Sunday, November 18, 2007

Steps in all shapes and sizes

After our wonderful Saturday with Jeanne, the trainer, we had a nice evening with the exception of U of M losing to Ohio State. Now neither of us have gone to either school, but given that it is such an intense rivalry, we can only cheer of the team of our home state.

Sammie did well the rest of the evening. He was a little tired from the training (yeah!) but got a little wound up at the end of the night. We put him to bed and he was none too happy but he will adjust. He is adjusting as well as one could hope. He is starting to explore his surroundings - not the frantic, "holy crap where in the world am I" exploration; rather it's now the "hmmm what goodies are around this corner" sleuthing.

One of the reasons I believe that he is adjusting so well is all the work Paul did the first week. Not that we were working with a trainer; rather Paul would walk him for hours, just to exhaust him and try and calm him down. By the time Jeanne got here, we believe that Sammie was starting to piece it together ... the "hey I might actually be home" concept. We have a ways to go but wow, how far we have come in just a week.

We had a nice, long walk this AM. Sammie loves falling leaves and he loves to catch them. It's hilarious. On the way back we used some training techniques while introducing him to the kids next door. He was amazing and so good. He even rolled on his back so all the kids could rub his belly. He was a hit!

I wondered who Sammie would pick to be the alpha. For a while it was Paul, then for a while I thought it was me. But after our long walk this AM, I came inside and Sammie plopped down by the door to the outside. He barked at me several times, clearly telling me that Paul has outside and he didn't like it. He has found his voice. And his alpha.

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