Day 16: The Pip and Kip Show

Day 16:  So, by popular request, this is going to now be the Pip and Kip blog, rather than just Pippa.  It'll still be mostly about Pippa's journey, but I think Kipling's journey is important too.

First, a little about Kipling.  He's also from the rescue in Louisiana.  He's a 4 (ish) year old boy.  He's very sweet, but just like Pippa, very scared of people.  Where Pippa just turns in to a lump and tries to pretend she doesn't exist, Kipling dances just out of reach and keeps moving at all times, lest he be caught.  I think Kipling will actually recover faster than Pippa, because he's at least willing to interact with me and come to me.  He just needs to learn that it's okay if someone reaches for him.  He needs to learn that loud noises and sudden movements are not going to hurt him.  Kipling LOVES my dogs, his little stubby tail vibrates 100 mph when he's around my dogs and in the yard playing with them.  He happily explores my yard, plays with the other dogs, and has even tried picking up a toy or two.  Like Pippa, he won't eat if someone is watching him, but he will drink water.

I made a tiny bit of progress with both dogs today, but I think the big, noticeable steps may be slowing down a bit, so I may not be updating daily if I don't see any significant changes from one day to the next.

Today, I worked from home all day.  Kipling was brave enough to lay down next to my desk chair and let me pet him for quite a while.  Then, he got up and went to the dog bed across the room.  He went to sleep in the dog bed for a couple of hours.  Usually, when I work from home, all the dogs hang out in the office with me, so Kipling seemed to find it safe and settled really well.  I did have to play "catch Kipling" this evening when I needed to leave to take Buster to Obedience class.  Usually, "catch Kipling" ends when I manage to corner him in a hallway or room and then get to the side of him and manage to put a hand on his back.  At that point, he freezes to see what I'm going to do.  I spend a few minutes just petting him, then take him by the collar and gently lead him to the crate.  I don't want to set him back, but sometimes, it's necessary to just get him in the crate.  I'm trying to avoid collar grabs with him, but since he freezes when I manage to touch him, that's working okay for now.  He will occasionally take treats from my hands, but I have to sit very still and wait patiently for him to come to me.  If I try to grab him as he's taking a treat. then it takes several more tries to establish his trust again.

Pippa is continuing to venture out of her corner of the hallway.  If she doesn't know where I am, and can't find me, she'll put herself in her crate.  I left her in her corner when I went to take a shower, and when I got out, she was laying in her crate.  If she doesn't see me for a while, she'll venture out of her corner to just locate me, and then she goes back.  She's gotten comfortable enough in her corner to get up, move around, and change positions.  She can see me in my office from her hallway corner, and every now and again, she will sit up, check to make sure I'm still there, and then lay down again.  She is now fairly reliably going outside and to her crate when I walk up to her and tell her she needs to.  Pippa still won't eat if anyone is watching and she will only drink a tiny bit.  She will lick gooey treats off of my fingers, and she will take small treats from my hands.  Today, I even got her to lick peanut butter out of the mostly empty jar.  That was scary for her, because apparently peanut butter jars are scary.  Once she realized there was good stuff inside, though, she was willing to lick out of it.  She did keep her eyes on me the whole time, to make sure nothing bad was going to happen.  Pippa continues to be interested in my dogs, and loves to watch Charm hunt birds in the yard.  Pippa isn't quite brave enough to join in, but she'll stand at a distance and watch both Charm and the birds.  She's making progress.  It's slow, but steady.  I'm getting less and less of the wide eyed, terrified look when I approach her, and more curious looks as she watches to see if I'm going to ask her to move, or pet her, or offer her a treat.

Kipling, I hope will be ready for adoption in a month or two.  Other than his fear, he's healthy and ready to be placed.  I just can't put him in a forever home until he is willing to come up to people rather than keeping 4 feet away at all times.  Pippa...well...she's going to be a long term foster.  She needs to go through heartworm treatment, but that's not going to happen until she's a little less fearful.  I expect I'll have her at least 6 months...maybe more.  That's okay.  She's really an easy foster, and I can wait for her to learn to trust people.