Princess: Week 3
Week 3 with Miss Princess will be a busy one for as long as the beautiful weather holds: we’ll be doing as much work as possible outside, where there are tons of distractions to help her practice ignoring them. The only thing I won’t be doing with her is actual off-leash work. Princess is making progress on the long line, but her recall is still very unreliable, and recently, she started getting a little too curious about the fence – specifically, how or if she can get on the other side of it.
The umbilical work I’ve been doing with Princess has really been helping her. She’s learning that if she’s patient, she will get to where she wants to go, and she’s been figuring out how to place her body so that she’s not underfoot [e.g. when I’m cooking, washing dishes, etc.]. It’s also been tremendously helpful to Violet: Violet is now able to be around us without fear of being chased, and Princess is learning to ignore her. In fact, to my great surprise, the two have touched noses more than once. Even more surprising is that Violet has even allowed Princess to “kiss” the top of her head in friendship.
Princess is very insecure and needs lots of confidence- and trust-building work. If she isn’t leashed or given any kind of guidance, she gets wild-eyed and goes off willy-nilly without any thought for anything, including her own safety. At times, it’s hard to tell whether she’s just having a major case of the zoomies, or an outright panic attack. When she’s on the long line, however, she doesn’t get that way. She still runs around and has fun; she’s just more secure about it.
Due to a very unfortunate situation on the weekend, I threw my back out and was unable to get Princess to the second adoption event. However, if she’s still fostering with me when the next adoption event takes place, we’ll be there. In the meantime, the work continues to help this sweet girl become confident, trusting, and trustworthy, and to help her find her forever home. If you are interested in meeting her or filling out an adoption application for her, please contact Tails of the Misunderstood. Have a great day, and remember to stay calm and lead on.