just let her decide on her own. That is very important for building up a dog's confidence. When they feel they have control over the situation and can retreat to safety if needed, they are more likely to make brave choices that we can reward and build on. I also did a short session of tug play to bring on those positive associations.

She ate about 2/3s of a pound of cooked chicken. Over the course of the party I cooked up 15 pounds of chicken breasts in my Instant Pot. I'll be feeding her the cooked chicken and cooked sweet potato for a few days to help her GI tract recover. This evening's poop was still unformed, but not as watery or gelatinous as before.

I'll be hosting more puppy parties for remedial socialization. It's great to have dog-savvy friends.

Here are bonus photos of puppy tetris: