West has come so far from the beginnings of this blog. He's still likely to woof when he's worried, but always moving away, escaping if that's an option.
He greeted Lindsay without even a worried look yesterday. He has met her twice before, and both times required some serious time and her staying perfectly still, etc. This time, she came into the RV and he was crated, uncovered. He was fine when we entered (did his usual LET ME OUT fuss, but settled), then gave a random demand bark (very much NOT his "I'm scared" bark). I decided to give it a shot and opened up his crate. Lindsay is VERY dog savvy, so I wasn't worried she'd do anything weird or be terribly upset if he did go off barking.
West came out of his crate, leapt on me, and when I asked him to get off, he approached Lindsay right away. Almost totally soft body language, seeking attention. Put his feet up on her, got some pets from her. We hung out for about 5-10 minutes inside and he was great. I let Archie out and we went outside, and he was also great outside, though I was tossing the ball for Archie, so mostly he herded Arch.
Still... A few months ago, this would NOT have worked. A few months ago, he leapt barking at my sister, twice. And he'd met her far more times than he's met Lindsay. Good job, West!
On another note, I spent a couple hours out in the yard this evening (yay for warm!) putting all the agility equipment together. I now have 4 complete jumps, one pvc 2x2, and an 8 'rung' ladder. The ladder needs some.. repairs.. but I think it will be okay for now. The jumps are still in great shape. I'm quite amazed at the people who say their PVC equipment doesn't last more than a season.. This stuff is at least 4 years old now, and I think I have a total of 4 broken pieces (mostly Ts that were frozen to the ground when a certain border collie puppy ran straight into the upright/weavepole and SNAPPED THE T IN HALF). They've been moved in a not-very-secured moving truck, stored outside all that time, and generally not treated very well. Even the taped bars are still in fine shape. I guess I'm lucky!
While I was doing all this, West managed to get Archie to play a couple times, for about 20 seconds at a time. Better than nothing. I'm hoping that as I spend more time just busy outside, they will play more. West is coming into town with me tomorrow for a possible play date, depending on how many people are around, etc. Hopefully, it goes well! I'll try to bring my camera! Jeez!
I'm simply amazed at how far West has come since he arrived at Food Lady's house. He is such a beautiful dog and it was a shame how scared he was of everything. Thanks for posting his progress.
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