Dakota's first day as a dog

Today was the first day that Dakota seemed like a dog rather than some damaged little creature in the body of a dog. 

It started off early this morning. He went outside with everyone else, no leash, and followed everyone to the shed where I dish out the food. I put a generous scoop of food in his bowl and headed over to Daneland where he can eat in peace (he's a slow eater). He did a happy dance all the way over, wagging his tail and prancing all around me.

After everyone had eaten they all came back inside because the forecast called for rain all day. Clay and I went to town to do some errands but the forecasted rain kept being pushed back later and later in the day. When we got home I got all the dogs out to the yard and pasture to run around while I did some planting. Dakota followed the other dogs around, sometimes shadowing Elvis and Maya on the hunt, other times hanging out with Paisley. He would even come when I called him and spent some time around me and the Danes, although he thought we were boring.  

I took him for a walk in the evening along with Della when I thought the rain was surely all over. It poured hard when we first arrived at the park so we stayed in the van and waited it out, fortunately it passed quickly. We then did the two mile walk through the park and had the place entirely to ourselves. About halfway through Dakota seemed to work up his confidence and he walked next to Della and even out front for a while.

He still has a long way to go and has much to learn, but I think he trusts me now and that will make everything else, every new and scary experience, so much easier. 

Cider house dogs

Potter's Craft Cider held an event today for Green Dogs. Potters is an absolutely beautiful place and today was to perfect day for an outdoor adoption event. 

I took Dakota, of course, as he's my only foster dog right now. He's never been to anything like this and he wasn't crazy about it. We took a seat back behind the table sort in an outside corner of the building so he felt a little bit of security, but not much. But people were very respectful of his shyness and a couple of volunteers worked with him patiently. It was such a beautiful day that once he settled down I was comfortable so we stayed for probably three hours. 

He had more human contact today than he's had in his entire life, I'm sure. I hope his takeaway was that human touch can be acceptable, maybe even enjoyable when they rub the head and ears just the right way. 

He survived it anyway, and I had two glasses of their Flemish Sour cider, which was delicious. When we got home I took Dakota and Elvis out for a hike to make up for all the socializing that he tolerated so well.

Jamie bought him a frozen pup treat from the food truck. 

He gave it a few licks but he wouldn't eat it or any of the treats we offered.

The best thing I did all day was hand him off to Joyce while I went inside.

She got him actually enjoying the head rubs.

The harness was too big for him but I felt better with a second leash attached to him.

Jamie sat with him and offered him water from her hand.

He actually took a little of it.

An expected but pleasant surprise was seeing three of my former fosters! Two of the pups from Lexie's litter, about two years (?) ago. They are huge! Much bigger than Lexie. 

There was also an appearance by Boomer (now Jax) from Holly's litter, but he went by so fast I failed to get a picture of him. He's really growing tall too.  

Rainy day visitors

Rainy days are never my favorite. Wet dogs, bored dogs, muddy dogs, and a leaking roof don't do much for me. I was feeling rather smug about having mowed the yard yesterday, however. The prospect of rapidly growing grass isn't unpleasant right after it's been cut. Plus, I think it's still early enough that the buttercups will rebloom before their season is over. 

Dakota is still showing some slow improvement. I'm now able to approach him with a leash without him running away from me. I think the hikes have a lot to do with his improved attitude towards the leash. I can also take him outdoors with the other dogs without a leash. Sometimes I use a long line on him, but if it's meal time he will follow me as I carry his food dish out to Daneland. He does need a playmate. I put Paisley out in Daneland with him yesterday, but all she taught him was to run the fence line barking at Della on the other side. The day before I had put Maya and Elvis out with him for a while in the morning. That was better. I looked out and saw Maya running and playing with him, which was good to see and good for both of them. Later I saw him sitting with Elvis on one of the elevated platforms. 

Killian, one of the Della's pups, is here to stay with us for a week. Erika and family are supposed to be going to their cabin in the woods somewhere. I say "supposed to" because late this afternoon they still hadn't left home. Killian has been here before and he fits in beautifully. I am looking forward to walking him and Della together. They will make a very impressive pair. I'm hoping even more that Della will engage in Dane-style play with him like she used to with Serena. 

Still later in the day some people came out to meet Dakota. He wasn't thrilled but he did pretty well with them, even taking some treats. What he liked best is that we also had a visit from one of his brothers, Fargo, about the same time. The boys were happy to see each other again. Fargo is going through the same learning curve as Dakota, but apparently Fargo is experiencing some separation anxiety and is able to get out of his crate. The people who came wanted to meet both of them and they spent an hour or so here this afternoon. Dakota howled when Fargo left. 

Killian's arrival

Maya in the wet grass (the part that I didn't get mowed).

Elvis doesn't just casually look and sniff, he hunts.

The horse chestnut is in bloom.

Dakota was a bit scared of Killian.

Killian and Della

Elvis and Maya in the recently mown dog yard.

A rather wet Dakota this morning.

Paisley in the kitchen as I was cooking.

Elvis

Fargo and Dakota

The two brothers went into the same crate together.

Della doesn't care for rain at all.

Damn it, Della!

The current forecast calls for rain all day tomorrow. That pretty much made up my mind that I had to spend some afternoon and evening time doing some mowing and other yard work today. I had the dogs outside with me and I got the dog yard trimmed and mowed for the first time this season, and even got most of the rest of the yard mowed as well.

I checked the time and the amount of remaining daylight and decided I could get in a quick two miles before dark. I loaded up Della and Dakota, we drove to Pleasant Grove and headed off down one of my favorite trails. After the first mile I decided we could probably squeeze out two more with the available daylight, IF we kept moving. 

That's a big "if" where Della is concerned because she likes to do a lot of sniffing, any place another dog has pissed, or any where there's any olfactory sign of deer, bunnies, or other wildlife. I'll stop when she needs to pee, but if we stop every place some other dog has marked, we won't get anywhere very far or fast. I tried a couple times letting her sniff as long as she wanted, but we never reached that limit because my patience always expired first. This results in a lot of me saying "Damn it, Della" every time she stops, requiring me to pull her off whatever has caught her interest. Sometimes it's easier than others. 

Dakota on this evening's hike.

The dog yard buttercups, before mowing.

I hated to do it, but if I didn't mow it today it may not have been possible at the next opportunity.

Maya has teamed up with Elvis on a lot of his hunts.

Dakota is a very small shepherd, but he looks really tiny next to Della.

Dakota is really good on the leash, which is really amazing.

His confidence is growing.

3.2 miles

Five dogs

Daisy went back home today so we are down to just five dogs. Dakota is really our only foster at the moment. That's fine. I'm very busy with work and need to be very busy with spring time yard work, gardening, and mowing, so one foster is plenty. 

We had a pasture run yesterday because it was all I had time for, but that was a mistake because I didn't sleep well last night without having any physical activity during the day. Today I took Della and Dakota out for a hike. It wasn't real long, 4.2 miles, but enough that I should be able to sleep well tonight.

Dakota is coming along, but it's a slow process. You can see his growing trust and confidence on our walks. He will now walk out in front of me, with or without a companion dog, and he's clearly enjoying it now. The poor dog is still very shy about being touched, however, and isn't that just kind of sad. We're going to an adoption event on Saturday. I need to make it a pleasant tactile experience for him. 

Maya and Elvis hunt together in the pasture quite a bit.

With Norman gone, Dakota has tried to befriend Paisley.

Paisley doesn't really do "friends," and her idea of play is to run up and bite another dog on the butt.

Della tolerates him but isn't interested in being his friend either.