Things are looking up

Things are getting better. I heard back from the dog training facility and there's room for Gozer starting on January 8 and going for seven weeks. Hopefully by the end of it I'll be able to handle Gozer easily.

We had quite the walk today. We met a few dogs on our path and one of them seemed really interested in Gozer. I asked the owner if it was ok for her to approach and he said that his dog wasn't that good on the leash. It turns out that "not that good on the leash" means "will bite my dog". They were sniffing snouts when the owner tried to pull his dog away and the dog bit her on the face. Gozer wasn't hurt and no skin was broken (thank goodness!) so Ian thinks it was a dominance thing and not an attack. Gozer reacted by barking like crazy while I pulled her away. That owner could use some obedience training with his dog.

Last night was a bit tough for Gozer because her crate was in the living room instead of the bedroom. She barked a few times before I went to sleep and at least once after I was in bed. If she barked after that, I didn't hear it. In the morning Gozer didn't pee as much as she normally does so Ian was worried that she'd soiled her bed (another sign of separation anxiety). Fortunately, her bed was try and didn't smell so she was probably just a bit dehydrated. I know that the pee habits of our dog might be a little TMI but this is an important subject to us.

Gozer spent quite even more time in her crate today because I had an appointment with my psychologist. My next appointment will be in January (although I could see her next week if necessary) and she wanted to be sure that I have my coping skills and techniques in place for the holidays. I think I'm in good enough shape to handle things - not that I expect much to come up. The point is that I have the tools I need and the more I use them, the better able I'll be to handle things as they come up. This is definitely good news.