Phoenix Needs A Bath

It's been over a week since my last update and things are going smoothly.  Sometimes, I have to remind myself that Phoenix has only been living with me for less than 3 weeks.  She has adjusted to living in my home perfectly, and is improving in her crate.  Her confidence levels are very high in the house, and her bed in the living room has become a safe haven for her.

However, it's not all perfection with Phoenix.  Her biggest problem is her refusal to go into the backyard.  After we wake up in the morning, she goes right out there (because her bladder is very full), but other than that, it's a constant struggle.  Most of the time, I convince her to go out there by going out there myself and dancing around and acting like a fool.  Sometimes (mostly during the day), she's come out because it looks fun, but most of the time, she's just walk away.  Now, if I need her to go out (i.e. she needs to use the bathroom before being crated or something), I can grab her and take her out there.  In those cases, she goes out without fighting me, even though she's not happy about it.  So, it's good that she doesn't make me pull her out there, but she's made it clear that she just doesn't want to be out there.  It's going to take a very long time to convince her that the backyard is super fun.

The other problem that has emerged as her true personality comes out is that she is a mega-poop eater.  What do I mean?  I mean, she eats poop.  And she doesn't just happen by some poop and decide to eat it.  No...She hunts poop like prey, searching for it everywhere and eating all of it.  Yesterday, in fact, I had to reach into her mouth and grab out a handful of poop.  I'm so used to going into a dog's mouth and grabbing something they shouldn't be eating, I didn't even think about the fact that I was grabbing turds out of there.  Gross.  I've got some stuff that should help with that, so hopefully it won't be an issue for too long.

She is so incredibly adorable and is very much a love bug.  She loves getting love, any way she can.  If  you're sitting on the couch, she's going to put her giant head in your lap for some pets and scratches.  If you're standing up chatting, you better make sure you're paying attention because you could end up on your rear when she slides in for a super-lean.  When I get home from work she goes super crazy in her crate, wagging her whole backside and spinning all around.  It's quite a sight.

I have plenty more information on her, and I do have more pics, but I'm having some technical issues with my camera right now.  I'll post those as soon as I can.  Thanks for all the comments and definitely keep them coming.

All Photos Post

Here some pics of Phoenix over the last week:

Phoenix Is Happy

She has made outstanding progress heading into her first full weekend at her new home.  She's doing well in her crate, and her and I have bonded quite well.  I get lots of tail wags and leans when I'm near her, and she seems perfectly happy to lay down in chill in whatever room I happen to be in.  

She's now going out in the backyard on her own now without any luring or being on lead.  She's still not allowed out there without supervision, mostly due to my 4-ft. fence, but also due to my not entirely knowing what she's capable of.  I'm putting up a 6-ft privacy fence in April, and then I'll feel more comfortable with her coming and going on her own.

She made two trips to the dog park this past week, which went very well.  The first trip, she met a large Rottweiler named Shamus.  Shamus wanted to say hello, but Phoenix was having none of it as she bared her teeth and growled.  Nothing happened as Shamus's owner put him on a leash and we kept them apart for a bit.  After watching her with a few other big dogs, I realized that she's not that she seems to have a little problem with big dogs approaching her, regardless of their nature.  However, if she is allowed to initiate the introduction, she seems to do much better.   She likes playing with smaller dogs, which is good, and she's found several new boyfriends that she just adores and loves to play with.

She's actually getting better with big dogs.  Her second trip to the part seemed to bring relative indifference with the larger dogs.  She's not really interested in playing with them, but she's not growling and baring teeth at them any more.  She also got to meet Hero, my neighbor's rescue dog, and they fell in love much like Phoenix and Diego.  They ran (and tore up my yard) like crazy for a long time, until Hero just decided he was too pooped to play anymore.  It was actually quite amusing to watch Hero, who is probably younger than Phoenix, teach her some manners, such as "when I drink water, leave me alone".  I see many hours of playing and running in her future, both here in my yard and at the park.

I have more pics to post, but I don't feel like syncing my camera right now, so I'll post them later.  I also have some video of Phoenix at the dog park, and Phoenix playing with Hero that I'll post as well.