Puppy Manners

After having a long talk with Savannah the other night, telling her that she absolutely had to make friends with my husband, she was much better with him yesterday. I doubt very much the 'talking' did a whole lot of good, but our friend Gloria stopped by yesterday with yet another toy for Savannah, and she stayed a while to visit with me and my husband, and I have to say that Savannah was on her best puppy behavior during the visit.

Savannah clearly isn't used to being around 'strangers' yet, and she was trying to stay with the three of us but not get too close to Gloria.  I was sitting near Gloria and my husband was across from the two of us, so Savannah's choice was to sit next to, and very close to, my husband... something she hadn't done before.  (That proved to us that Savannah does know who "her people" are in this house.) It was Gloria's suggestion to my husband that he not smile at her, because that act of showing teeth to a puppy is a sign of aggression. It's a happy smile to us, but something altogether different in the dog world. Then Gloria told my husband that he needs to be petting her and giving her treats when she stays near him, and he did that as well. For the entire hour that Gloria was here, Savannah didn't leave my husband's side, and I was thrilled. In my mind, I kept saying "Stay there, Savannah, just stay there by him and don't move." And bless her puppy heart, she actually did.

Last night when my husband and I went into the TV room, Savannah followed us, bringing half of her toys with her, one at a time. She was sitting close to my husband, playing with her toys, walking back and forth in the room, and looking at the television screen when either the football game or the baseball game was on (she seems to like sports).  When she got tired of playing, she laid down in the middle of the floor and watched my husband watching TV and watched me as I was reading.  When Savannah forgets to be nervous and cautious about her new life here, her tail is up and wagging and she's smiling wide with that puppy-smile of hers, and she is the happiest of dogs. Clearly, she does like it here, and she is on a good schedule with eating and going out (she also knows what "Want To Go Out?!" means, and when she has to go, she will nudge my leg with her nose to get my attention).

We're going to PetCo today, to look for a big doggie-bed for Savannah. We were going to take her with us, but we don't think she's quite ready for that experience yet, being that everything new seems to make her cautious and apprehensive, and she has enough 'new' things in this house to get used to as it is. So we'll wait another month or so before bringing her into a store filled with other people and their pets, as well as all sorts of sights and smells that she will have to deal with.

As that old song goes, what a difference a day makes...  I'm just thrilled that Savannah has finally come to peace with my husband and she knows that both of us are 'her people' and she can feel safe and protected with each of us. Happy, happy puppy, and happy, happy day.