Friday, August 30, 2013

Azza Update

My delicate Saudi flower turns two around the beginning of December. It feels like I've had her for far longer than that!

Her ability to deal with a variety of situations away from home continues to improve. Of note is what happened last Saturday when I took the dogs for our regular weekend walk in a nearby hilly, wooded area. There is a paved path that runs along one side of the recreation area. We follow this path for about a mile to get to our regular trail. It's a multi-use area, and Oregonians are nothing is not users of their recreation areas. We see walkers of all ages, runners singly and in packs, and bikers of all sorts.

So what happened last week? Two people spoke to me, making comments about the dogs, and I replied to them. And Azza did ... nothing. Nothing at all. Why is nothing so momentous? Even two months ago I was not able to reply to people who spoke to me because Azza would be having a meltdown as soon as they opened their mouths and I'd be dealing with her. Now she doesn't bat an eye at all those passers-by, and I can actually have an adult conversation with someone. Miraculous! Well, no, not miraculous, of course. It's constant and regular exposure to all of these random situations and tons of food rewards for good behavior that are helping Azza to deal with them.

People walking dogs represent a whole 'nother universe of issues for both Azza and Mimi so we won't discuss the complete lack of progress in that area.

Azza is no angel. She is going through her terrible twos at the moment! I left a pair of socks by my backpack only to discover them later with Azza in her crate. Fortunately I missed them before she chewed them up (it would have been the second pair she destroyed).

And she's discovered digging. None of my terriers have been diggers, by which I mean dogs that enjoy destroying your plants and yard by digging random craters everywhere. If one of my terriers is digging, it's for the specific purpose of getting to a small animal. But Azza has decided to explore this digging thing a bit more. She has a couple of favorite spots which are now mounded high with dog shit to discourage her. (I have a plentiful supply.) She has an odd habit of covering poop with dirt and leaves, which she pushes over the poop with her nose. (I have to be pretty quick about cleaning poop up in the yard because it is really hard to see once she completes her camouflage actions.) She's now covered both shit mounds with dirt (dirt that she previously loosened during her excavations) but hasn't dug under them yet.

Azza and HellBeast remain captivated by their "strip the bed" game. They can remove every item from a bed--dog blankets, pillows, blankets, sheets--in less than a minute when they get particularly wound up. I suspect they'd pull the fitted sheet off too if they were given sufficient time. I have recalled or removed Azza from the bedroom hundreds of times yet she sneaks back there every chance she gets. Naturally, the cat eggs her on by running back and forth making that enticing "prrt" or "come play with me" noise that cats make--he knows he isn't going to be the one who is yelled at (what's the point?). I have to have a semi-permanent baby gate in place to keep those two from tearing my bed up every day.

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