Rufus is making progress! He is not El Pero Perfecto yet but we’re slowly making strides and he is responding well.
The first big thing is that my friend Kate made a second visit. Would he remember her? Would he stay calm or be scared? Good news. He didn’t bark AT ALL. Sophie did her typical window barking, only to turn into the mushy love-bug she usually is once Kate walked in. But Rufus was silent and polite, and very happy to see Kate. Once again, he followed her to the bathroom.
After Kate and I marched with 100,000 others,
we returned and I chilled with the pups for a little bit. My feet were tired. Then Morriah came over and again, Rufus was awesome! No barking. He’s getting the whole “people are ok” thing. This made me as hopeful as the march, in all honesty, and when despondency turns into optimism, there are rainbows and sunshine everywhere.
The next thing is Rufus walking at heel. Eric has me feeding Rufus constant treats. Morriah has recommended just being firm. Rufus responded to her very well on our recent five-mile walk where we encountered many other dogs, some off-leash. (We also found a block of ice, some half-empty beer bottles, and a pair of pants. Must’ve been quite the party.)
Rufus has been doing well on his training walks although he does get distracted by other dogs very easily. Getting him to focus on me is the key here.
So now my only issue is that the five-mile walk strained my Achilles’ tendon. All I did was walk. I think this officially makes me old. Ice, Advil, and yoga are helping but I’d like to exercise just a bit more. I had to wear this sexy get up for some of Rufus’ subsequent walks:
It worked pretty well until I got to that neighbor who hadn’t shoveled his walk.
