Stacey Day 3 - 19 October: Stacey had an exciting Day 3. I'll start off by saying I think Stacey has a bladder & bowel of steel. I took her out quite a few times before bed last night and couldn't get her to do anything. So finally at about 11:30 it was time for bed and she went into her crate. She fussed a small bit and I told her no and to go to bed and she was fine all night. She has yet to have an accident in her crate. So first thing this morning we went out at about 8 a.m. and - yippee - Stacey pottied pretty quickly. After breakfast and some Sunday morning lounging, I decided it was time for Stacey to have a bath as she was a little on the stinky side. She did very well with her bath. She was a little shaky and wanted to climb out at times, but overall she was accepting. I even used the hair dryer a little on her and she didn't mind that either. In the early afternoon my sister stopped by to see her. Stacey was happy to see a new face and her ears & tail were up. My sister even witnessed her playing with a toy just a little. Then in the late afternoon, we decided to go on an adventure to a friendıs house. I decided it was best to crate her for the drive which she did well with. She fussed a little but I talked to her and she seemed pretty quiet the entire way (the only time I've ever heard Stacey bark is in her crate and if you tell her no she doesn't do it more). Stacey met Lucky the St. Bernard today. That was probably the scariest thing for her. I must admit though it took my Sugaree a while to warm up to Lucky and realize that he is a harmless dope. Stacey really didn't want much to do with Lucky, but was really happy to see the people. Her tail & ears were up the entire time and she really looked comfortable with all the activity & commotion. Stacey even met Anthony, my friendıs son, who is almost seven. She was very interested in him and not afraid at all of his quick movements; I must admit I was very happy to see that. After a while we took the dogs into the house. While Stacey still didn't want to be near Lucky, again she tolerated his presence. She really acts a lot like Sugaree did when she was first around him a bit. So now we come to the downside (somewhat) of the day . . . I tried & tried to get Stacey to potty while we were outside today, but alas the bladder/bowel of steel don't seem to care that we walked all over the yard. So I kept watching her like a hawk in the house and eventually . . . you guessed it . . . I caught her in the act (Again . . . sorry, Crystal, that it was in your house). I was able to tell her NO! at the very least and take her right outside . . . of course, she wouldn't do anything outside but stand there and stare at me. So needless to say I was bummed that she had an accident, but on the bright side I'm hoping that me catching her and telling her NO! while she's in the act and taking her right outside will help. Now we are home for the evening and the girls have been fed; Sugaree is curled up in her bed and Stacey is passed out on her side on the rug. I will try once more tonight before bed to get some potty out of her, but I have a feeling she won't go again until morning. I'm hopeful that Stacey will get the hang of the potty thing with some time. Overall I think she is a wonderful little girl and she is really warming up to all the exciting things in the real world. Later that evening: I'm so happy for two more things tonight and I thought I should share. About an hour and a half or so after the girls ate, they started moving around, so I told them to go outside. I watched by the window instead of hovering over Stacey and she went and made a big potty all on her own. I was so happy. And to top that all off . . . just now I had the girls out and wasn't watching them for a few moments. When I came back to the kitchen they were both inside. Yes, that is right, Stacey went through the dog door to come in all on her own! I was so happy. She really is a smart girl and for the little bit of timidness that she has, I'm really seeing another side of her coming out and she is getting more courageous!

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