~ Happy Pup! ~ Unconventional use of quilts ~

So why are the quilts on the floor?  Well this is my answer to getting little Miss Muddy Paws to the bathroom for a bath.  I don't have enough rugs or dark colored towels to put on the floor.  The next best thing was some of my darker quilts.  Geesh, the things we do for our dogs.  She's worth a couple extra loads of laundry to wash the quilts.  Now I bet your wondering how this shy dog that wouldn't leave her cage yesterday became a muddy mess.

Today has been a full of surprises from the moment I rolled out of bed.  Super shy Khaleesi has decided to warm up to us and her new way of life.  She greeted me this morning with a playful spirit.  What a nice change from the frightened pup we saw yesterday.  This morning she bolted out of the cage ready to take on the new day with a wagging tail.  She frolicked around the living room chasing her tail and tossing her new toy around for about 30 minutes before whining to go outside.   

Keeping a dog on a lead/chain is cruel but for now it's the best we can do.  Being on a lead is better than the life she had 3 days ago.  We are working as fast as we can to get some type of fencing in place so she can run free.

Keeping her on a lead/chain is also dangerous out here in the middle of nowhere.  Should another dog or coyote come around she is at their mercy.  But who can deny her the freedom she wants and deserves.  So for now I'm sitting in the house watching her as if she were a child.  Then I had an the dandiest of ideas.  We have a fenced area, our garden!  I need to do cleaning out there before the planting season.  As you can see it's quite the mess.  Mr. Podunk has been dumping wood shavings here all winter.

And last fall I didn't clean out the old plants. This is the perfect spot for both of us.  Me working while she learns love life again.

Khaleesi is unsure how to behave at first.  Sniffing around and jumping out of fear with every move I make.  Dog like children sometimes need to be ignored.  This is the perfect time to let her figure things out on her own.

 I go about my cleaning as she explores her new space.  Let me tell you it didn't take long for her to realize she had some freedom.  She ran for about 30 minutes straight before taken a break and laying down.

Of course she chose the muddiest spot she could find to lay down and catch her breath.  

That's alright, I'm getting a little muddy also.  Seeing her having fun running is worth a little mud.  As soon as she is up and running again I covered her favorite mud hole with wood shavings. 

We stayed out in the garden for about an hour and a half.  I was tuckered out and thought she was too.....

However, this is the response she gave me when I called her to be put on her leash.(picture below)  Total defiance!  It became a game of chase the puppy. She loved her new space and freedom and had no intentions of leaving.  Can't say that I blame her but we can come back out here again.  A few stern "Khaleesi Blibe!" (blibe is stay in German) and she was leashed and headed back to the house.  She was SOOOO muddy.  Again, it was worth it to see her enjoying life.  I put her back on the lead out in front of the house while I went inside made a cup of coffee and began prepairing the house for her bath. To be honest I was leery about giving her a bath.  Some dogs don't like baths.  She's a big girl, making her mad could be dangerous.  But I charged forward with a stern voice and she did okay.  No she didn't like the bath, but she took it without biting or trying to get out of the tub.

  As I cleaned up the mess we made she calmed herself by going back into her safe place(the cage).  When I finally sat down on the couch she came out of the cage and laid at my feet and quickly dosed off to sleep.  That was a good feeling to know she felt as safe by my side as she does in the cage.  Our hope is to someday not need the cage.  But that is all up to her and whether or not SHE needs it.

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