Well, it’s been a few weeks since the dog trainer visited and things are progressing stunningly well. There’s been some hiccoughs and the odd sleepless night but the overall situation is vastly improved. Zoe is a different dog now! Happier and more settled. She sleeps indoors every night, in the tiny hall space outside my bedroom door. She’s blocked from coming in my room by my indoor washing line which is collapsed down and wedged into the door way. On the other side, she can’t get into the lounge because of a wooden child fence. As long as the bathroom, toilet, and studio doors are shut, she’s penned into a little bed space where she can’t get into mischief but can see me. It’s working a treat, and the extra company through the night is calming her down amazingly.

I’m staying on top of the more interesting dog food too, i did another shop at my favorite local butcher today and came home with a box of food and treats. Here’s her collection of ‘raw soups’ being made up today to be frozen: These are a toy to be given outside when I’m going away for awhile such as to college classes. They give her something to chew and keep her entertained. Today’s are beef broth, with chicken necks, kibble, and corn kernels. She has to chew through the plastic and then lick away the ice to get to the yummy bits. She absolutely adores them.

She also gets quartered marrow bones to gnaw, and the Kong toy is regularly stuffed with treats. I’m getting the hang of that too, my freezer now always has a basin of Kong size treats such as tuna or baked beans frozen in ice cube trays, or little bite size bits of meat or banana. Her treat bag for clicker training is filled fresh every night from a container of finely chopped nibbles kept in the freezer. I currently alternate the type of treat to keep her interested. She has had tiny bits of fritz, and tiny bits of cheese. Today I fried some pork sausage on special and chopped that up super small for the treat bag too. I feel like a good pet owner finally. 🙂

I bought her another extra tough chew toy recently and she’s bonded with it and won’t sleep at night unless it’s in her bed with her…cute! Walking on the lead is progressing slowly but surely, as is the sit and watch, and she gets tucked into bed with a treat when guests visit until they’ve settled and that is hugely helping curb the manic jumping. She is coming to training this Saturday with Rose and I for the first time, I’m nervous and excited for her! We’ll also be gently introducing her to crate training soon, which opens the door to sleepovers and camping trips!… fingers crossed. The progress so far had been great, I wish I’d done this sooner! 🙂

Last night we went to the beach and practiced coming when called (not bad, unless there’s another dog around) and sit and watch in public. She ran herself silly while Rose and I walked to the jetty and then came home and slept for hours… how that warms my heart!

This is what I woke up to Wednesday morning:

 Zoe’s been in trouble lately for getting onto my desk to steal food or drink cuppas, snatching things off benches and chewing them to bits- including her new and expensive extendable leash. Partly the fault is mine for not walking her enough, she’s young and full of beans. With the extra walking I’m doing catching buses a few days a week, I’m struggling to come home and walk Zoe as well. The extendable leash was good for letting her run about more too, on a short leash she walks exactly the same amount I do, and she needs a little more! I’m also trying to get her more interested in fetch but by far her favourite past time is chewing. I sweep up an incredible quantity of chewed wood and leaves from the lounge room every couple of days.

So, after a while being locked in the laundry, I let Zoe back in this morning, kept a close eye on her, but the moment I ducked into the bathroom to brush my hair she tore into the armchair again!

Back in the laundry, and left in the backyard plus laundry area when I went out today. When I get home this evening she tears into the armchair a few minutes after being let into the house! Argh!

So, some new rules. She is left to roam the backyard and laundry when I’m not home or awake. She is allowed in the house when I’m there to watch her. I’ve put a mirror on my computer desk to let me easily keep an eye on the armchair while I’m working or gaming. And I’m going to get my bike up and running again so I can run some energy off her, and and buy another extendable leash as soon as I can. And no leaves or sticks in the house, only the few remaining chew toys she hasn’t destroyed.

Outside gets all the sticks and leaves she wants, bones to chew on, a bed in the shed, another one in the laundry, and warm dog blankets. So hopefully it won’t be all bad from her perspective. I never throw her outside as a punishment, and I play fetch with her out there and eat breakfast out there when the weather is good so… She makes a horrific racket if she’s locked outside even for a few minutes, but for some reason having access to the laundry seems to drastically reduce that.

This evening I took her for a ride in the car and introduced her to the fun of sticking your head out the window. Then watched a show with her dozing in my lap. After spending the day furious with her it’s important for me to spend time reconnecting and enjoying her company. We’ll get there.

Since Zoe came to live with me Sarsaparilla has been spending more and more time away from home. I’ve finally hit a solution that is working. My bedroom window is left open just a tiny bit, with the screen off and a wedge in the window to stop it being opened any further. The door is always shut and Sars’ food and water dish are kept on the floor. It’s a Zoe-free space with easy access. Now he’s sleeping in there all the time and I get cuddles every night.

We did have one glitch with him proudly bringing home a dead bird to dismember on the bed. He’s now the proud owner of three lovely bells on his collar and that seems to have resolved that. He’s the most sweet and lovely cat. It’s wonderful to have all this company at home.

Both critters are going well. 🙂 They are even starting to get used to one another which is really exciting, as until recently I’ve had to divide time between them on some kind of strange pet share system. Last night I got home very late after an extraordinarily long day and was able to watch Dr Who with both of them curled up on my lap! Admittedly, Zoe went a bit odd and at several points tried to curl up to sleep on my shoulder like a very large excitable parrot, and then when she settled for sleeping on my right arm she’d pretend to accidentally roll over onto the cat, but he was feeling safe enough to give her a hiss and a swipe for the first time instead of bolting so I’m rather excited!

She’s almost due for her last shots and ready to go on walks 🙂 Hurrah! Toilet training is coming along really well and some commands like fetch, toilet, sit, and down, provided she’s not too manic to think straight. It’s been truly wonderful to come home from hard days or be dealing with difficult things and have warm furry bodies to cuddle or sleep by. I feel very blessed.

Zoe is settling in well. She’s working out the idea behind toilet training, is slowly getting the rules about not chasing cats, and getting as many cuddles as one puppy can manage. However, keeping an active puppy home all the time is hugely challenging and she is chewing everything she can fit into her mouth.

So the other day I took her to a quiet beach with no other dogs around. She was a bit anxious at first.

But it was a beautiful day.

A sea breeze was blowing foam from the water.

She isn’t a water baby at all, the waves freaked her right out. The foam was blowing in big piles onto the sand.

And that she thought was fantastic, she chased it up and down the beach, trying to eat it and getting foam on her nose.

That night she rewarded me by tearing madly around the house at 2am, leaping over furniture and colliding with things. I’m not making as much progress as I’d like on wearing her out! She’s not got the idea of sleeping through the night either, so she’s banished from my room at the moment, she can amuse herself until I’ve had some decent shut eye. It’s going well though, I’m very attached and loving the company, and she’s clearly very happy and feeling at home. 🙂