FLOWER'S ONE MONTH UPDATE

Pretty Flower!

Flower has been with me for one month and she has come a long way since she arrived.  She is bonding with me and she has become more and more playful.  She is very quirky and they are finding this at dog daycare too.  She play bows for just about everything....all with a little wag of her tail.   She's really a sweet dog with a gentle nature.   I haven't been blogging much about her for a couple of reasons.  I've been busy tending to a nasty cold and that hasn't been inspiring me to write much but also because it has been unclear to me what kind of home Flower needs.  Without my help at home she will pace and remain unsettled, wanting to go out the door and hunt the rats and squirrels that she knows are passing by my place with high frequency.  A walk will help to settle her for a bit and so will some games or play time with toys but then she stops and goes back to the door.   She doesn't do this at dog daycare.  In fact she really doesn't do any sniffing from the truck to the door at daycare.  I don't think she associates her time there with hunting whereas at my place my door goes straight to the outdoors and little critters that she can smell have just run by.  She gets excited to get out there.

Searching for little four legged friends on the long line.

This has been leading me to believe that she might be better in a home with a job, or for sure in a home with someone that will give her the mental stimulation she needs.   She needs the mental work more than the physical.  She is not an off leash dog for the city, as her hunting nose will carry her wherever she needs to go, which could put her in danger on the roads.   So, how to keep her satisfied in the city has been the question.

Before Turtle Gardens decides to send her up North to find a more rural home she is going to move to another foster for a bit to see if she behaves the same.  If she can move to a home that offers her some different choices in a different setting will she relax into city life better?   I hope so.

Running back to me when called.

She has no issues with city things like heavy traffic, lots of people, city noises.   I've walked her down No 3 Road in Richmond and she navigates through everything with a very relaxed stride.   I've taken her on trails, to dog parks, on city walks and she has no issues.  Although if we go to the school field and she sees a squirrel she lays down and doesn't want to budge from her spot.  She learned a few weeks ago though that I will pick her up and plop her back on her feet so she now mostly saves herself from that by moving along when asked to.   

Here's a video of Flower with the Aikiou dish.  On her second try she had all of the compartments emptied in 4 minutes.  I suspect she would keep getting faster and faster.  I've tried her on a few other dog puzzles and she remains interested for quite a while until she figures it out.

A couple of final pics just to show that she does know how to enjoy her comforts once she's ready to settle in for the night.   She has 'her' spot on the couch.  If we're playing she can actually throw her body up onto the couch sideways instead of jumping up head first.  I'll have to try to catch that on video.  She has a way of making you believe she's not as agile or quick as she actually is able to be.