Bonnie joined our family seven weeks ago and came with a totally different history to any dog that we have rescued before. She is a wee sweetheart and has settled well but even so we are very much in the process of “figuring her out”.
She is treat focused but not food obsessed. All three dogs will happily eat side by side. She has cottoned onto toilet training pretty quickly. I wouldn’t say she’s 100% yet but probably at about 95%!
Our main work in progress is out on our walks. She is not as confident out with her own house and garden but we do see improvements coming slowly. She does, for the most part, enjoy her walks and meeting other dogs (people not so much!). She has what we call “moments” where she just stops. There is not always an apparent reason for this to us but there obviously is one in Bonnie’s mind. I can now recognise from her facial expression and body language if this is a “give me a minute (or 10!!)” moment from which she will move on herself or if it’s a “nope, the towel is being thrown in right here”moment. Even if it is the latter it never sets the tone for the rest of our walk. She enjoys meeting up with the Thursday Afternoon Gang, all dachshunds, and has fitted in well with them and is happy around their humans.
She doesn’t get playing with toys yet but she does enjoy chew ones and she and Norman do do the zoomies. They get on fine but they are definitely not snuggle buddies, maybe that will come, maybe it won’t. We realise that even though she continues to progress it won’t necessarily happen in a logical order. We will keep breaking down challenges to tiny steps that she is comfortable with and go with the flow! I am planning on doing an online core conditioning course with her in the New Year which I hope will benefit her on a number of levels.
We are and always will be so, so grateful to this amazing group for giving us the opportunity to have this wonderful girl in our lives.