Quite possibly one of the best things that has happened to me in my adult life is that I wasn't allowed to give Ziggy back.
Things have been hard with her, I won't lie. She's made truly remarkable progress* but things can still be rough. If we leave the house I always have to think three steps ahead of her.
Something that I find really interesting is how much variation there is in how she views people. This morning we saw a number of people and her reactions from a quick view ranged from dancing like a deer and crying with joy to see a man she's never seen before to watching a man with a slow, hard stare. It freaked him out and he stared back and she stared harder with a, "Don't fuck with us" look. She won't back down. Most people she sees with curiosity - where are they going, do they need supervision? - and then we go on our way. We saw the Black Dog and I think that our new normal is that they are really good together. Ziggy is moody. Not with me, but with other dogs she has definite moods of wanting to be playful or not. This is why I think we probably won't get a second dog. Today she was pretty playful and I wished we could have them run together.
But where Ziggy is truly remarkable is how she rises when I am stressed. My stress doesn't stress her out, it makes her be really good. It makes her show up and be present and comforting, doing unusual things like sleeping with me, sitting on my lap, pushing me to hug her, curling up next to me to pet her (best anxiety relief ever), etc. Today I got home from work and she got out of the crate and we went to the living room and she jumped on the couch and as I sat down she was behind me and somehow ended up draped around my shoulders, like a stole. A 55 pound stole who is usually not about this sort of thing, but we sat like that, cheek to cheek and it was so comforting, as if she was saying, "Hey, I LITERALLY have your back!"
Ziggy didn't choose me. I still am under no illusion that I am her first choice. There are many people she would leave me for in a hot minute, and I would just be dust in the rearview mirror without a second thought.
But through our life together and our training and everything, we have shaped ourselves to each other. I'd heard of Catahoula magic before, how they can read their owners' minds, and I thought it rubbish - but now I can see it. I don't usually have to tell Ziggy to get off the bed when I want to change sheets, she just does. For months when I got her, changing sheets was a horrible ordeal because she was out of control. OH good lord this dog was such a monster. But now it's not an issue usually.
We were roughhousing earlier and she now can hold back - she sometimes slips but generally no mouthing, no scratching, or very gently if so. Contrast that to eight months ago when I would have gashes and bruises like crazy.
*I have this twisted fantasy of calling up the trainer from before and arranging a session for Ziggy to show up and pay her no mind and be extraordinarily well trained. That's a long way off, but I want to choreograph a dance of us together called IN YOUR FACE.
Things have been hard with her, I won't lie. She's made truly remarkable progress* but things can still be rough. If we leave the house I always have to think three steps ahead of her.
Something that I find really interesting is how much variation there is in how she views people. This morning we saw a number of people and her reactions from a quick view ranged from dancing like a deer and crying with joy to see a man she's never seen before to watching a man with a slow, hard stare. It freaked him out and he stared back and she stared harder with a, "Don't fuck with us" look. She won't back down. Most people she sees with curiosity - where are they going, do they need supervision? - and then we go on our way. We saw the Black Dog and I think that our new normal is that they are really good together. Ziggy is moody. Not with me, but with other dogs she has definite moods of wanting to be playful or not. This is why I think we probably won't get a second dog. Today she was pretty playful and I wished we could have them run together.
But where Ziggy is truly remarkable is how she rises when I am stressed. My stress doesn't stress her out, it makes her be really good. It makes her show up and be present and comforting, doing unusual things like sleeping with me, sitting on my lap, pushing me to hug her, curling up next to me to pet her (best anxiety relief ever), etc. Today I got home from work and she got out of the crate and we went to the living room and she jumped on the couch and as I sat down she was behind me and somehow ended up draped around my shoulders, like a stole. A 55 pound stole who is usually not about this sort of thing, but we sat like that, cheek to cheek and it was so comforting, as if she was saying, "Hey, I LITERALLY have your back!"
Ziggy didn't choose me. I still am under no illusion that I am her first choice. There are many people she would leave me for in a hot minute, and I would just be dust in the rearview mirror without a second thought.
But through our life together and our training and everything, we have shaped ourselves to each other. I'd heard of Catahoula magic before, how they can read their owners' minds, and I thought it rubbish - but now I can see it. I don't usually have to tell Ziggy to get off the bed when I want to change sheets, she just does. For months when I got her, changing sheets was a horrible ordeal because she was out of control. OH good lord this dog was such a monster. But now it's not an issue usually.
We were roughhousing earlier and she now can hold back - she sometimes slips but generally no mouthing, no scratching, or very gently if so. Contrast that to eight months ago when I would have gashes and bruises like crazy.
*I have this twisted fantasy of calling up the trainer from before and arranging a session for Ziggy to show up and pay her no mind and be extraordinarily well trained. That's a long way off, but I want to choreograph a dance of us together called IN YOUR FACE.
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