Journal Entry from September 4th, 2012

September 4, 2012

• ·         0530 – my foster son came home.  Echo and I were sleeping in an enclosure in the living room.  She woke up, and “alerted”, without making a sound at the noise.  When I reacted as if this was normal, she went back to sleep.
• ·         0730 – woke feisty.  Played for about 10-15 minutes, went and peed
• ·         0750 – ate
• ·         0755 – pooped: normal consistency, STRONG odor; had some hair in it
• ·         0930 – was in room while Kevin showered; exhibited anxiety
• ·         1005 – went down for a nap
• ·         1040 – woke up from nap, peed shortly after
• ·         1125 – pooped
• ·         1215 -  ate
• ·         1235 – fell asleep
• ·         1445 – woke up,  peed, played
• ·         1510 – left for first vet visit with Doc Jo, and to meet Aaron
• ·         1530 (ish) – First visit with Doc Jo went fine.  She was impressed with Echo, and All American Dogs Foundation.  Next booster shots set for 3 weeks later.  Spaying discussed. Shot happened without Echo even noticing.
• ·         1745 (ish) – got home from vet, and a few errands (Echo stayed in kennel in the truck with Amy, with the A/C on).  Echo peed, trained some, attempted to play “chase”
• ·         1830 – went down for a nap
• ·         1900 – ate, and peed
• ·         1945 – nap time
• ·         2100 – woke up
• ·         2145 – peed
• ·         2215 – crashed … woke up for brief spurts, but other than that, down for the count

• ·         Seems to have, either: developed the habit of “stockpiling” food in her kennel, or not finding it all, when dropped in from the back and sides.
• ·         From, both, mine and my wife’s perspective “bonding” seems to be going well
• ·         No longer “digs” for treats in your hand.  Touches the nose to the closed fist, to let you know she knows, and waits for hand to be opened.  That started this morning.
• ·         Has started jumping on furniture, after seeing Gimli do it. On the 3^rd, she was trying to climb onto the couch.  On the 4^th, after having seen Gimli do it multiple times, she used the couch like a gymnast’s vault, and was on the back of it in two leaps.
• ·         Echo and Gimli, both, exhibit signs of “spiral arousal” during play.  It appears that is going to be a concern for a while.  Though, late tonight, I saw signs of that easing.

Primary concerns, at this point:

• ·         Name recognition
• ·         Shower room anxiety
• ·         Jumping on furniture without invitation
• ·         Relationship between Echo and Gimli
• ·         Erratic “schedule”/”body clock”

Positives:

• ·         Bond between Echo and myself seems VERY strong, for this point in the relationship
• ·         The change in “digging” for treats, from me, at least
• ·         Echo’s “calm” demeanor when confronted with potential alarms (re: my foster son coming in, unexpectedly, when we were asleep)
• ·         First attempt at “chase” went okay, but not great.  She stayed focused on me the entire time.  She appeared to get the concept.  Possibly distracted. … it was our first attempt at physical play.
• ·         Her first encounter with the vet, and getting a shot went VERY well.
• ·         Took to new people at the vet VERY well.

Secondary concerns:

• ·         The odor of her feces/flatulence is INTENSE.  (Like George Carlin once said:  “It’s not the smell, IT’S THE BURNING OF MY EYES!!!!”)
• ·         Don’t know whether she is not finding the food dropped into her kennel, or “stockpiling” it.
• ·         I think we can fix the name recognition issue, but, in the end, she might end up responding to “Little Girl” more than Echo.

Final thoughts for the day:

                She is BEAUTIFUL.  She is SMART.   She wants to have ONE person to focus on, and gets a bit anxious when she can’t see or be near that person.  I watched, today, as she figured fairly complex things out.  Things she didn’t get at 9 this morning, she had mastered by 7 tonight.  … Once this body and brain “grow into” those ears and paws, she is going to be AMAZING!