Easier Said Than Done

I admit it, I had forgotten how exhausting it is to introduce a new dog into your home. And whoever says that having a puppy is harder than adopting an older dog has never adopted an untrained 7 month old dog. At least with a puppy, you can scoop them up in your arms while they're still learning. With a full-grown dog, you are lucky if you can grab their collar and hang on in time.

Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly glad we adopted Heidi and I think she's going to be a great addition to the family. It's just going to take a lot of love and patience to get her trained and comfortable, not to mention to get us and Bandit comfortable with having another dog.

It just breaks my heart to see the evidence of Heidi's abuse...this morning, as I was leaving for work, I put one hand under her chin and one on the top of her head to pet her goodbye, and she instantly started cowering. It took me petting her for a while before she realized that she wasn't in trouble and wasn't going to get hit. If nothing else, that just makes me more glad that we took her in and gave her a loving home. Thankfully my friend Arly has two German Shepherds, so she's a wealth of knowledge when it comes to a breed that I have never personally owned.

Ok, first funny Heidi story:

Shortly after bringing Heidi home, she discovered my slippers by the front door and grabbed one to bring to me. I gently scolded her, because I don't want her to think she can chew on them. Then yesterday evening, while Nathan and I ran errands for about half an hour, Heidi was in the back landing with the baby gates closed and Bandit was in his crate. When we got home, Heidi was on the other side of the baby gate, roaming the house. Wake up call, we have a bigger dog now! Thankfully, all she did was knock over the garbage can...she didn't even get into the garbage, because the lid was still closed and nothing was strewn around the kitchen. Then, while we were getting ready for bed, Nathan asked me, "Weren't your slippers in the living room?" Yeah, why? "Because they're now sitting here next to my side of the bed." Are they intact? "Yes". Oh good.

The only thing we can figure is that Heidi was bored and decided to relocate my slippers to a more convenient place...right beside the bed. Now she just needs to learn which side of the bed is mine!