Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Echo at 15 weeks and some progress!

Echo is now 15 weeks old and 48 pounds. She experienced her first snow yesterday and was very curious. She thought the best part of it was eating it! But she definitely HATES the cold!! I literally have to push her out the door and then she takes two steps and pees instead of going to the back of the yard where she usually goes. I will post snow pictures with the next post.


The above picture shows Echo doing what she does best......latching onto anything that comes close to her mouth; in this case, my hand. This is why doing something as simple as petting her is very difficult. She won't even let your hand get close to her without clamping down on it....and it hurts! This morning I decided that things HAVE to change. She's missing out on such crucial socialization because no one can get near her for fear of her chewing them up.....quite literally! So, this morning, I spent a good while standing in front of her and attempting to pet her. Latching on to my hand was the first attempt (as well as many subsequent attempts). After this first time, everytime she started to go for my hand, I pulled it away and signed "no." I then waited and when she was "calm," I signed "good girl" (thumbs up) and attempted to pet her. Eventually, she let me touch her without trying to take my hand off. I was signing "good girl" to her with the other hand the entire time I was petting her.

She finally decided that having a good ole head rub wasn't such a bad thing. As soon as she would move and show her teeth, I stopped petting her and just kept repeating the whole process over and over.

She finally relaxed SO much that she was like butter in the chair, enjoying a good head scratch. This may not seem like a big deal to others, but this is HUGE.......!!!! She will still go after things with her mouth but I feel like we made a breakthough and with work, she will actually begin to learn that someone touching her is a very positive experience and one to desire!!
This LWT has a really horrible smell. Can't quite explain it. So this morning, she had her third shower! She does really well and actually just stood there, waiting for me to finish washing her. If I got close to her face, she would try to latch onto my hands or the shower head, but otherwise, she did well!
I have renewed hope that things WILL get better!!

All relaxed after lots of good scratches!!
I got out Zen's old kuranda bed for Echo and of course....she LOVES it! Here, she was watching me wash dishes :)

16 comments:

Allison Walton said...

Good girl, Echo! It sounds like a definite process, but it will be so worth it when you have peace of mind about Echo's behavior.

Tail wags and snuggles for continued progress!

Gus, Waldo, and Dog Mom

Lynn said...

Yeah Echo!

Eduardo said...

Thats such a great breakthrough! I know it's going to get even better!
Hugs & Snugs
Eduardo the Snuggle Puggle

Lady Kaos said...

Awww, that's great! She seems to learn fast so I bet she'll be ready to socialize soon.
Kaos

Raising Addie said...

Way to go Echo!

You are soooo very smart!

You are also getting sooo big! I wish I could play with you. I believe we would have the best time together!

Kisses
Addie

Mack said...

She is one big beautiful baby!!

Dexter said...

Oh the poor little gal is missing out on love and smoochie face. You are so patient with her. She looks happy once she figured out that hands are good for scratching.

Slobbers,
Mango

Lindsay said...

That IS a huge break-through! I think that Echo is going to make great progress after this. And it's great for her to learn that she has to have manners to get good things like pets and scratches! (If I'm not polite, I don't get anything! My Nanny and Papa are quite impressed with this, but The Girl says it's mandatory!)

Brown dog kisses,
Dannan

Unknown said...

Awe, bless her heart. Just stand your ground and keep consistent with her and she'll get the message. I have lost the sticky mailing label with your address... can you please email it to me.. I have your box sitting in my SUV, its been to the post office twice and I still cant get it sent. I'll mail it to you AS SOON as you get my your addy.. sorry its taken so long and it sounds like you could REALLY use it about now.

Molly the Airedale said...

You're a smart girl, Echo! We know you'll come through this new lesson just fine!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

The Musketeers said...

Look at how much you have grown !!

Sharon said...

Yay! Good luck with the training :)

S and D

Amber and Nala said...

Yeah Echo...keep up the good work!

Kisses,
Nala

DogsDeserveFreedom said...

Echo is lovely! Lovin' the Danes!

dogsdeservefreedom

i said...

She sure has grown quite a bit now! What a cutie!

Dino and Family said...

Thank you so much for your beautiful card. I love it! Can you please email me your email address to dino@lovedino.com? I would love to send you an e-card. Have a great weekend. Love,Dino