How Much Does a Tail Weigh? (Day 2 with Fiona)

When I went to pick Fiona up in Findlay, Ohio Dr. Fuller told me that she was a bit overweight, but had lost a bit while she was with them.  I was quite surprised to find out that at 8 months she weighed more than either of my adult Weim males.  Then I got to thinking, well, she does have a long tail...  She is on a diet now and will start an exercise regimen next week.  She was only spayed on Monday and I want to give her a full week to heal before I allow her to run and play.  For now her walks will have to suffice.


Our ride home from Findlay, OH to Washington, PA went pretty smoothly, although Fiona just couldn't relax and was constantly changing positions.  I knew she was unhappy in the crate, but I knew that for safety reasons it was the best way for her to travel.


The biggest problem I had was getting her out of the vehicle.  She would come to the edge of the crate, but not come any further and I thought she was afraid to leave the safety of the crate.  At the first stop I was able to get ahold of her and quickly get her out and on the ground, but at the second stop she wasn't going to let that happen.  I spent 20 minutes or more trying to coax her out, even using food, but she wasn't going to cooperate at all.  Then I saw some grass next to a parking area at a nearby McDonald's and thought she might come out if it was grass she jumped onto rather than asphalt.  I drove over and backed up to a curb.  She came out with just a bit of encouragement and I realized it was the jump down that she was scared of, not leaving the crate, and the curb brought the jump to a level that she could handle.  Thank goodness our front yard slopes to the driveway and I could back right up and make it easy for her to exit the vehicle.


Fiona and I took two walks today and she is quickly catching on to the idea of loose leash walking.  When there is a very stimulating distraction she'll have trouble remembering how to behave, but there are times when we walk for quite a distance on a loose leash and when I do stop because of a tight lead, it only takes a few seconds for her to come toward me to make the leash loose so that we can proceed again.


She is highly distracted by birds and cats.  On our first walk she thought she should chase cars that went past us, but she did better with that in the afternoon.


So far our dogs and Fiona are doing fine, but we're taking the integration slowly.  She seems to be settling in and relaxing, which is what I wanted to see.  She'll stay in the neighborhood until next week when I'll start taking her places so she can learn to greet strangers appropriately.


Right now she is resting quietly in a crate, where she also spends her nights.  I think she'll advance quickly in her training, she is showing that she is a smart girl.