Good Signs

After last week's debacle, things have been pretty smooth around our house.

We took Stewie to the vet and he has been on his new medication for a week now.  I can't say that I have noticed any huge changes, but it is still early.

We started to "re-introduce" the dogs this week and it went well.  We began with leashing each dog and letting them sniff each other from opposite sides of a gate.  They were each rewarded for proper behavior, but as soon as one of  them seemed to become stressed or high-strung in any way, we ended it and took them each to their own spaces.  We did this over and over until we were confident that each dog felt secure.

The next step was taking down the gate and allowing them to meet without any barrier.  Each dog was leashed and again, rewarded for proper behavior.  As before, as soon as one of the dogs became too hyper, too rambunctious or too stressed, we ended the drill and took them each to their safe zone.

We have become better pet parents and are paying closer attention to any tell-tale signs that either dog is uncomfortable.  I think it was a big wake up call to us both and we need to "do better"!

Here are the both of them last night.....

Playing nice with their tennis ball

Cuddling on the couch watching Animal Planet

I can only hope that these are signs of good things to come!  We will continue to pay closer attention to their needs and hopefully, life will keep on keepin on!