Day 10: Lots of Petting

Day 10:  Today Pippa spent a fairly uneventful day laying in the hallway while I worked.  She would get brave on occasion and get up to get a drink of water from the bowl near her.  She also stood up a few times to change positions.  She's definitely becoming more relaxed in her little corner of the hallway.

After I got home from teaching agility class, I took all the dogs outside and we sat out there for an hour.  Pippa is very comfortable in the yard now.  She will wander around, lay in the grass, follow Charm around, and just act like a normal dog.  The only thing she still won't do is come near me.  She managed to get within 3 feet, which is a whole foot closer than she's approached so far.  When it was time to go in, I opened the door and my dogs rushed inside.  Pippa wanted to go in, but I was standing next to the door.  I waited quietly to see what she'd do, and she finally decided to be brave and scuttled past me and in to the house.

One inside for the evening, I decided to sit with Pippa and just pet and massage her.  She was laying in the hallway, so I sat next to her and slid her over until she was touching me.  She instantly tensed up.  I ignored the tension and just massaged her for a good half an hour.  She finally relaxed and put her head down.  She had been tensely holding it up.  Once she was relaxed and seemed comfortable with me, I managed to get her to stand up, and with a little prodding, she went in to her crate on her own.

I think I'll continue the nightly massage sessions with her now that she's not quite so terrified of me.