Paulanka….

…is what Caroline has affectionately renamed our dog.

In the nearly two months we’ve had Nana, she’s made tremendous progress. When she first came to live with us, she slept on the couch all day, and wouldn’t eat, drink, pee or poo until we went to bed. While we asleep, she tore apart our blinds covering the windows in the living room, so we had a crazy dog for all the world to see. We couldn’t get her to walk on a leash, and had to carry her outside where she woud sit (read: save peeing for our carpet!) and stare at us with terrified eyes. Everything was a struggle.

 

Bit by bit, we’ve gotten her to walk on a leash outside. Outside, actually, is where she transforms from the cowardly lion into a real dog. She’ll chase us up and down the courtyard outside, run after birds and tennis balls, and return when we tell her to come. She’s come to trust us more through lots of play outside, and is now better about her indoor habits (she’ll eat and drink in front of us, only “go” when we take her out, etc). Lately, I’ve gotten her to accompany me to Milagro, although the automatic doors at Toucan’s freak her out.

 

 

Not to say that we still don’t have some problems, but Tanner and I are quickly learning not to leave things we value on the floor after we go to bed. She is the Midnight Chewer Who Chews at Midnight!

 

New Dog. Again.

Last Wednesday, Tanner and I stopped by the animal shelter “to look.” I think we both knew we were going to adopt that day. And we did.

The thing is, our criteria had slightly shifted. It’s very likely that parvo virus is still alive in our apartment, so we had to choose an adult dog. We picked up a two year old mixed terrier named Nana. She is the most timid animal I have ever seen. It’s going to be a huge challenge trying to teach her to live with people (house breaking, leash training, etc). Right now, she has just shifted from hiding place to hiding place.

Nana is an excerise in patience. Which is hard to two dog owners who only want to romp with her.

She likes underneath the table best.