Tilly on Vacation

We took Tilly and Frodo with us to visit a friend at her home in Central Oregon and it seemed like a vacation was just what Tilly needed. I was so proud of her! She hiked with us - her first time on a leash - and did great travelling in the car as well. The best part though was when she initiated play with Frodo. Yep, you heard it correctly. Tilly tried to play. It was a stilted odd little playtime, but a playtime nonetheless. She even nosed a tennis ball around a couple times.

In this photo you see her after hiking up to the top of Fort Rock. She really enjoyed the hiking, as long as she got to walk behind everyone else. For a little dog who spent all her life in a crate, the wide open vistas of the high desert of Central Oregon must have been pretty inspiring. Doesn't she look happy compared to some of the earlier photos that I've posted of her?

I won't say that the vacation completely ended her fears, but she has made some great progress that seems to be sticking. Yesterday she went to the off-leash park with me. For most of the time I had her in a front pack, however, once the more rambunctious dogs left I put her down for awhile and she wandered around and sniffed things out. She even let two of our human dog park friends pet her while she was in the baby pack without even snarling or lifting a lip.