Layla's First 24 Hours at the Myers'

Layla's first 24 hours in her new foster home have gone so well!  After meeting her in "person" (or puppy?) for the first time, I could tell she would need lots of extra love to completely trust us.  Showing no interest in the treats or toy bone her foster daddy (Kevin) brought home for her, Layla found her "safe space" underneath our counter-height kitchen table right away and stayed there for most of the first evening.  She would venture out every now and then, ears perked high, sniffing and checking things out.  But the moment she saw one of us coming, it was back to what we have named "Layla's Cave."  Seeing how safe she felt under there, I moved her bed underneath the table with her.  She sniffed and nosed at the bed for awhile but finally lay on the kitchen tile next to the bed.  I noticed throughout the evening she slowly began to inch onto the bed until she was finally curled up in the middle of it snoring away. 

I felt as though Layla needed a bit of down time, as her introduction into our home was a bit chaotic - our three dogs were so excited to have a new fur-friend so they were a bit bouncy and hyperactive.  I did introduce our dogs to her one at a time to attempt to prevent some of the newness overload she might experience.  These individual introductions did seem to help a bit, but it was a lot to take in and little Layla just looked confused and lost.  Our 18-month-old son, Connor, was also thrilled to have a new puppy to play with but did not understand that Layla was not quite ready to roll around and be rough and tumble like the other puppies. I think he scared her a great deal, not only because he was squealing with delight and trying to get her to chase him, but also because she has probably not ever been around little ones before.  She NEVER showed any bit of aggression toward Connor (or anyone else for that matter).  She just had a worried look in her eyes as if she were trying to figure out what to make of him.

So I decided to give Layla a little alone time to deal with the excitement which I'm sure was a bit overwhelming for her.  After allowing her some space for about an hour, Kevin and I both went into the kitchen to show her some special puppy attention.  I politely asked her if I could join her in the cave and she looked at me as if she was unsure.  I bent down and slowly crawled under the table, staying at or below her eye level and making no sudden movements so as not to startle her.  Once I felt she was ready, I began to scratch her neck and slowly made my way around to her ears, head and between her eyes.  She quickly fell asleep. 

After a little more rest time, I offered her a chance to go out into our backyard to explore.  She was terrified of our door, as I was warned she might be.  So I picked her up, carried her outside and put her in the grass.  In no time she was wandering all over the yard, sniffing this blade of grass and that, chasing bugs, searching for the "right spot", etc.  It took awhile to get her to come back inside, but once I stood at the door and opened it for her, showing her I wouldn't let it close on her, she shot right through the doorway and back into her cave grabbing a sip of water on the way. 

Having a bit of late night computer work to catch up on, I sat at the kitchen table typing with Layla at my feet.  Once the work was done, I tried one more time to offer her a treat.  This time, she took it with no hesitation.  As I prepared to get her settled in for bed and since she seemed completely content to stay in the kitchen, I made sure she could get to the water dish, left her treat with her and put her toys in her bed.  I walked away and caught a glimpse of her batting her toy bone around just before I rounded the corner and went to my bedroom.  And yeah...I shared with Kevin how Layla loved the treat he'd picked out for her and how she was finally playing with the toy he brought her and he got tears in his eyes.  So that made me get tears in my eyes, which made him tear up even more, etc., etc.  Mushy, I know.  But true - Kevin loves helping these innocent animals as much as I do and it makes me so happy that we can share this together.  (Think it would help recruit more foster families if we claimed that fostering a shelter dog provides natural marriage therapy for the fostering couple???) :o)

Anyway...I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a little wagging Layla tail when I awoke this morning.  She trotted right up to me when I went into the kitchen to greet her and quickly let me know she was ready to go outside.  So, after letting my three "crazies" go out I picked Layla up and took her out back as well.  I stayed outside with all four of them and allowed them to have some supervised puppy play time.  Layla was a little unsure at first, but quickly began to try to play.  My dogs are used to rolling around and wrestling as rough as they want to so I wanted to stay out there to make sure they didn't frighten our new addition too much.  There were a couple of times when they were a little too much for sweet Layla and she would tuck her tail and run away.  I quickly separated her and let her re-approach them when she was ready.  It didn't take long at all.  She quickly jumped right back in, playing to the level of rough and tumble she was comfortable with and then retreating to the back door when she needed a break. 

After a good morning recess, we all returned to the comfort of the air conditioning.  By this time, my son was awake and came to join the party.  I quickly made myself some coffee and sat down to complete my waking up process.  (It takes me awhile...I loathe mornings.) I continued to supervise and separate as needed throughout the day.  Layla seemed to get quite comfortable with retreating to her cave on her own when she found she needed a break.  Having not wandered into any other part of the house at this point, she finally began to show some curiosity.  She would run into the living room, stand there for a few seconds and then trot back off to her bed.  A few moments later, she was back at the entrance to the living room.  My border collie/springer spaniel mix, Abigail, began to meet Layla at the entrance to the living room and test the waters to see if Layla was ready to get some more play time in.  Layla began to wag her little tail and crouch down into a pounce-ready stance.  Then, with one swipe of her paw, she would dart back under the kitchen table looking behind her to see if Abby was following.  Then it was back to the entryway to tease Abby some more.  It was so much fun to watch her take these small steps in coming out of her shell!  She was having such a good time!

Finally, it was afternoon treat time for everyone.  My puppies lined up at my feet and Layla followed suit.  One by one, as I called the "sit" command, my fur babies would plant their hind ends on the ground and gracefully (or not so gracefully in Abby's case) accept their treats.  To my great surprise, Layla fell right in line with what everyone else was doing!  She sat on command and accepted her treat!  Then she pranced over to her toys and began to play, chew, paw, etc.  Yay!  She was being a puppy! 

This pattern continued throughout the day and tonight there has been even more progress.  She has shown interest in checking out the rest of the house, following me into my bedroom and looking for a spot to lay down in there with the rest of the crew.  I also actually witnessed her get excited at feeding time tonight!  She was jumping and panting and bouncing all over the place when I began to divvy out everyone's dinner portions!  Following dinner, I took her for a walk around the block on a leash. She loved it!  She did pull a bit, but just a slight tug on her harness caused an immediate reaction and she would slow back to my pace.  Her curiosity really took over on this walk - she wanted to stop and smell EVERYTHING.  She also knew when we had returned to my house.  She turned into the driveway instinctively as if she'd been here all her life and lead me to the door.  She really seemed to enjoy herself, so I'm going to try to take her on her own little walk every day.  She was practically smiling!

It's so heartwarming to see so much progress so quickly!  It's very apparent to me that she is dying for someone to love her but, at the same time, she's afraid to allow that to happen. We do have some work to do to get used to one another, but she's so incredibly smart so I don't anticipate any trouble.  We did have a couple of accidents in the house, but I truly think it's just a matter of me figuring out her potty schedule.  She really seems to know what "outside" is for (besides playtime, of course) so I think she's housebroken.  Like I said, Foster Mommy Mandy just has to learn what Layla's signals are and what kind of schedule she's used to (if any).   To have come out of her shell this much within the first 24 hours is amazing!  She's actually just decided to get up and play with Abby all of a sudden!  She must be excited about her new friends now that she's getting to know them a little better.  I better go try to get her settled back down in bed.

Today's post is rather long, but a LOT has happened over the last 24 hours.  I'm sure they won't all be this long.  But I can't wait to see what the next 24 hours bring!  Goodnight and sweet puppy dreams to all!