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Friday, January 14, 2011

Improvement! I think...

We have continued practicing Ferguson's alone training, beginning this morning when Eric and I left him for 30 minutes while we went to McDonald's for breakfast.  When we returned, we returned to a very upset barking, panting, Fergus : /...I don't even know if he finished his peanut butter kong treat.  I decided to be diligent for the rest of the day.  We continued practice, while we would come and go. 

Later in the day, Eric's sister Meaghan came over to hang out with us, and we all took him for the mile walk before leaving him again to go to dinner (being gone for about an hour this time).  I gave him his usual peanut butter kong (which he usually seems enthusiastic about), but also dragged Nile's kennel with Niles in it next to him and left the TV on.  When we returned, I didn't hear any barking like we had in the morning (!), though he was panting somewhat...hopefully just a lesser stress reaction.  So!  Niles makes him feel less alone, it sounds like.  Hopefully as he gets to be more comfortable, he won't need Niles anymore, or can find the same comfort in a cat staying in the same room with him (or of course, eventually, another dog or two). 

Nile's active, animated nature makes him a great conversationalist to the other dogs around him...or rather, he bores them to death into actually sleeping until we get back. 


In any case, I'm proud of the progress that he's made for something he's been having such a hard time with :).  As I said before, I think he'll get it even more once we start going to work with all that mental stimulation to wear him out. 

In other news, Ferg still has no interest in running in his newly fenced backyard....only getting back inside.  This morning, it went sort of like this:

Me: "Okay, Ferg!  Go potty!"
Ferg: "Okay okay...." (walks to other end of the yard, does #2 before sprinting back in front of me). "I'm done!"
Me: "What?  You haven't peed."
Ferg: "Um...I don't have to."
Me: "Ferg. It's been eight hours.  You have to pee."
Ferg: "I can hold it."
Me: "You don't need to hold it.  We're right here."
Ferg: "No, I'm fine.  It's cold.  Let's go inside."
Me: *sighs* "No, Ferg." (puts on his leash and walks him to other side of yard)
Ferg: "Okay, OKAY..." (proceeds to pee for like three minutes straight).
Me: "Jesus!  I told you you had to pee!"
Ferg: "Yeah yeah yeah...I still coulda held it..."

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