A Measure of Confidence

Day by day Tilly's confidence grows and I have learned that a good measurer of her courage is the volume of submission pee that is coming out of her. Now, I'm no stranger to submission pee-ers. Our Frodo used to dribble on shoes in excitement when he first saw us when we got home and he still has the occasional accident when he's nervous. Tilly though is a whole different story. Tilly didn't just dribble a little pee to show you that she agreed you were the boss, she rolled over on her back and sprayed a fountain of pee on herself. I went through a bevy of baby wipes and doggy diapers the first few days until she she finally stopped rolling on her back.

The next step was that she didn't roll over, but she would full-on pee in fear when approached by a person, even from the side. This waned to a steady dribble, then down to 3 drips, 2 drips....

Well I'm proud to announce that I have picked Tilly up 3 times today without a single dribble! She was still rigid with anxiety, but she didn't pee, so I'm calling it a victory. I think she's learning to show her submission using doggy kisses (much more acceptable to humans) instead of becoming a canine fountain anytime she had to interact with a person. She now gives me kisses whenever I sit down on the deck stairs, sidling up beside me and tucking her head under my arm. Today she even hopped into my lap which almost startled me because it was so unexpected from her.

The other great measuring stick of doggy confidence is the tail. For the first week her little nub of a tail was always tucked down and I was starting to wonder if that was just how hers was situated. Even when she was in her big crate on her own that tail never budged. Then yesterday I watched her little nubbie lift horizontal to the ground as she wandered around sniffing. Her tail worked!! Today was even better! I witnessed a wag. Not wagging, just one little wag, but a wag nonetheless. She still always keeps her tail tucked when she is around me, even when she's giving kisses and trying to jump up, but with all the progress she's making it will only be a matter of time before her tail will be wagging all the time.