Tuesday 27 September 2011

PonyGirl Progress Report

Some thoughts on the PonyGirl experience, so far. My dog has come a long, long way. It seems that once she hit 2 years old, a subtle change took place and she suddenly became more 'domesticated'. Her 'wildness' seemed to wane a little bit. She now comes when called (most of the time). She actually 'leaves it' when I say 'leave it'. We figured out that 'wait' is something she understands and is willing to do. This comes in so handy on the trail. Yay! Slowly, we have come to an understanding of each other. She is still the most unusual dog I know. She is not the Cowgirl, as I have finally accepted. But, I have learned to read her like a good book. She is still a reactive type dog so it is important for me to pay attention to her and everything around us. ALL. THE. TIME. We still work on 'impulse control'. This is a tough one. But she tries. She can now restrain herself in the presence of a cat, but only when she is on leash. The good thing is that if a cat holds its ground, PonyGirl just stops. She doesn't attack, and for that I am so grateful. It's the 'chase' that delights her. But still....well, I guess she IS a dog, after all. Oh and the one real sweet thing is that she is learning to like cuddling in bed. I guess she decided I was serious when I kept telling her that this was a non-negotiable issue. She is still just a bag of bones but now she lets me kiss her and hold her close. I am relaxing more with her and she is too. Funny how that works.

4 comments:

kevel88 said...

Wait till she has her own real home!! She will love it. Will she get her own bedroom?

kj

Anonymous said...

Awwwhhhh..... Don't you LOVE watching them grow and change, and UNDERSTAND us more?

Hugs! Love the pic, it's a fave~ Should I color one for you?

JoJoBoBo

Sparky's Mom said...

So are you saying there's hope for us? Er, Finster and I? LOL

Glad she's mellowed out a bit. Now come the even funner years... I can't wait. :)

ingrid said...

wonderful!!! Funny how we both now have reactive cat chasing dogs! Scarlett is an Olympic Snuggler though. No problems there. She could win awards.
It's been a strange journey hasn't it. Saying goodbye, saying hello, not letting go, trying to connect. It's not about us, it's about them. Even though I know this, it's been difficult.
I'm so happy to read that your connection is building. :)
Cheers, and much love.
-Ingrid & Scarlett Grey.