Toenails

Grace let me clip three (!) of her nails last night! Of course, she was a bit hesitant and pulled back a little on the third nail, but she did great. And, got lots of treats. We'll do a few more tonight.

She is also getting much better about going out the door. She will now come out of her crate when coaxed and, even though she "slinks" across the room, she will allow me to grab her collar when I need to and is walking much better on a leash. She doesn't bolt away in fear anymore, either. In fact, she is doing so well that I am no longer using a drag line inside the house.

Her crate is her safe spot, though, and she doesn't like to come out of it. But, she has gotten to the point where she will stand in the doorway to her little "cave" and watch me while I prepare a meal or give the other dogs their treats. Of course, she gets treats, too, but she isn't ready to brave the room to get one. So, I walk her treat over to her and she will take it out of my hand, rather than cowering in the back of the crate.

And, because she spends so much time in there, even with the door open, I make sure that she gets plenty of stuffed Kongs and playtime outside. The Kongs keep her mind busy and the playtime outside lets her really stretch her legs. She especially likes to roll in the powdery snow. And, she has begun interacting with Robbie and Ella. She greeted Maggie really well last night, too.

And, since the kitchen is the place where we practice our obedience training, she gets to watch the other dogs go through their cues. Last night, she watched Maggie practicing "down." Every once in awhile, I would toss a treat to Grace, just for paying attention while Maggie was in class.

This doesn't seem like much improvement, but it is. She is getting braver and more confident. Tiny baby steps on the road towards adoption.