Our Weekend

Yippee! We actually had a fair bit of success this weekend.

Our holiday brought some family members back over the house. Marge had already previously met them, and although there weren't quite as many people, the activity surrounding the 4th of July brought added challenges. While we usually wait outside for our guests to arrive, especially when there are large numbers of them, we couldn't do that this time because the fireworks started early. So, instead, I sent Marge downstairs in the basement to my sister with a yummy stuffed Kong. Once everyone was inside, she came back up.

She did beautifully with them all, I'd say. She didn't annoy anyone at dinner (she usually likes to single out the weakest link and beg like there's no tomorrow) thanks to a braided bully stick that she ate about 20 feet away.

The fireworks only affected her badly at night. There were a few stray ones during the day, but they weren't loud enough to cause her any bother. She hunkered down under my sister's desk for most of the night (10ish to about 3AM) until it ended. She didn't get panicky, just gave a couple of shivers at one point. She was still able to go out for potty breaks and had no trouble accepting treats.

I bought her this stuff on Friday as a water additive. It's similar to Rescue Remedy in that it contains flower essences and not much else. It was cheap, and the guy who sold it to me told me he used it on his dog with no ill side effects many times before. It was a rash decision and the product either didn't do anything or helped minimally. If anything, I should have bought the DAP wipes that he offered me, but at 4PM the day before the 4th of July, I confess my mind just probably wasn't all there. I was freaking out, thinking she was going to panic like crazy. Thankfully, she didn't.

Over all, though, I'd say I handled the day well. She was with either my sister or me for the entire day and through the worst of the fireworks, and I refused to use the Ace that my vet prescribed to me. I am SO glad I stuck to my guns on that one.

Today was the last day of Rally class. We definitely need more practice, but we've got most of the signs nailed. There is a UKC trial coming up in August that I'm not sure whether we will enter or not. But I'll save this all for another post, as we're going to have a Rally run-through day at the agility field, and it is then that I'll likely make my decision.

On a HUGE positive note though, Marge was EXCELLENT in terms of comfort and sociability tonight at class. She said hi to Chase, the BC, before we entered the building, and did so gingerly and with ease. (I'm telling you, she has a thing for hairy male dogs.) She also PLAY BOWED to two other dogs, one of which being the GSD female who we've been hanging around while waiting on the sidelines. That earned her lots of treats. Again, we kept it short and sweet, since she DOES and likely always will have some level of fear of strange dogs sniffing her from behind. But they were great successes and a great way to end a class that has definitely been one of our biggest challenges yet.