So Phoebe went to the groomers last week. She looks great! And she did well too. She was muzzled for the event, but the folks at the groomers handled her very gently, even taking her kennel apart to get her out so as not to stress her as much as possible. By the end of it all they were able to take her muzzle off and trim her ears and face. Yipee! She didn't even hurl on the way home, which was stellar since the highway on the way to the groomer was flooded out and a normally ten minute drive was 30 just to get around the water. Sheesh!
The other major accomplishment this week for Phoebe is that she has stopped bolting away when I put my hand down to give her a treat. She won't take it from me unless she is in the safety of her kennel, but at least she is not running away at the presence of a hand. This week I am going to work on petting her while she is in the safety of the kennel to get her used to the hand going in for the "pet." Once I am happy with her reactions to that I will start muzzling her and handling her a little more. It is a tough balance between forcing her to be handled and not creating a negative association with me. At this point she is following me in curiosity when I leave the room though not coming close. I don't want to lose that bit of connection I have with her, but she also needs to be challenged a little more in order to keep progressing. I have also taken the water away from her kennel. If she wants a drink, she now has to be brave enough to go to the kitchen to get it. She held out for a good full day, but with persistence she is taking the "plunge" as it were.
In other news, Toque has had her knee surgery and is improving slowly. She is still not weight bearing but hopefully soon. 
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