People dynamics and other behaviors

The point of this blog is really for behavioral observation and not a daily/weekly chronicle. I have noticed a couple of things on the socialization front.

1. Sandy has really taken to me. When I come in from being gone (for the day or on an errand), she does this excited dance. It definitely reminds me that Monica said she is kind of a spaz. She is very excited and spins around in circles and kind of hangs her head a bit sideways with her tongue hanging out and wagging her tail. If I sit down on the floor, she will come up and lick me and seek petting and circle around. She likes to mouth my hand a little but no biting. If I don't sit or bend down, she jumps up on me in her excitement. I need to stop this behavior.
2. Ben had a buddy of his over and Sandy shied away from him also. She was fine with Lori the several times she has been over and will follow Lori around the house or come to her. She was fine with Susan when she came over to pickup Brett one day after school. She let my neighbor Deborah pet her on one of our daily walks. So far, she is not so hot with males and fine with females.
3. Sandy is starting to get more comfortable with Ben. Today she has come over to him a few times to let him pet her when I was not right next to him. She still ran away on several occasions that he wanted to pet her, but she was better. She even let him put her Premier collar on her twice today for me to take her for walks.

On the pulling at the leash front, I have started using a Premier collar with her on walks based on advice I got at the shelter on Saturday and it does wonders. I tried a Halti and a Premier and I seemed to be able to fit the Premier better. She doesn't love having the loop around her mouth, but she does put it on and it does make controlling her so much easier. I have started doing a bit of having her heel when we walk and I need to do it a lot more. I also tried a little jogging with her, but she tends to bump into me and I need to work on getting her into the right position. With the new collar, I think we can make good progress.

Overall, I am pleased with the improvement that she is making with Ben and the improvement in control with the new collar. I need to schedule some time to start getting more people around her to bump up the socialization level.