Sofi and the rest of us made it through a four day stretch of me being gone without a single hitch! She did great with Andre and she even learned a couple of new tricks while I was out of town. All in all, she is turning out to be a well-behaved, eager to please, cheerful, sometimes very Tigger-esque dog.

We are nearing the date when we need to schedule her for a spay and also decrease her dosage on the anti-anxiety meds. I need to call K-State to discuss the possibility of the hip replacement. Right now it seems insane to subject her to something that would require her to be severely limited in her actions for 6-8 weeks!!!! What on earth would she do with all that energy without being able to bounce around the yard several times a day? And, it just doesn't seem like she is dealing with pain issues at this point, or if she is, she sure is not letting on. One thing at a time I guess--and the spay is next on the list so I'm going to shelve the other surgery for the time being.

Sofi still has a few things to conquer before she earns her certificate of good citizenship around here....she did pee in the living room yesterday, while I was making my lunch. That was disappointing because I thought she had that one wired. And speaking of wires, she chewed the one for the overhead lights in my office (thankfully they were unplugged at the time) to shredded bits. I guess my rabbit-proofing skills are going to come back into play here. We've still got to get her comfortable on a leash again and some car rides would not be a bad idea either. All in good time I guess. In the meantime, I think we are all just enjoying a predictable routine with her each day and her smile, which she displays with more and more frequency.

I guess an update is long overdue! We are settling into routines around here and things are going pretty smoothly overall, with minor glitches here and there.

The morning routine is getting better, Sofi is responding to gentle corrections when she does things like almost gnaw my hand off during a play session or engaging in a little session of "nuisance barking." She did pee on the floor in the living room on Sunday, but I caught her in the act and I think she "got it" that the location was not acceptable. Since then I haven't worried so much about that happening because it seemed to click for her.

I have perfected my recipe for "poop seasoning" that sends her running in the opposite direction (a heavy lacing of black pepper was not even enough to deter her from her problem behavior...) The base is black pepper, and I added cajun seasoning and ground cloves! It works! But I still have to creep around and spy on her, then descend upon her with my little shaker while she is pooping and before she gets a chance to eat it...hopefully this will not have to go on indefinitely, because it's not one of my more dignified skills.

And, the news we've all been waiting for...the verdict is in on the surgery plan. The toggle wire plan is not an option, according to the orthopedic surgeon. This leaves hip replacement and FHO. I am not feeling comfortable with the FHO option, given that the hip replacement is far superior in several ways. So, we will plan on spaying her in about a month, then we'll wait another month or so before we do the hip replacement. This would be a K-State deal, and just the transportation part seems very daunting to me, let alone the expense, but I know we can get through it. And hopefully, we will have given her the gift of a long life without pain in her rear quarters, at least.

Sofi still has bouts of low self-confidence and fear, and she now refuses to go for a walk at all. We're backing off of that for a while, but I really hope we can get her back on track with that. Her progress far outweighs her challenges at this point, which makes me very happy.

Old Fears Persist

I'm doing my best to embrace Cesar Millan's philosophy that dogs want to live in the now, and it's our job to help them leave behind whatever happened to them in the past and be the dog they want to be right now. Overall, that is working well. I have more confidence in dealing with her and encouraging her to confront her fears. Sometimes my confidence and encouragement are not enough though.

She did not want to go on a walk last night AT ALL. After much coaxing and a little dragging, she did come along, but was anxious and reluctant for most of the journey. When we arrived back home, she retreated and withdrew for the remainder of the evening. Also, she still will not come when called (except for coming inside, for which I am extremely grateful!) and still cowers whenever someone walks towards her. She has not sought out any affection yet, either. I am willing to accept these things if they don't change, but I really hope things will continue to improve.

Some Recent Photos

Settling In

I think we are on the verge of normalcy! Sofi shows improvement each day in her level of comfort and well-being in our household. I gave her a bath on Saturday, which took a lot of courage on my part and hers, but we made it through, and by the time I finished brushing her, she had transformed into a beautiful dog! She smells sooooooo much better too.

She is loving the nightly walk and is already getting comments from people stopping us on the street and asking what kind of dog she is. She's doing well on the leash, and with any other skill we've worked on with her. She catches on quickly. She still doesn't really want to spend time in the living part of the house, but I hope that will change as she gets more comfortable.

I'm still looking forward to the day when she will come seeking some affection on her own, or when she will hang out in the living room without being coerced, or not run the other way when someone walks toward her.

A Good Week!

Sofi is doing very well! Each day she gets just a little more comfortable with us. She can now sit for a cookie and is willing to spend short periods of time in the living room/kitchen areas. She's been on three short walks now, and on each one we've gone a bit further...hopefully we can make it around the entire block tonight.

She is still waking very early (4:30 this morning, although she went back to sleep for a while after I took her outside) but she seemed to understand when I shared with her my feelings about her early morning barking.

Sofi can dismantle a tennis ball in less than five minutes and she's destroyed one throw rug so far. We will have to keep her constantly supplied with chewing supplies I guess.

She still freezes up occasionally, near doors and when I call her to come to me, but each day seems to bring slight improvements. Her favorite person right now is Carter, whom she will follow anywhere. She's making progress in her relationships with each of us though.

Still having problems with poop-eating :( even with the For-Bid.

By the way, I can't seem to find any photos on the internet of a Bernese MD with no white area between the eyes. I'm just wondering if she has uncommon markings for this breed, and perhaps if that is why she was still at the puppy mill--maybe she wasn't "marketable" because of this "flaw?" Just one of many theories I guess.

Back on track, somewhat

Well, I didn't adhere completely to the umbilical cord approach for three solid days, but I think my modified approach was still productive. Sofi came out of "turtle" mode on Day 2 (Sunday) and I started giving her (OK, myself) some freedom when she began demonstrating a bit more willingness to engage with me.

We switched over to the retractable leash, which she appreciated. Dr. Bradley approved an rx for anti-anxiety, and within an hour of taking one tonight, we had her walking down the sidewalk out front with her tail up! We went halfway down the block and back. When we came back, she burned off plenty of energy in the back yard, then followed me around the house (inside) several times--no leash involved. My biggest concern about her outside is the speed with which she launches herself through the yard, sometimes clipping a tree with her shoulder or coming dangerously close to the edge of the pond. She has a lot more speed and energy than dexterity at this point, and I just cringe when she is zooming around out there.

I have ordered a plug-in diffuser with pheromones for dog calming, so between that and the anti-anxiety meds, she should be the picture of placidness! I know the anti-anxiety meds are not to be taken lightly, but I just feel like this is an appropriate situation for them--she wants to move forward, and I think this will help her do the things she wants to do. There is a happy dog inside there, if she can just dig out through the fear.