Sofi.

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.