Wednesday, July 22, 2009

No huge update today because I'm still knackered from our project on Sunday.

I will say that I think giving Elvis a treat for "kenneling" into his crate is going to produce the desired results of him going in on his own. It will take a few days, but now he waits behind me when it's time to go in his crate, so I do think he'll eventually go in on command.

Also, Randall and I are taking turns holding him in the kitchen when the other is rattling around. He really is going to need to be more acclimated to what goes on in the kitchen, but first he needs to understand that loud noises in there don't mean the boogie man is after him. He was watching very carefully while we were doing it. I suspect it will take a week or so to get him to where he understands what's going on, but this is the next logical step in his socialization. He's taken everything else very well, learned the lessons he's being taught, so I suspect he will grasp this in time.

Tonight while I was dishing up soup and rattling around, he stayed in the kitchen and then came on in the dining room when everyone else did. He's standing his ground more and more when he could turn and run. He's also standing still pretty much whenever we come up to him to pet him and frequently, he walks up to us when we call his name or bend over and wiggle our fingers.

I've called in a request for another bottle of Lasix. He's got enough to last through Tuesday, but I want to give the vet plenty of time to get it and take it to the shelter. I'll call tomorrow to verify they got my request, and I also want to ask if/when he'll need a checkup. I can take him with us next week if they want to see him then.

Without question he's picking up on the crate on command thing. Tonight when we were putting everyone up, Skeeter was squeaking and chattering and Haley was running in/out of her crate...both just terribly excited that I'd made new dog treats for them. I had noticed Elvis sort of waiting to go in his crate, but since his door was shut, he squeezed in with Haley. Twice! Now that he's getting a treat when he "kennels" he's really wanting to get in the place...no matter it's the wrong crate. I figured he'd pick up on this pretty quickly. Now I'll just have to figure out how to herd him into the RIGHT crate when it's time. LOL