ZOE AT HOME IN ILLINOIS

On 6 September, Patty writes: Zoe is doing amazingly well. I expected a much more frightened dog than she is. Andréa did wonders with her!!! She is very possessive of me and growls & grumbles at Rocky & Bonny if they come near me. Of course, we are discouraging this behavior. When she is with Chuck or just the dogs, she is fine, not territorial at all. So, I would say the major thing we are working on right now is vocal commands, trust, potty training and aggressiveness with Bonny & Rocky. She has had few accidents and gone outside most of the time. Zoe's first night at home We do not allow dogs on the bed, so the first night was tough for her because she is used to sleeping on the bed. Chuck slept on the floor & her bed with her until 6 a.m., so we didn't get much sleep. She kept coming over to the bed and scratching on the bed (which is terminally cute, I must add!). But we kept telling her to get in her beddy and putting her in it. She finally ended up sleeping in Rocky's bed with him for several hours. Last night she & Chuck went through the Get-in-your-Beddy thing and she got in the bed, but then would follow him around to his side of the bed. I put my head over that edge of the bed and said hi to her and she jumped up gleefully and started scratching to be let up on the bed and I told her no, you have to get in your beddy. She ran under the bed over to her beddy, stood by it, jumped in it and looked at us as if to say "I got it!!!! I understand!!!" Then, of course, she came to me for praise. After about three or four repeats of this behavior, I told her she had to stay there. She snorted at me, made a bed and laid down for the night. We slept for a good six hours before she got up again. Her apparent Hidey Hole is under my desk when I am on the computer [see above; this was the same spot she had her HH with me --ad], but she is starting to venture out from there to look around & sniff. Right now she is sitting with Rocky & Bonny waiting for the food, but if she is under the desk, she growls & darts out at them. I won't let her stay under the desk if she does this, so now she is out from under the desk more than under it. She growls at Chuck and wags her tail at the same time, so we are taking that as more of a greeting at this point. Andréa was right, Zoe trills, she doesn't growl. She really makes some interesting noises. We feel that she is doing well, socializing with the dogs better, knows her way around the house, is responding a little to some vocal commands and seems to be frightened less & less. We are quite happy with our choice and feel privileged to know this dear little creature.

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