When I opened my eyes this morning and looked at the clock, it was 8:45... can't even remember the last time I've slept so late. But it didn't surprise me, after having hardly any sleep the night before when Savannah did all that after-midnight barking. When I got downstairs this morning, Savannah was still in the breakfast room, sound asleep in her bed. I literally walked right to her and thanked her for not barking during the night. She looked at me with sleepy eyes and then yawned.
My husband has been reading one of Cesar Millan's books so he has been taking Savannah for some of her walks during the day. According to Millan, the three things a dog needs is exercise, discipline, and affection. (In that order.) So Gary has come to the conclusion that the more exercise Savannah gets, the better behaved she will be. When he and Savannah walked out the back door after lunch today, Savannah's head was turned back towards me and I know she was wondering why I wasn't coming along. I had suggested to my husband that he give Savannah enough time to do what she needed to do out there before he started trying to teach her to 'heel.'
One of Millan's rules with his own dogs is that he goes out of a door first, then the dogs come out behind him. That's what my husband is doing with Savannah, and he suggested that I do the same. Well, I've tried that, but my arm isn't long enough..... the kitchen door opens in and the screen door opens out, and I can't reach back and close the kitchen door after Savannah is out on the porch without making that poor puppy come half-way back into the kitchen, which is ridiculous. In my own puppy-book, I really don't care who goes in or out of the door first.
Speaking of doors, I remember when we first got Savannah... she hadn't ever been inside a house before and had no idea what to do with a door and she was afraid of it. Savannah is no longer so afraid of loud noises inside the house... I've been trying not to be so quiet in the house all of the time and I think that helped. About the only outside noises that frighten Savannah now are the gun-shots that we hear occasionally, and the fireworks that were lit off on Christmas Eve and Christmas night.
Savannah used to be petrified of the ironing board, the vacuum, the broom and mop, and the step-stool... just about anything unusual that I would bring out of the utility closet and into the kitchen. She seems to have memorized every single item in the kitchen and breakfast room and she knows right away if something has been added and she will back away from it initially, but then slowly go up to it for a sniff or two. Still such a cautious puppy.
When I walk Savannah on the road now, I take off her fancy blue collar and put on just the choker collar. That method has been more effective when I need to get her attention and make her listen to me, especially when a neighbor's car or truck is going up the road and she's trying to either chase the vehicle or protect me from it-- I haven't figured out what she's thinking in such situations. My husband has stopped suggesting that he take her to the Walmart parking lot and walk her around and around there so she can get used to cars. When he first told me about that Internet-found idea, I told him that I didn't agree and wouldn't want to subject Savannah to that parking lot. I think my exact words were "Over my dead body."
Savannah will be nine months old on January 12th... she has surely come a good long way since that day we got her from her previous owners and put a leash on her for the first time in her puppy-life and then put her into the back seat of my husband's car for the ride to her new home. Looking at the very first photos of Savannah, she looked petrified... not knowing where she was and probably wondering why she had been taken away from her puppy-brother and the outdoor kennel she was so familiar with. My husband and I both think Savannah's life as an inside dog is more plush and cozy and warm than her other life in her old backyard kennel.
As I type this, Savannah is sleeping in her bed in the corner of the breakfast room, and she is snoring lightly. If I move my chair a bit and stretch out my right arm, I can pet her and tell her that she has been a spectacular puppy since September. Except for trying to chase cars. And except for that roaring bark of hers in the middle of the night... and also that roaring bark when I'm reading and the barking scares me so much that I drop the book. Oh well... she has still been a spectacular puppy.
No comments:
Post a Comment