The Doorway to Success

CLOUDY AND SHOWERS -- that seems to be the story of our lives right now. I feel like we haven't had a day of sun in weeks. Oh well. As long as agility class tomorrow isn't cancelled, I'll deal with it.

So, we had a good experience at the front door today. My sister is having a tutor come for Math Regents prep. This woman is soft spoken, very neutral in appearance, just really a regular person who will pet Marge a bit without being overwhelming. In other words, she fits the bill as a person Marge would like. (How creepy it sounds to say this kind of stuff. Oh well.. fearful dog owners everywhere can relate, I'm sure.) Rather than go through my usual routine - sit outside, wait for the person to come, let them go in, give many treats, et cetera. Instead, I took a gamble. She's already met the tutor once and likes her. I saw her car pull up, waited by the door with a fistful of treats, Marge on leash, and let the woman in as Marge chowed down.

Not an ounce of fear. Not really an ounce of care.

This seems like a great opportunity to slowly desensitize Marge to having this woman in the house - a brand new person to add to Marge's "List of People Who Can Get Through the Front Door." Maybe next week we'll try it leashless, just throwing treats to the ground, and then take it from there.

Don't want to jinx anything, but Marge has been okay with my dad and the door lately, too. Of course, we're taking lots of precautions and issuing lots of jackpots, but improvement is improvement. *knock on wood*

Tomorrow night I hope to be back here with pictures from Agility, which promises to be a soggy experience - I imagine the field is rather swamplike right now.