Thursday, October 11, 2018

Dixie - home alone


As a dog owner there is always the question:
What shall we do in case we are not at home for some reason or other?
That day had arrived.
 Peter was having an assignment for a tour in St John, NB 
and I was scheduled for a Dr's appointment in the same town. 
That meant for us to be away from home all day long, from 8AM to at least 6PM. (8-18:00Uhr).

The thing is - Dixie does not easily trust in strangers even though we have tried all we can to socialize her and meet strangers on the beach and along the road.
She will never be a "love-all-people-labrador"
and: Dixie has not been walked by others than us either.

While living near Cold Lake, Alberta, we very fortunately had
a great boarding kennel available nearby.

Too far away now. 

The solution came in form of our good friends and owners of 3 poodle girls. 
The "girls" have been good playmates all summer long. 

E
"Summer", Dixie and little "Acadia" are best friends.
Dixie also knows their owners since the first day she came to us.
Meet and greet: Ken and Dixe in November 2017
10 month have past since then.
So today was the trust test.

We invited Deborah and Ken over to our house and while they knocked on the door, entered 
and met Dixie WITHOUT US being present in the house 
we, Peter and I, stayed out of sight, hidden outside.

What would Dixie do?
She barked, of course. Then realized it was her friends coming over for a visit -
and that was it. 
No problem at all. They put her on the leash and walked her. 
She went willingly. 
And so it went well while we were away the day after. 
No problem at all. 
What a relief for us. Another hurdle taken.
Now we have to test this with another friend and another. 
Just in case. 


Friends visiting. Is Acadia allowed on "my" couch?
 All dogs love Peter.
Acadia is the same age as Dixie was when we got her.
Two cuties.

A big "Thank you!" to Deborah and Ken.

...

Finally I have the couch for myself again! 





Translation
_______________________________________
Für jeden Hundebesitzer kommt der Tag an dem man seinen Vierbeiner alleine zuhause lassen muss, aus welchem Grund auch immer. Dieser Tag war nun auch für uns angekommen. Peter und ich mussten nach St John, einer Stadt 2,5 Fahrstunden entfernt und wir würden den ganzen Tag nicht zu Hause sein können.
Dixie hat auch kein Vertrauen in Fremde, sie wird niemals wie ein "ich-liebe-alle-Menschen-Labrador" sein. Glücklicherweise erklärten sich unsere Freunde bereit einzuspringen. Sie selbst besitzen 3 Pudelhündinnen und Dixie und die 3 sind gute Freunde. Dixie kennt sie auch seit dem Tag 
als sie zu uns kam, denn sie waren einer der Ersten die sie bei uns begrüsst haben.
Wir machten den Test. 
Unsere Freunde kamen, klopften an die Tür, und gingen ins Haus, während wir uns draussen versteckt hielten. Wie würde Dixie reagieren? 
Sie hat natürlich gebellt, aber schnell gemerkt dass es ihre guten Freunde waren. Sie liess sich anstandslos an die Leine nehmen und ging mit ihnen ein Stück spazieren.
Da fiel uns ein Stein vom Herzen.

So hat es dann auch am folgenden Tag alles reibungslos geklappt. 
Ein herzliches Dankeschön and Deborah und Ken!

2 comments:

  1. So nice that have found out that you can leave her with other people. what a relief .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice that Dixie has excepted Ken and Debrah as friends that she can trust. Expanding her social circle will make it easier for her to meet strangers as well.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete

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