March 14th week, it's never just another week!

Ah, the last week before "Spring" and what looks like a promising week of events ended yet again with an episode that sets us all back to square one... or maybe it just feels that way.

Good points of the week..car rides and head stuck out the windows, dog play with different toys, walking (AKA Bekka-Heel) next to me on command, meeting new people without dogs on the sidewalk, meeting new people with dogs without warning, seeing horses (big dogs who obviously don't play), seeing a bicycle for the first time, and most appreciated from my point of view, less bio-messing in the house (never to be confused with Beckett-mess).

Poor point from the week.. back to being scared and growling a lot, not liking the 'drying time"after being out in the rain, dropping logs around new people who happen to talk to him on the sidewalk, and a very bad bite on Darrin's thumb.... loss of attachment from Darrin because he is now afraid Beckett will bite again.

Quite the mixed bag of ups and downs. For some reason the week started out well enough but Beckett did have a 'distance' in his approach to us by Tuesday evening. As always, you can't MAKE him change his attitude, you can only make sure he doesn't get more distance between you through is actions. It is extremely difficult to come home several times a day, deal with life's stressors, and not have it get to you now and then. The weather also plays a huge part in how things transpire along the way. To think it doesn't means you're going to be in for a very rude awakening. One night this week Darrin ended up taking Beckett out for a walk and it was pouring. Upon returning, Darrin stopped at the lower landing and was about to dry Beckett off, which I had been doing all week because of the mud, only this time Beckett turned on Darrin and bit his thumb. It was a sever bite and ended up with four deep punctures and a lot of blood. We managed to get the bleeding stopped and arrested any swelling, but the deed had been done. The dog that wouldn't bite, or so we thought, bit.

At first I tried to make the normal excuses for Beckett such as, Darrin must have approached him from the wrong angle, he must have moved too fast, maybe the drying glove (we know he doesn't like towels over his head) touched him in the wrong way, etc. It was a bite, brought on by Beckett's fear/anxiety. Until now he would always allow us to pick him up, do different things and growl or freeze but he never bit. Darrin on the other hand has lost confidence in Beckett's 'comfort' with us and I can see the withdrawal from physically handling Beckett. This is going to take a bit of work to mend this fence.

This weekend hasn't been the best for Darrin, his thumb is still sore, he has a bad cold, and the weather is cold. I've sort of been running all interference so he doesn't have to contend with Beckett's growling disapproval or distance stance he puts out when he's not a happy camper. I don't need the synergy of two negatives being more that the sum of the two individuals. It's easier to just keep them apart until things improve.

The weekend hasn't been too bad for Beckett and myself. As always, the more time he spends with me and out of the apartment the better he seems to be. Getting together with other dogs or riding in the car seems to remove the edge from Beckett so as much as I can, we do that.

The horses were a new thing today. Although I had taken Beckett out to the farm a few times, it was the first time I took him down to be around the horses. Lucky for Beckett, they're used to Sadie, the family's chocolate lab so another dog didn't seem to throw them off much. They were more interested in who the new dog was and came over to the fence to see him pretty quickly.

At first I took him into the corral but when it became apparent that they were going to come investigate the new dog on the property and Beckett couldn't be released from his lead, I had to exit the corral before they came in from the outter field. It was fine because as we got outside the gate, they were right there with their heads over the fence.

Now that it's Sunday evening, we've had our hour walk through down-town mostly to get used to new places, learn to heel when I give the command, and most importantly, to empty out his bowels before the long night! He's doing well, but why test fate when you don't need to! Always hedge your bet and prepare for success. Oh by the way, if you want to see a dog in bliss, leave a basket of dirty laundry out over night. What you find in the morning is a a content little doggy laying all over your stuff like it was his treasure.