It's been a while since I updated Terra's blog because I've been in a depressive episode and couldn't keep up. Some of her training has fallen behind, but I've continued to take her out and about. She has more energy now and needs more play and training and exercise to settle easily at bedtime.
Her weight as of yesterday is 61.5 lbs. She's small for her age, but she's growing and looks and acts healthy. She's lost a bunch of teeth and her adult molars are coming in. She's having trouble chewing and I've been grinding up all of her raw meat. I stopped giving her meaty bones because she was chewing them up the bare minimum needed to be able to swallow giant chunks, and then wasn't digesting them properly. I hope to add them back in once more of her adult teeth come back in. In the meantime she's getting bone meal mixed into her meat and organs and other supplements. I also mix in chicken broth or a small amount of bacon grease with warm water to encourage her to eat it all. Otherwise she doesn't want to eat when there's a change of protein source.
Here are the highlights of our adventures for the past 12 days:
My pushy Belgian Malinois client stayed for five days. When Terra was younger and less confident, I had been very worried about having this dog stay with me again. But this was good timing - the girls loved each other and Terra was just as pushy to play with her. At first I had to hover and referee to make sure the Malinois wasn't knocking Terra around. The more I intervened and prevented her from punching and jumping on Terra, the calmer the play was and I could relax somewhat. I'm looking forward to having them together when Terra is larger and less vulnerable. They'll be good playmates.
We visited Miki and her two little kids again. Once again Terra kept wanting to approach and lick their faces. They were not as into it. I'd love to get her around some kids who are older and dog-savvy.
Her vaccinations are all done other than rabies, which I didn't want to give at the same time. The tech was great - massaged her shoulders and slipped the needle in quickly. I play-wrestled with Terra's head while she did it, and the pup didn't even notice.
Took a second trip into Lowe's and two into PetSmart. She's more confident every time. The last trip to PetSmart, we were able to do rapid-fire training on hand touch, chin target, eye contact, stand-stay, and walking at my side. We also took a break to sit/lie on the floor and look around.
Chimera had a Fast CAT trial and of course I took Terra along for socialization. She had some brief moments of being overwhelmed but really settled in. She wanted treats and play and pulled toward people standing nearby to get petting (particularly women, but also a few men). Met an adult female Wolfhound and they sniffed each other's privates but were not as excited to see each other as I'd expected.
We've had some negative experiences around men, when they approached too close too quickly. Sometimes it's hard to stop people in time. I need to get faster; my natural reticence to engage with strangers gets in the way.
Had another session of puppy class. We were able to participate in an exercise in which we paired up and practicing approaching and walking past other owners and puppies. I had string cheese, which seems to be her highest value treat so far. We skipped the play time at the end because I'm worried about Terra playing too rough and scaring another puppy, and harming its socialization. She gets plenty of social time with other dogs at home and when visiting friends, and currently her social skills are just right for her age.
Went to Cai's Agility class and hung out in a heavy duty x pen I brought. She wasn't worried about being there but got upset when I would walk away (whining, demand-barking, and pawing at the pen). She also dug holes in the gravel. Next time I need to bring a thick mat and fresh chew, and a separate crate for Cai so he doesn't steal it.
She loves to dig - she's also tried to dig holes in the wood chips in the yard (doesn't get far because there is landscape fabric over the ground) and in dirt while we were on a walk.
When she's bored or wants something she sometimes raises her paws and scratches at the wall. Noooooo bad puppy!
Visited Auntie Agnes yesterday and played nicely with little Frankie and was much more comfortable walking along busy Mission St. Peed three times in the condo and didn't pee when we took her outside to a quiet area. She's banned from visiting again until she's potty trained/more comfortable peeing in public. She does get agitated and pace just before peeing indoors but it's hard to recognize because she also walks all around the place because she's excited and wants to check things out and play. I can tell when she's about to poop because she raises her tail up a few paces beforehand.
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