Tuesday March 2nd 2010
6am
I think we have a name for our “Little Red Aussie. Rick has his mind set on one and me on another. I am determined to name at least one animal on our property. I will wait a few days until her personality comes through. All of our pets, mini donkeys, mini horses, geese, ducks and sheep have been named by Rick. In fact, come to think of it he named all the dogs too.
The day started out very early at 6am. I hand carried the Little Red Aussie (LRA) to our day care play area as she is still not wearing a collar and I did not want to put her anywhere she could hide in brambles again. Bailey, my Aussie, and Tessa, a visiting collie, were giving LRA some nice body wags around the fence line of the garden and within minutes “LRA” stopped slinking around and was bouncing and jumping all over the place. Wow, what a difference from last night. I was feeling quite smug, she was having fun and with no bushes in sight getting her back in would be easy.
She just loved seeing the dogs and turned into a fast flash of lolloping dog, running and bouncing all over the place. When it was time to take her in for breakfast it suddenly occurred to me that I would not be able to catch her.
Okay, another 40 minutes later and LRA was still bouncing around me, she so badly wanted to come all the way up to me but on each trial within inches of my hands she ran away. Gradually I shaped her into me and placed my hand across her neck with my blue cord slip leash, muttering the mantra of “got to desensitize her to a collar and leash” over and over.
Back into the comfort of her kennel she munched into her breakfast from my hand of Life’s Abundance kibble, her stools are already firming up and I am happy to think that she is getting all the right nutrients to help both her physical wellbeing and her mental well being. We started her off today on fish oil capsules and a daily supplement for her skin, coat and joints. As I went off to have a more relaxed cup of coffee I pondered how our lunch time exercise session would go and how I could avoid a 40 minute “wait out” session to get her back inside.
12 pm and time for LRA’s mid-day session
Getting her out of the kennel was easier this time, instead of curling up in the corner of the crate between the wire and the soft bed she now shifted her weight slightly to one side and tilted her head up. As an appeasement gesture she slightly raised her paw and this made lifting her up easier. It was cold and threatening to rain so I placed her in the smaller outdoor area where she could watch the farm animals feed, stretch her legs and go to the bathroom. It was also an easier location for me and made the return journey easier.
LRA seemed relaxed and happy, she sat in the fenced in area and watched the other dogs play. Now for some of you this may seem unfair but LRA is in a 7 day quarantine period and there are lots of hazards on a farm so this is all with her, and my dogs, safety in mind. I do look forward to the day when she can take evening walks with us on the property and romp through the stream and cool off in the pond. I also see Dog Agility in her future!
5.30pm
Bethany will here soon so we can give LRA a good check over. I will be interested to see how she adapts when Bethany is around her. Lois did such a good job at Walton County Animal Control in developing the beginnings of trust and she is now blooming with me.