Well it's Tuesday evening and Leo is comfy and safe in his crate after one of Chris's home made dog dinners.  Leo thinks Chris is a very good cook.  Leo is sleeping very deeply.  I think he's sleeping the deepest he has since he arrived.

Leo has been spending a LOT of time VERY close to us - attached at the hip actually.

In fact, Leo has been on leash in the house and going wherever we go. So far, he's been everywhere from the washroom to the sunroom to the office to the kitchen - not to mention on many, many walks. (Pippa likes the walks) He's made beds, swept and tidied the house. He's made two suppers, (roast chicken and hamburgers) breakfast and lunch, and loads and loads of cups of tea.

It all started like this. My best friend is a dog trainer and she had time and I was working at home on Monday so we couldn't resist a visit even though it was only Leo's second day and his first day with just me and Pippa. My friend assessed Leo and me and how we were working and at my request made tons of suggestions. From that training we started our new regime and are reading The Monks of New Skete book. I really like the idea that 'nothing is free, everything is earned.'

We don't give Leo loads of reassurance when there's a new noise. After all there's nothing to be reassured about, is there? Everything is just fine and just normal. When he startles and then settles he learns that things happen and it's not the end of the world. So, to achieve that kind of normalizing where we go, he goes. As I said, joined at the hip. Yesterday he spent a long time helping me work on my laptop. He was pretty bored. It was kind of funny. He wouldn't lie down with me because he was so tense and just stood there. One of his coping mechanisms is to go to sleep. He actually started to nod off standing up, poor guy. Just like a horse. Finally he lay down - as far away as he could get.

The relationship between Pippa and Leo has improved dramatically too. They're very casual around each other and Leo is very respectful of Pook. It was nice yesterday morning because when he came in he was pretty worried. Pippa actually went up to him and sniffed noses and she was wagging her tail. Good ol' Pook. She had to tell him off on Monday afternoon. (Ergo new, improved, respectful demeanour) Leo got freaked out and was kind of flopping around a bit on the leash and knocked over a table and lamp. So then he tried to run away and whoops! He stepped on Pippa's head. Big mistake. Poor guy didn't know where to go or what to do after that bit of schooling. I just walked over and sat in a chair (attached at the hip remember?) and he sat behind the chair and tried to pretend he was a bit of wallpaper. Eventually he settled right down and relaxed.

Last night he slept through the night. That's much better than Sunday night when he was up barking sometime in the wee hours. He's very, very clean and so far is completely house trained. In fact, if you watch closely he asks to go out in a very tiny quiet way. You need to be a good observer with Leo. He's not a demanding boy at all.

It's like Leo was in a numb fog when he came to us. Now it seems like he's really trying to figure out what we want. Before, he didn't even know there was something to figure out. Leo's confidence is growing by leaps and bounds. The piano movers were here and Leo just kind of watched them - didn't try to hide in his crate. It's actually not a very good hiding place - but it is his safe zone that we never enter. We're happy to report that today he even lifted his leg to pee - just a little - but he did it. Leo looks for Chris and sits very closely to him when he can. I think (I know) they adore each other already. Pippa doesn't care - she knows she's higher up the hierarchy and so long as the biscuits and walks keep on rolling it's all pretty good, really.

I'm so grateful to Elaine for her help with us on this. I was feeling kind of sad that I wouldn't have any kind of relationship with Leo. I really felt like I didn't know how to be with animals - just didn't understand them. I felt really happy for Chris and Leo, but I really didn't know what to do - no dog instinct. Also, I read a couple of things about Beaucerons and was feeling pretty worried. (FYI go to http://www.geocities.com/beauceron_can/ for sensible Beauceron info) Anyway, as a result, I was withdrawing and just leaving it all up to Chris. Elaine said, "Sometimes you don't get the dog that you expected but the dog gets the owner he needs." After spending the last day and a half working with Leo following Elaine's tutelage I've realized it's not really about training the dog - it's about training the owner and we've had an immense boost from a very dear and gifted friend.

And now if he can just sleep in until 7am instead of 6am...

April (check out April's blog - http://teawisdom.blogspot.com - for more updates and photos of Leo)

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