Chester – Day 11
Monday night’s tiff between the dogs apparently hasn’t changed Casey’s efforts to become friends. First thing in the morning she came over to his corner, tail wagging and just put her nose close to his, then walked away like any other morning.
Chester finally had an accident. We’d gone downstairs to potty about 5:30 a.m. and then went back to bed. About 7 a.m. I left him in his kennel/bed and I went to go fix his breakfast, but instead of leaving the bedroom door open, I closed it and headed to get his food. When I came back, he was pacing the room and walking in circles, nervous and frightened. He had peed on a place in the middle of the room and was anticipating the beating he’d likely had in the past for such an act. I ignored him and just cleaned it up. I’m sure he was nervous about being closed in the room and couldn’t help himself. It definitely wasn’t an act of defiance and although I felt sorry for him, I just cleaned it and let it go.
The dogs had a good walk with Chester leading the way. They started out side-by-side as if they were tethered together. Then he picked up the pace and even let himself get enough away where he couldn’t see her (another first). No panic, just walking at his pace and she and Glenn were behind at their own. He led the way back home and waited for the garage door to open.
On Tuesday morning Chester and I woke about 6 a.m. He sat still to let me halter him (normal behavior) and put his leash on. Then without prodding or pulling he walked with me to the basement and out to the back yard to potty. He walked just as effortlessly back upstairs to have breakfast. Chester walked back to his bed, I fixed his food. Then I headed to my office instead of going to him. I set the bowl down in the office and Chester came in on his own, started eating from a standing position (rarely happens when a person is visible). Back to his belly to finish the bowl, but we ARE making progress. Even the leash walking within the house is progress because for most of the first week it was like a tug-of-war with his halter to get him to his feet to move anywhere. Once he was planted in a corner, he had no interest in moving.
Glenn took Casey for one of their typical morning trips … to the lumber store and then Casey’s favorite, Home Depot. They allow well-behaved dogs in the store and she gets lots of petting and attention from customers and clerks alike. They even have a dog biscuit at the check-out counter. Besides the obvious, she loves going for rides with her Dad. That left Chester with me for some one-on-one time and he’s showing appreciation.
Then he began doing something he’s never done … every time I left the room, he showed up with me in the next room within a few minutes. I praised him every time he did. He even stepped onto the dreaded hardwood floor of the hallway several times without running back to the room as I approached. Each time he eventually went back to his comfort areas, but he’s testing the waters to see if he gets into trouble for leaving the safe spots. Chester sat on the leather sofa in the kitchen the entire time I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and wiped the counters. He’s getting LOTS of praise today and no shortage of small dog biscuit treats.
Marvelous progress tonight. Glenn had small dog biscuits and fed each of the dogs at the same time. Chester actually sat up next to Casey and got his several times (see photo). Usually Chester prefers to lie down to eat anything, even treats … this is a big improvement.
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