Patience - weeks 3 & 4

Progress has been slow but steady in the same areas of training as in previous weeks. Now, before we start our walk,  Patience will sit after the leash is on and wait until the door is open and recently has started to wait until I step forward instead of trying to run outside in front of me. We've also created a few rules for the grass; when she stops to spend half the day sniffing one spot of grass, a leash tug and the words "c'mon" get her moving without a tug-of-war. She goes in the direction of leash tugs more willingly without planting her feet and trying to drag me and is more willing to leave the grass at my suggestion.

There are also further indications of increased relaxation with our routines. When she first moved in one of the signs of her anxiety was the need to defecate as much as four times a day. Now she goes twice in sync with how often she's fed and at regular times of the day. She's also becoming more relaxed and confident about physical contact when I pull her to me or check her ears, feet, etc. Instead of jumping to her feet each time I move, she's begun to occasionally just watch as I travel around the apartment. A further indication is that she's found her favorite resting spots around the place and uses them regularly.

One big point of progress is that as she's relaxed she's begun showing more interest in socializing with other dogs. For the first couple of weeks her strategy was ignoring and avoiding contact. Now she's displaying the typical tail-wagging desire to approach unknown dogs. Instead of her investigating alone, I've had the pleasure of watching her run and play with other dogs for brief periods when we're at the dog park.

So as I said, slow but steady progress.