We've Had a Lot of Firsts

Kid Circle
On Tuesday I had the kids make a circle, gave each of them a treat and put Bonnie in the middle. She was definately uncomfortable with the kids, although she willingly went around the circle and took treats from their open hands. I gave each of them a second treat and she repeated.

It was interesting how quickly she warmed up to them - initially her tail was down low -- almost between her legs. By the end of round two her tail was up over her back -- which is her normal tail set.

Playing with Mystic

Bonnie and Mystic started playing together! At one point this weekend Mystic had attemped to get Bonnie to play with him, and she snapped at him. Then on Monday I saw Bonnie give a little play bow and they've been playing together ever since.

Reactivity Coming Out

Ok -- so not such a good first. Bonnie's starting to feel very comfortable, and she's starting to reactive bark. It happens the most when there's a sudden change in environment; everythings quiet and then there's a noise, someone walking into a room, etc.

She did get reactive and fear/alarm bark at someone who stopped by my office to see her. The woman is very tall and was wearing a baseball cap. I'm not sure why she reacted to this particular woman -- but obviously she has some issues with people that will take quite a bit of work.

Confined to a Crate

I've been feeding Bonnie in her crate, but hadn't actually confined her to one. I've left her several times loose in my house when shoveling, and even once when I went to the store -- no accidents, and no damage. But I was going to be gone a looong time on Christmas, and I didn't want to chance it.

I gave all the dogs a Kong before I left -- Bonnie got her's in the crate, and then I shut the door. She cried, but not too badly. I got home 9 hours later, and she was fine and the crate was dry. This is a very good skill for her to have for when she goes to her new home.

Dog Park

Today I took Mystic and Bonnie to the dog park. She did alarm bark when we first got there at a woman and her dogs that were off in the field. But once we'd been there a while she did great - I think she truly enjoyed the wide open space and being able to chase after Mystic. She would run within a foot or two of other people, but never stopped to say hello.

I almost think this environment was good for her - people at the dog park generally don't attempt to pet loose dogs unless the dog obviously comes up and wants them too. So Bonnie got to see people in a non-threatening environment while having a good time.