One Week Later...

Wow! What a week! Sassy has been wonderful and has incredible potential. That said, we have a long way to go. I am still trying to get my bearings trying to manage 4 kids (especially nursing), a puppy, household matters, a part-time law practice, volunteering, chauffering and advocating for Jack. I think I am certifiably insane for taking on as much as I do, but I feel passionate about everything that I do and taking on too much is exactly what makes me who I am.

We've been working with Sassy to give us a "default sit"--where she sits EVERY time she approaches or is approached by a person, or when waiting for a treat, or when in doubt. She's at about 70-80% which is great. She needs to work on walking on a leash and not jumping on the kids. We start Puppy Kindergarten on March 12th, but in the meantime, we are trying to get some basics down.

Poor little Josie, at first, was so afraid when Sassy would approach her, she would drop to the floor cover her little face and cry. Sassy would think she wanted to play and essentially mount her and chew on her pigtails. While I know Sassy was not really hurting her, it was a bit of a disturbing site. Now, Josie goes right up to her and pets her, plays a version of fetch with her, and is not dropping to the floor any more. (Whew!)

Jack has been warming up to Sassy so much. He initially didn't want Sassy to approach him, but now he calls Sassy over to him. He is still a bit frantic around her, but she is doing really well with him and seems to know to be gentle around Jack and Josie.

Jack enjoys taking Sassy for a walk and feeding her. He also likes to tell her about all his trains and the movies he watches.

This past week was just the tip of the iceberg, we'll have more to come!