MISS LACEY - DAY 13

My mother was kind enough to let me know that I am a slacker and I have been neglecting my blog/sharing my days with Lacey with you (with her).  So, after a two day absence, here we go!

Lacey is becoming a better and more secure dog everyday.  She is feeling much better this week, and we have been enjoying a lot of playtime.  She has taken a liking to her rawhide bone as well as her "wubba" (a toy made by Kong) &  because of this, we have gotten the fetch thing down pretty well.  I honestly think I have more fun playing fetch than she does...

She's really been enjoying the snow over the past week.  Not only does she get to her "business" faster, but she also likes to jump around and play.  It's really nice when she gets into a play-mode outside, since she is normally in fear-mode.  I've been walking her with the gentle leader collar and dual looped leash to start teaching her not to pull and to stay behind me.  Its been three days and she's really starting to respond.  She doesn't like walking down the stairs with the leader on, but thats understandable, so I've started putting on the harness when we get downstairs.

After Lacey got sick last week, I decided to implement a "no laying on the furniture" rule.  I was a slack foster dad for the first week as I pretty much let her relax wherever she wanted to.  On Friday I started telling her "no" and making her lay on the floor next to me or would make her go to her crate to rest.  If you are wondering about her progress, she's lying at my feet right now while I type this on the couch.  (And I didn't even tell her to)

From the beginning of this blog I have suggested that Lacey is a really sweet dog.  I am finding that the more that we break through her fear-based issues, the more I am finding her to be a very smart dog.  All of Lacey's issues lie with trust and fear.  She is comfortable enough in my apartment now that she can be herself.  I have even started inviting friends over to meet her, and other than one time with my friend Eric, she has come out of her crate and greeted them/smothered them with love after about 5 minutes.  Once she works past the outside issues, she's going to be a really happy dog.

MISS LACEY - DAY 5

Miss Lacey and I are really getting a chance to get to know each other this weekend.  I've had to work all week, so this is the first day that I have been able to relax with her at home for most of the day.

She and I had a nice long walk around the East Village of NYC this morning.  It's the longest walk we have taken, and Lacey handled it very well.  She stopped once or twice due to loud noises, but as long as I didn't react, and kept up the forward momentum, she kept moving.

We got back to the apartment around 11AM, later than I had wanted, because Lacey still needed to eat.  She's really liking the food I'm giving her now.  Dry food, with one scoop of wet mixed in.  She has been eating like a champ the last two days.  I couldn't be more proud of her.

MISS LACEY - DAY 4

This morning was another great morning.

After we woke up, Lacey watched me from the bed while I got ready.  The moment I pulled out her leash, she was up, tail wagging, spinning in circles at my feet.  This was the most excited I have ever seen this little girl get!  I sat down on the couch and she came right over and let me slip on her lead.  Out the door and down the stairs she goes! No hesitation at all.  I even had to stop because I dropped my keys, but it didn't even phase her.

We went on a nice hour-long walk around the Lower East Side this morning.  She's still pulling, but I think that that is fear based.   When she gets a little overwhelmed,  she speeds up to try to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Right now I am using a slip leash to walk Miss Lacey.  Its similar to a choke collar, but is made of fabric, slips over her neck, and tightens if she pulls too hard.  I have found these types of leashes/collars to be difficult with Rhodesians.  Rhodesians tend to have long necks (plus they are tall), and it is very difficult to keep the leash stationed at the base of their heads.  Therefore, completely taking away our ability to lead the dog.

In a simliar story, a harness called "The Gentle Leader" helped fix this problem with Oritte's dog.  Oritte had tried choke collars, regular collars, slip collars, and even the pronged collars (ew).  Gemma, mind you, is a 90+ pound, six-year-old  Rhodesian Ridgeback female, and if she decides where the walk is going, not only will you go where she wants, but you will end up at the pet store every time.  (She's sly like that).  In an amazing turn of events, Gemma took to the "Leader" right away and her walks became so much easier.

I'm planning on going to the pet store to pick up one of these harnesses.  It may be a long shot, but I want to see how she handles it.  The times during her walk that I had her current harness placed properly, she walked right next to me and didn't pull.  So, I hope, if she doesn't mind the harness on her head, she will take to it as well as Gemma. (BTW, Gemma is the beautiful dog in my profile picture)

Back to the apartment.  Stairs, no issue. Food, she gobbled it right up. She's still playing peek-a-boo while I shower, but afterward she just sits on my bed waiting for me to get ready.

Today was the first day that Lacey responded to a command.  I told her to come off the bed (she did), and then I motioned for her to "get in your crate" (she did, and laid down right away)

Leaving for work didn't hurt at much as the past few days.  Lacey seems to be much more at ease.  She's a good girl.

MISS LACEY - DAY 2

Lacey slept in the bed with me all night. She started out at the foot of the bed, but every time I woke up, she was a little bit closer. Finally, this morning, I had to move her because i was pinned against the wall ( I think we were spooning).

She was very excited when I took out her leash. She definitely wanted to go out and she let me slip the leash and collar right on her.

The problem with the stairs came back ten fold for the way down. Lacey started shaking and wouldn't go near the stairs. I tried to coax her for about 10 minutes, but knowing she had to go badly (as it had been at least 10 hours) I picked her up and carried her down 4 flights. The moment she saw the outside, she was fine with the stairs. I think she wasn't fully aware that down the stairs was the way out.

We walked for about 30-40 minutes, running into several dogs and people. She isn't the least bit interested in the other dogs, but the people frighten her. All of the new sights and sounds seemed to be a bit of a shock to her. However, when she walked, she walked HARD and tends to pull. She went 1 & 2 after about 15 minutes of walking. After that, we walked around the block a few times. I'm trying to get her used to the area and the sounds of the city. It definitely feels like she is a nature dog as she preferred to walk on the snow, rather then the concrete.

Once we got back to my apartment building , she seemed to recognize it right away. She had no problem at all with the stairs and went straight up to my apartment, no fighting at all. She walked right inside, sat down, and let me take of her leash and collar. She jumped up onto the bed (her new favorite sleep space) and watched me prepare her food. She is not food driven at all, at least not yet. I made her a bowl of food, and refilled her water. She took to the water, but left the food be. I think I need to contact the shelter and see what she was eating.

Next, a funny thing happened while I was taking my morning shower. She kept running into the bathroom, would wait for me to open the curtain, and then would walk out. This happened about 6 times. I took it as her "checking up on me" but we will see if it becomes a habit.

As I got ready for work, she laid on the bed watching me. She still hadn't touched her food, but hopefully thats just her adjusting.

The hardest thing this morning was leaving with her in her crate. She went in perfectly fine and laid right down, but a dog behind bars looks 1000 times more sad then a dog on a bed.

MISS LACEY - DAY 1

I was contacted about Lacey about a week ago. She was a shy & scared Rhodesian Ridgeback mix that was sitting at a kill shelter in Long Island, and was on the short list to be euthanized. The Rhodesian Ridgeback Rescue had found her several weeks prior, but right as they were about to rescue her, she was adopted by a small family in LI. Cut to two weeks later, the family decided to return her because "She's scared of my husband and she peed on our new couch."

Needless to say, Lacey was brought into the city from the Islip Animal Shelter last night. She refused to get out of the car, but once we got her out, she took me for a walk. We managed to get her to my apartment, but she didn't really like the stairs. She had no problem walking up them, but it seemed that because she didn't know her surroundings, and didn't really trust yet, she wasn't prepared to go up them.

Once we got into my apartment, she did a quick look around and then settled on the rug in the kitchen. Denise and I sat with her in the kitchen for 30 minutes or so. Lacey drank two bowls of water, and ate a half a cup of food.

Oritte came over and Lacey took to her immediately. I think there is no question that Lacey prefers women. She laid down in Orittes lap almost immediately and actually fell asleep. (snoring)

I managed to get Lacey onto the bed and she has completely taken over the space. This dog is a love, and just needs some time and stability.