More Observations on Gigi

Gigi remains patient with the soft dogs here. She may growl on occasion if one tries to sit on her in her chair, but she has not snapped or gone forward at all. That might change later, but is remaining the same now. She also seeks out the other dogs first thing in the morning to play. I don't think she much likes being stepped on or squished, but she doesn't mind sharing a space as long as there is room for her not to be squished. Plus this is all so new, that I am sure she is figuring out these social norms for sharing space with others of her kind.

If dogs are not in the mood to play, or are all played out, she will sometimes bully them to play by slapping them with her paw or poinking them. Yesterday, Pluto got sick of that and told her off, and she backed off with a booboo face. I felt bad for her, but it was an excellent response to dog communication and appropriate.

It's funny, the one non-soft dog here, my own Jackie, she will hump when she gets playing. I stop this immediately, but this is one of two dogs I have seen her try this with. The other one was short lived and she doesn't try anymore. Jackie, who is also socially challenged, would normally over react to the softer dogs regarding this. With Gigi he seeks to run away or bark at her when he gets loose. I think he's afraid of her. That will probably insure that Jackie always gets along with Gigi, because he's a terrible bully with dogs that he does not have a healthy respect for. Gigi is a bully in a different way than Jack, in that she is insistent, where Jack is over the top in his reaction when pissed off. Gigi seems only to go that way in situations where she is fearful, and this has been getting better piece by piece.

She likes to catch a ball, but not over and over again. She does not like to chase the ball or chase the dog that has the ball yet. I think her observations of the other dogs playing have led to an interest if not an understanding of dog toys. This could be a good development for her future, as she is a dog who is easily bored but with a good amount of energy. It would be a good thing for her to learn to entertain herself when her owners are working. Some dogs use this as a stress relief in uncertain situations too. I don't think Gigi resource guards anything, but she would have to have a serious interest in it for her to try.

We have been off muzzle now since Tuesday with no big incident. On the beach she heeled well next to two Great Danes as we walked back, and nipped a bit at my knees when they started to rough house right next to her. So now it has become strange dogs doing things that Gigi finds unpredictable, and I am wearing my jeans for that reason when I walk her. However, the redirecting did not actually connect with my skin, so I was very pleased about that and was pretty light and not in full panic mode, which is an improvement.