Remember THIS POST, where I noted that my novel was fully edited and I was just going to take a short break before proofing it? Well that break came and went, I started to proofread, and I decided the entire thing needed another full edit.

And that's where I've been for the past month...Cutting, Culling, Pasting, Proofing, Rearranging, Researching, Fiddling, Fixing...and I'm happy to announce that a year and a half after starting my novel, it's finally DONE.

At least, I think it is. I'm about to start proofing it...and us writer's are never satisfied with our work.

In other writing news, I recently found out that a short story that I entered in last year's AKC Fiction Contest won first place, and will be appearing in their next edition of Family Dog Magazine! I was so excited to get the news, because this is great timing for me - it will be another thing to add to the writing resume when I query agents about my novel.

I've also signed up for a pitch session this summer....it's like speed dating with agents. You get three minutes to pitch your novel to as many agents as you can visit with in 2 hours. It is a very exciting opportunity for me, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will drum up some interest...

In other news, Leah and Meadow are still getting along awesome, and Leah has also mellowed with our cats. She hasn't snapped at anyone since the day we got back from Florida. (I do still lock 'em up for safety though, since you just never know.) It's a bitter sweet victory however, because Leah seems to be slowing down all around and I know she's reached her twilight years.

Toby's till Toby. Despite my recent loose leash victories, I took him to a Mother's Day Match to walk around and he got overwhelmed or overexcited or whatever goes on in his doggie brain. We stayed far from the action like at the agility trial, but he was unresponsive and still pulled like a truck...so much so that I had to put him back on his head collar. As the saying goes, one step forward, two steps back. I think Toby will always be my work in progress, and I sometimes think he's a little "special," if you know what I mean. (Nick calls him "Rain Dog," amongst other, less flattering names.)

But no matter the reason that he always seems to backslide, I love him all the same, and I love the challenge of trying to figure out what makes him tick.

As for "the Noise," Leah is still making it several times a week. Under my vets direction, we tried a two week trial of Clariton in case it was allergies (didn't work), and now we are in midst of another trial of Pepcid given to her right before bed...which doesn't appear to be working either. Several people have remarked that maybe she is just clearing her throat, which is something senior dogs (and people) do as they get on in years. Whatever the cause, it's been going on for months now, and since its not affecting Leah's health otherwise our vet does not recommend putting her through any invasive tests.

The only bad part is, although its not affecting Leah adversely, Toby is still terrified when she makes the noise. Our latest tactic has been to ignore him completely, and it seems to be helping. He will start to circle and whine, but after a few minutes, he pauses to see if we are watching him, and when he sees he's getting no response, he leaves and goes to the bedroom to lay down. I feel bad that he is so afraid that he doesn't want to be in the same room with her, but at least he is no longer circling to the point that he is trembling and his heart is racing.

Meadow is loving her newfound freedom, and is having a blast racing and zooming around the yard without the long line. There was one day that I thought she was considering trying to go over the fence - in fact, all three dogs were VERY interested in something on the other side...but I just put her back on leash and that was that. Her recall with Nick is just amazing to see...with me, it's still a work in progress. Admittedly, I haven't been working with her, (or any of them for that matter), as much as I should. I spend time with them daily, but not like I used to, because I've been in front of my computer trying to get that book done before we got busy at work. Now that I'm nearly through, I'll have no more excuses not to get back on track...

In fact, next month, Toby and I are returning to Nose Work classes, and this time, Nick and Meadow are going to join us. I'm really looking forward to seeing Meadow work. She has an amazing nose. I've witnessed her walking along and just suddenly stop short, dig in the dirt, and uncover a grub to eat. I'm guessing it was one of her sources of food when she was out on the run.

Finally, Leah is officially retired from all classes. We've also stopped asking her to "Sit", as she has a hard time getting into position and pops right back up again as if she's uncomfortable. Like I said, she is really starting to show her age and I know sad times are ahead. But, in the meantime, we're enjoying the time we have left together. Now that she isn't so obsessed with the cats, she has been enjoying catch and fetch a lot more - she used to get the ball once or twice and then run off to patrol the yard. I've also been teaching her to spin alongside Meadow - I call it the "Double Dog Spin," and as soon as it is perfected, I'll have Nick tape it to share...along with a new trick I've been working on with Toby.

So stay tuned, there's lots of fun stuff yet to come...

 ...especially when he takes two days out of his life to build custom platforms just for our dogs.

You see, before the platforms, Meadow's crate sat on an angle due to the hump that the rear seats created when folded down. So she was constantly sliding, which we believe was contributing to her motion sickness. Plus, when the seats were down, it left dangerous gaps where paws could slip in, and possibly end up in an emergency vet visit.

But Nick solved all of these problems with $20.00 worth of supplies from Home Depot, along with scraps of wood and gym matting that he had lying around the basement...and it made our trip to Florida a heck of a lot more comfortable for the dogs.

Here are the two wood platforms he built...

Which fit into the Jeep like so...

He made sure he cut the angles to fit to fit tightly...

Next he cut up some extra floor mats he had from his Dojo...

The two top pieces were made to sit over the wood platform, and the bottom piece protects the carpet that is not covered by the platforms and keeps the rear platforms firmly in place...

This is a view of the platform from the side door. Nifty place to stash paper towels for doggies accidents on the go...

The mats also fit snug, to protect doggie paws from slipping through the gaps...

The reason he made the platform in two pieces was so that he could take one back out when needed...

...so we could still use the rear seat...

He even cut an extra piece of matting to cover the gap that using the rear seat created...

And finally, the end result...

When we drove to Florida, we put our luggage on top of the Jeep in a cargo carrier and kept Meadow in the crate, which left Leah tons of room in the space behind it. She wasn't all that thrilled about being that far away from me, but we gave her a blanket to lie on, and she eventually got used to it. Plus, Meadow did not get car sick, and both dogs were comfortable and slept for the majority of the trip.

I'd say his handiwork was a huge success!

It was an ALL DAY affair...and then some.

The poor fence guys were here from 8:00 AM straight through until almost 9:00 PM, and then had to come back again the next morning for a couple of hours - and - the poor dogs lost an entire day of play. I gave them each a lengthy leash walk, but that's not enough for my pack, and by the end of ordeal they were ready to knock me over, shove me out of the way, and check out the new yard on their own.

Unfortunately, they had to wait. Just as the fence crew finished up, my parents stopped by to check out the new corral - and since their dogs were with them - Luke and Kayla got the honor of running the yard first!

...but you should have seen my three run when it was their turn!

Well, actually, you can...at least Meadow. Here are a few shots I caught of her butt-tucking around her new enclosure...

Notice something missing? Yup...no more long line!

In all honesty, Nick and I have been testing her without it over the past few weeks before the new fence, (I know, I know...tsk. tsk.), but it wasn't without caution - or worry. Even though Meadow's recall is now awesome, there's always that fear that something will spook her. And while she now bolts for the house where she feels safe...the back fence stood in her way because our rear exit is on the side of our house. 

Although Meadow has never tried to hop the rear fence, we were afraid because the potential was there...and who knows what she might have done if she got to the door before us and no one was there to let her inside? Luckily, our front is also fenced with four foot chain-link, but still, it was a concern....

But now that the fence line has been moved to the other side of the door, we can breathe easier and let her run free without any worry of her taking off (except during the weeks leading up to the Fourth of July, which we'll quite literally have to play by ear).

An added bonus to having our long-put-off fence erected is that Leah can no longer see the feral cats that reside next door - which I'm hoping will help tone down her recent cat intolerance that has somehow grown to include our own cats.

This is our neighbor's woods on the other side of that brand new six foot stockade - and if you remember my yard from my post about the old fence, this used to ALL be chain-link...which gave Leah a clear view of the four legged perps.

Unfortunately, the only bad part about blocking her view is that she appears bummed that she can no longer partake in her self-appointed job of keeping our yard free of wild felines.

"No cats over there."

"No cats over here."

"None in this direction either."

"Nothing there but some boring dog toys and that stupid fence."

"Sigh...this used to be much more fun."

"Guess I'll just go to sleep."

Poor Leah, she finally stood up and shot me this reproachful look....

"This is all YOUR fault."

And then she went and lay down on the patio...doing her best to look very hard done to.

"My life no longer has purpose."

I do feel bad for her, but I'm sure in time she'll come around...

And what about Toby...?

I don't think he even noticed that the fence was gone. After stretching his legs, he went right to his regular dug-out, had a good roll, and then got comfortable.

Soon, Meadow came over to join him....

"What's with the hole dude?"

"Hmmm....looks kind of boring."

"I don't get it, but I guess I'll just hang here with my friend."

And speaking of friendships, now that Leah and Meadow have mended theirs, we've been allowing all three dogs in the yard together during play time again without issue...which is a real relief. It was hard leaving one inside, and listening to that one whine while the others played. And of course there was all that dog shuffling back and forth.

But now that we no longer have to hurry back inside to tend to whichever dog was left behind, and now that our hands are unencumbered by leashes and latches thanks to the new fence - we can carry our drinks outside with us on the first trip and just sit on the patio together and enjoy our yard with ALL of our four legged friends.

Bet you never thought something as simple as a fence could do all that?

Piecemealed corners of chain-link and stockade....

Rotted at the bottom...

Offering an unobstructed view of the neighbor's woods (and feral cat colony)...

Leaning and unsecured....

Patched in several places with plastic fencing stapled in place...

Warped pieces of wood...

Rigged and held in place by a log...

Holes concealed by concrete bricks...

Patched, piecemealed, AND rigged...

And one section heavily reinforced after Leah chased a squirrel up it and the ENTIRE THING came crashing down...

Tomorrow's the big (EXPENSIVE) day...can't wait to see it go!

…I watched a dog and handler working together at a Rally match and thought, “That looks like a fun thing for me and Toby to do together.”

I tried a class. And another, and another. And soon, I was hooked.

To validate spending so much time and money at classes and shows, I told myself I had a purpose.

I wanted to help other dogs by proving that they could be trained with positive reinforcement only. To do so, I planned to teach Toby to succeed in the Rally ring by using only such methods. I grew consumed with my goal, and made it my priority to go to as many dog shows, matches, and classes as I could handle. And like everyone who competes, we had a few NQ’s along the way, but mostly, Toby excelled – earning placement ribbons and titles right up until the day I decided to retire him because he had developed a cyst above his wrist joint that tended to swell whenever he jumped.

A cyst that my vet feels would be unwise to remove if it can be managed through lifestyle changes instead.

So, we stopped with the jumps and I put his “career” on hold, but I continued taking Toby to classes because I still had big plans for my lovely Lab. I knew if I worked hard with him, I could take him even further – train him to excel in K9 Nose Work, compete in the Senior Division of APDT Rally, and maybe even train him to obtain his CD (Companion Dog) title with the AKC – none of which required jumping.

Soon I was taking Leah to school, teaching her Nose Work and Rally in hopes of one day competing with my sweet senior at my side. And Nick started bringing Meadow to Rally classes, and we discussed enrolling her in K9 Nose Work classes too…

But at the end of last year, life intervened. All three of my dogs developed health issues that required a battery of tests and one major surgery, and our “dog” money was quickly depleted. To build our emergency funds back up, we halted all of the dog’s classes completely, and I promised myself that I’d get back to work in the spring.

With more time on my hands, I spent lots of “one on one” time with each of my dogs – playing with them and walking them and teaching them a few tricks – and I started to appreciate each of their good qualities rather than focusing on their faults.

With more money in my pocket, I was able to take two of our dogs with us on vacation, and had such a great time taking them everywhere with us that I plan to take more dog-friendly trips in the future.

With more time on my hands, I quelled my desire to help other dogs by volunteering to walk them at the shelter.

And now that spring has arrived and I’m preparing to return to class, I’ve realized that even though I miss training my dogs and catching up with my dog loving friends - I don’t miss the competition part all that much. I don’t miss spending most of my spare time and hard earned money on going to classes several times a week so that our skills are sharp enough for the show. I don’t miss paying out entry fees and getting up before dawn to pack up my car with supplies and head to a trial. I don't miss sometimes seeing others treat their dogs in ways that make me cringe, but not having the gall to open my mouth. I don't miss knowing that no matter how much I had hoped I could lead by example, people are never going to trade in their methods for mine as long as they are winning ribbons.

So I took another look at the reasons I got involved in dog sports in the first place.

1. Do something fun with my dog(s).
2. Help other dogs.

Hmmm....isn’t that what I did all winter?

I wanted to share with all of you how well Leah and Meadow did together on their trip. We only had one "incident" between them, if you could even call it that. On the first night of our trip we stopped in a hotel in South Carolina on the way down to Florida, and when it came time to sleep, Meadow was pacing, not quite able to settle. Soon, Leah got a look on her face that said, "If you don't stop pacing - right now - I'm going to bite you."

But I hopped out of bed and escorted Meadow to her blanket, several times, moving it closer and closer to my side of the bed until she felt secure. In the end, it was actually positioned nearer to Leah than I was comfortable with, and I didn't sleep well that night. But the girls did - sleeping side by side as if they never had an issue between them. This was good, because at my Mom's, they also slept on dog beds on the floor beside one another.

For the first few nights, Meadow stole Leah's bed, (it was larger than her own and a little closer to me, which is where Leah prefers to be), but I corrected her each time, escorting her back to her own bed, and it wasn't long before they knew their spots and were comfortable with the arrangements - and each other.

Soon they were even hanging out with one another when it wasn't bed time.

My parents showed us around dog friendly Palm Coast and the surrounding communities during our stay, and we took Leah and Meadow on many of our excursions, along with my parents' German shepherds, Luke and Kayla. One of our stops was to explore one of the city's numerous walking trails, but honestly, I can't remember which one - there were so many parks to choose from!

We also walked around their neighborhood, which was a nice change from home - all of the fences stopped in the back yards, so there were no dogs lunging and barking at us in front yards. Even better - there were no loose dogs running around, everyone picked up after their dogs, everyone we saw walking actually smiled and waved, and there was no litter - not even a cigarette butt! (Most likely due to the area's high wild-fire risk).

My parents also took us on a day trip to the Princess Place Preserve, one of the oldest buildings in Palm Coast, which was actually owned by a princess - and here are Nick and the girls enjoying the view from the deck at the Princess Place.

My mom is camera shy and asked not to have her face "put up on the internet" but here are her babies also relaxing at the preserve - Kayla is on the left and Luke is on the right.

On another outing, we took the dogs to Flagler Beach. The battery on my camera was dying, but I managed to get a few shots in before it did.

Another of our walks was along a wooded path that ran along the Intracoastal Waterway, nearby some gorgeous condos called Canopy Walk.

"Um guys, can you take the photo already before an alligator pops out of those palm fronds behind me and eats me?"

We did have to be careful during our walks. Here on Long Island there is really nothing that can hurt my dogs - besides cars and other loose dogs. In Florida, Nick and I needed to be aware of the possibility of coming across several types of rattle snakes, along with alligators, coral snakes, water moccasins, and fire ants - the latter being the more likely to encounter - but no less unpleasant. At the beach we needed to be alert for Man o' War jelly fish and sharks. Florida is also home to wild pigs, panthers, and black bears - but aside from the Princess Place Preserve, we didn't really visit anywhere that we might encounter those animals - and most of them are quite shy around humans anyway.

And of course, we spent some time hanging on the patio and enjoying drinks in the nice warm winter air. The weather was unseasonably warm during our stay, and we enjoyed temps between 80 and 85 degrees for our entire vacation.

I tried to get a photo of all of the dogs looking at me, but Meadow was obsessed with her "Lambie," a stuffed toy she adopted from Luke and Kayla's toy box as soon as she "moved in."

She also enjoyed playing with Luke and Kayla's other toys, and this is a shot of her playing tug with Nick.

We had to keep a close eye on Meadow to make sure she didn't steal any toys directly from Luke or Kayla, who wouldn't appreciate it. While they all behaved, their relationship wasn't great. Meadow snarked at Kayla when she got too close to her on the first day there, and from then on the two girls kept their distance from one another, occasionally shooting each other stiff looks that we needed to interrupt. And Little Luke was afraid of both of my dogs, since the poor guy has had bad run ins with dogs in the past and has fear issues. (We call him "Little" Luke because he's the baby of the family.) That's why he's sitting outside of the porch, rather than hanging out in the same room as the rest of the dogs.

I finally did get them to all look at me at once, although Meadow seemed obviously annoyed to have to look away from her Lambie upon request. "I'm busy you know!"

Playing outside in the yard wasn't much of an option for my dogs. My parents have really nice landscaping, and we didn't think Meadow's long line would be all that plant friendly, so she only got to go out on a six foot leash. And Miss "Fun Police" Leah often needed to stay inside when Luke and Kayla were playing, because she would chase them down while barking to interrupt their fun. She wasn't really nasty about it, but she was scaring Little Luke.

"Hey, where'd that mean dog go?"

"I've been banished to the porch because no one can have fun in my presence."

We also did some fun things without the dogs, (I know - how inconsiderate of us), including going to the Flagler Pier, the Blue Spring State Park on the St. John's River, the Wings Over Flagler Airshow, and making several visits to the nearby city of St. Augustine, (which I LOVED), where we visited Fort Matanzas National Monument and the San Sebastian Winery. During our day trips, we crated the dogs side by side in our room and they did very well with the arrangements. Luckily, there was only one thunderstorm during our entire stay, (unusual for Florida), and we made it back to the house in time to get them outside and give them some melatonin and put on their D.A.P. covered bandanas before it began.

By the end of the trip, the girls were like world class travelers. We stayed in Fredericksburg, Virginia on the way home. We didn't have reservations and found the first hotel we tried was full. Next stop, the Country Inn & Suites, where we got the last room - an actual suite! We don't normally stay in suites but it was late, Nick had already drove for 11 hours, and it was only 104.00 bucks + 10.00 for the dogs with our AAA discount. The room was tremendous,  (It appeared bigger than our 650 sq ft house), with two rooms and a kitchenette.

Despite her size, Leah looks a little lost in the big suite. "Wow - is this our new home?"

But even though the girls did well together, girls will be girls and sometimes they are snotty to one another.

This is Leah's horrified expression...

See those worried eyes?

What could be troubling her?

Leah was horrified because Meadow was up on the bed! We don't allow dogs on beds at home, but we bent the rules at both hotels. Yet Leah refused to take part in such naughtiness. Meadow, however, hopped right up and made herself at home.

Meadow's true personality shown through, however, when I caught this next shot. And yes, she is looking right at Leah, and no, she was not stressed. I have no explanation for what she did, other than she is a little brat!

"Yup, that's me. A brat - but a cute one at that!"

The girls did settle in really nicely though, despite Meadow's mischief, and they had fun playing around in their own private suite before we headed home the next morning.

About the only thing the girls didn't like about their trip was the elevator at the hotel, but after going up and down a few times to go outside, they got used to that too. And now that they are back home, they are getting along awesome - we have even taken down the x-pen!

Unfortunately, it may go back up soon though, but not because of trouble between Meadow and Leah. It seems that Leah is done with our cats - she snapped at one of them within hours of coming home. I verbally reprimanded her, and she seems to be "tolerating" them now - but if needed, back in the x-pen she'll go. (And we are still locking them up for safety when no one is home to supervise.)

So all in all, I think this trip did the girls a world of good. I guess a little adventure is a great bonding experience for anyone! But it's nice to be back home, and have Toby back where he belongs. He had a great time at the sitter I am told, hanging around with two Goldens that DON'T pick on him - but I missed him. Two weeks is a very long time to leave one of your dogs, and I was so glad when I got to see his happy yellow face at the end of our two day journey home.

I think he was happy to be back...

Most of you didn't know it, but Nick and I were in Florida for the past two weeks visiting my parents. As three dogs would be too difficult to travel with, we left Toby with a good friend and brought Leah and Meadow along on our adventure.

I didn't tell any of you about the trip beforehand, because I really didn't want anyone knowing our house was empty. Not that we have much to take...but I worry about someone breaking in, leaving the windows wide, and my cats getting out. Since they are indoor only now, (one was originally a stray and the other was feral), I'd probably never find them again.

With all this talk about what tools I use to walk my dogs, you're probably wondering what I use on my walks with Meadow?

Let me start out by explaining that Meadow has multiple challenges. (1) When she's scared, she panics and tries to back out of what she's wearing. (2) When we're approaching home, she pulls because she wants to get back to her "safe spot." (3) And when she's unsure, she freezes in place and refuses to budge. 

To combat these issues, when either of us takes Meadow on a walk, we use a 3/4 inch nylon martingale and a harness with the leash connection on the back. I bought the Step in Style from Lupine, because of the double ring loops on the back for added safety - when the leash is attached to both metal rings, it holds the harness securely together without having to worry about the plastic snap coming undone.

And I chose the "Suzie Q" pattern just because it has cute little yellow flowers on it - like those you would find in a Meadow.

We also use this same harness for play sessions in the yard, but we use a long line with it, rather than a leash, and we skip the martingale.

When we walk Meadow with the intention of practicing loose leash walking, (ie: Rally class or training sessions in the yard), or when we just take her outside to relieve herself, we attach her leash to a nylon martingale collar and we leave her harness behind. I'm not a huge fan of the nylon martingales, but I do find that the 3/4" martingale loosens a little easier than the 1" does.

Besides, we certainly couldn't use a martingale with metal links in it for Meadow, thanks to her noise phobia!

But when Meadow isn't afraid, (or unsure), (or on our block and headed home), she actually walks pretty nicely. And even if she didn't, it's not really all that important to either of us that she walks perfectly on a loose lead - only that she is safe. I'm not even sure if we should attempt to solve the pulling problem when she knows she's heading home...if she's that excited about going home, and she knows where her house is - isn't that a good thing?

Meadow's a special little dog with special circumstances, so I always try to think about the bigger picture when working with her - probably to a fault.

But thanks to her special circumstances, I did come across one tool which I think is invaluable, and that's The Easy Backup Leash from Karma Collars, a leather leash with a second leash attachment at the clip end. Pretty cool tool for an escape artist, and we use this leash whenever we take Meadow off the property.

I know that's a lot of clothes for one little dog - but it definitely gives me peace of mind.

As for this second photo, I wanted to share it with you because I just love the expression on her face. Meadow has been enjoying her regular walks with me now (yay!) and she has recently gotten over her fear of the camera (double yay!).

"I know I'm pretty and all, but can you hurry up with the photos already, so we can go for our walk?"

At first, when Leah started having behavioral issues, I worried about things like doggie Alzheimer's and brain tumors. (Are you surprised?) But now that some time has passed, I'm pretty convinced that she is just getting old and grumpy - hence her new nickname - Grumpy Gus.

A few things have led me to believe this. First, she's only intolerant of the cats, visitors, and sometimes Meadow. If it was something health related, wouldn't she be funny with Nick, me, and Toby too?

But that doesn't seem to be the case. She's been great with us, and although she's no longer allowed to play with Toby in the yard (where she was bullying him), she's had no issues with him inside the house - not even a hint of one. So I have been trusting them together more and more, and sometimes when I want to give her a break from her X-pen, I'll lock up Meadow and the cats, but leave Leah free to interact with Toby. This seems to be working well, and it allows her to spend some time with a canine friend.

"Just chillin' with my Pal, Toby"

I guess he's still her best bud, which is wonderful, since that's the reason we adopted him so many years ago...

And thankfully, she is still a loving loyal dog with me and Nick. In the past, I would have added the word 'obedient' somewhere in between loving and loyal, but Leah has definitely developed some selective hearing as of late. But I think that's also normal for a senior, don't you?

Another thing that makes me think she is perfectly healthy, (aside from that pesky noise, which believe it or not, she's still doing), is that when I take her for walks by herself, she is an absolute angel. I mean, a perfect walking companion. But bring along one of the other two four-leggers, and you've got a pulling beast who just must be in the lead. I hinted in another post that I had an issue when I tried to walk Leah and Toby simultaneously, while Nick and Meadow tagged along. I only tried that because I thought it would be fun for us to have family walks...

Not.

What happened was that while we were walking along together, a dog appeared out of nowhere and rushed the fence we were passing - and I could not control Leah, at all.

All of her hair went up, and she nearly dragged me over to the fence to get at the strange dog. Each time I got her back under control (barely) she started lunging at the fence again, and it was all I could do to hold on to her leash. And while this was going on, poor Toby, (who's been bitten by other dogs several times), was freaking out that we are standing in front of a fence with a strange dog running back and forth giving him dirty looks. His head was all wrinkled and he was sniffing and pulling in every direction, (which is his default behavior when another dog scares him), and my arms were being stretched out like I was being drawn and quartered.

And then, at that exact moment, a really loud vehicle drove past, and poor Meadow, who had been watching all of this with horror, completely shut down. She froze in the middle of crossing a road and wouldn't take another step with Nick. Not one.

It. Was. A. Nightmare.

And I was shocked. When I walk Leah by herself, and a dog rushes the fence barking, (and we have a lot of dogs in our neighborhood that do this), Leah lifts her head up as if saying "what did you say to me?" and admittedly starts to pull - one or two steps - towards the dog that's bad mouthing her. But the moment I say "Leave it" her attention goes back to me 100% and she trots on by, maybe shooting the dog one last dirty look on the way past. She never drags me over to the fence or ignores my "Leave It"...

So why she acted that way when the others were with us is beyond me, but I can tell you, I won't be attempting that again anytime soon...

Aside from that walk, and a minor scuffle with Meadow about a week or so ago, (which ended as quickly as it began because Nick and I were right there supervising them), everything else has been pretty much status quo with Leah. Which is just one more reason to think it isn't health related - because, thankfully, she's not getting any worse.

Unfortunately, she's really not tolerant of our cats at all anymore, and cannot be trusted alone with them - even for a moment. If I leave the room to use the bathroom, I bring her with me. She was doubtful of this at first, eyeing the bathtub with horror, but she's gotten the idea now that I'm not going to throw her in. I still feel the hoard of feral cats next door is contributing to her hostility, but even though I dropped my taxes off before the end of January, they are still not completed - so no fence yet, but soon. I'm hoping that once we do get one, not being able to see the ferals in the neighboring yard will help her stop being so fixated on our own cats.

And since she and Meadow seem to be having an iffy relationship - one moment they are play bowing, the next, they are stiff and serious - I've still been working on getting Leah used to the muzzle, in hopes that one day they can hang out in the yard and house without me needing to watch their every move. I took it slow, allowing her to wear it just a few moments while being fed through the holes, and then taking it back off. Then a few more moments, etc., etc.

As you can see, she will now wear it while lying down without having to be fed and without trying to paw it off, but she's not very happy.

"Really, Mother? Are photos of my torture really necessary?"

I admittedly have not been putting it on her as often as I should. First of all, Nick thinks it's mean, and he makes me feel bad about it when I do. On top of that, I tried letting her wear it in the yard with the other dogs, and Toby took immediate advantage of the situation. He took one look at his Leah's muzzled face, ran up behind her - and tried to hump her. Can you believe it? I of course chased him off, but tell me he didn't understand that his bully was finally defenseless...?

Make sure you share that with anyone who tries to tell you that dogs don't think!

So while I don't think the muzzle will ever be a great idea for the yard as I had planned, I think in time it will work for hanging around the house, where the dogs are a bit calmer and Toby has (a little) more self control.

And I'm happy to end this post by telling you that while I was taking photos, Meadow came over to check Leah out, and was greeted by a quick sniff and a wag - and no signs of hostility.

"Oh, God, what did Mommy put on your face?"

"Okay, I guess you can wear it, as long as she doesn't put one on ME."