Giddy has become my constant companion. Every where I go, he is right there. I never experienced that with my other shelties, so this is new to me. Now Snickers and Cassie would make sure they always knew where I was, but they weren't as needy. Buster, if he was asleep, he really didn't care. Giddy is usually under one of the end table, as those have become his own personal little crates. They are the same size as one, so we are OK with him using them. The one next to the AC vent has become his favorite. With the coat he has, it doesn't surpise us. Has to be a lot cooler there. Heck, Buster used to sleep with his butt right on the vent, then Cassie adopted that same thought once Buster was no longer around. That one AC vent has seen a lot of hot dogs around it. :)

Giddy has discovered that if he sleeps closer to the foot of the bed he actually has a little more room. But he only moves there until Gary comes to bed. Otherwise, he wants right up next to me to suggle until he gets to hot and moves over on Gary's pillow. If I get up in the night, Giddy's knows it and his head comes up to make sure I am not going very far from him. 

Giddy is eating and drinking well. He will sometimes take a treat from Gary, so he is learning to trust Gary a little more each day. He has shared a couple of bits of popcorn with him, but Gary had to throw those to him. I think Giddy was previously feed some table scraps, as he acts like he could easily be a begger. I stop that behavior fairly easy and he accepted the NO BEG command real well. We discovered that he does like peanut butter favor. So will look for a treat that might have that included in it.

Overall, Giddy is doing about what we expected. I weighed him last night and he is at 30lbs now. Not to bad, as he should be around 25lbs and was at 32lbs when he went to the rescue shelter. We have cut back some on his food and treats, so will continue with the walks to help him exercise. Still wish we could get him to play. Haven't seen him do that yet. Also, haven't seen how he is around other dog. May have to take a trip to the doggy park to see how he will do. Of course, I will keep him leashed until I can see how he reacts. This could have a positive effect on him, but it could also could have a negative one. Will have to play it by ear and see how things go.

Giddy is a blessing though and I have fallen in love with my needy, suggling little sheltie.

June 16, 2012

Happy Birthday to me. Giddy was an early birthday present to. I am sure it was meant as a surprise, however after losing my little Cassie girl (sheltie) I was kinda in a funk with missing her, so I had already completed my application for the Sheltie Shack in Blue Rapids, KS, as well as having completed a home visit. We passed with flying colors, so there was never a doubt that I would be able to get another sheltie, but was just waiting to see what babies would come into the shelter.

Giddy took a few more baby steps last night. He took a doggy cookie from Gary. I had to help nedge him in that direction, but he reached out on his and took it. Then, we coaxed him into jumping up on the loveseat next to Gary. He layed for couple of minutes, all the while Gary was petting him. Then later that night, Gary and I had gone to bed, and Giddy was there with us, of course. He had been laying next to me when he got hot. He moved over some and was trying to comfortable. All of a sudden he nudged Gary's hand as he wanted his head petted. Now I have experienced this several time, but this was a first for Gary. Next thing we knew it, Giddy was laying his head on Gary's chest all the while Giddy was get his head petted. He has not done that for me, so him doing this with Gary was very special for Gary. Gary is so badly wanting Giddy to make up to him, so this was something to see. Like I said these are baby steps and we won't know how Giddy will do today.

Giddy ate really well yesterday, all of his food. We have kept him on the same food that he was on at the shelter. We have added some additional nutritional supplements to his food, as we want to make sure he is getting what he needs since this is probably a stressful time for him. He has taken Milk Bones, a chew stick, a DentaStix, Little Cesesar soft treats, Dog Bakery cookies and he is eating Pro Plan at present. I plan to eventually change his food and I am looking to change to Purina One Weight Management. So, you see that Giddy is progressing some and he is eating well, along with drinking water. He is pottying good. I still have to go out with him to get him to go, but it doesn't take to long to get him to complete his task. I laugh every time we go out, as when he is ready to go back inside, he runs up the ramp and heads for the door. Of course, if you remember, "IN" was one of the 1st commands that we worked on. 

My indoor safe haven
Next to my new Mom's chair
I worked with Giddy a little yesterday on commands. When I get him to come to me, he runs to me and will stand next to me or behind me. I have been able to come to me and sit in front of me. So will need to continue to work on that. Giddy is able to do "down" and "sit" really well at this point. He is still running to hid "box" (under the end table) every time I walk toward the family room. He alternative spot is next to my chair. 

Giddy and I are going to continue on the same path that we have been taking. We will work together daily to help Giddy overcome his fears and to help build his confidence. Right now it is about to storm, but we haven't seen any anxiety from him during our summer storms. So with the storm approaching, we will have to delay our morning walk. I really enjoy that time with Giddy, so I hope that they over soon. Want to be able to walk in the cooler temps since Giddy has such a thick coat. Will post as soon as I can once again.