I was just looking over the blog posts and realizing just how far Thea has come.
She is now braving the waves at the beach!! That is her most recent accomplishment. I just refused to take no for an answer. We visited the beach house a few times and Thea always "freaked" when it came to going down to the beach so I would sit at the pool with her trying to coax her out of the corner and into the water. Well, 2 weekends ago I had enough... I dragged her and carried her down to the sand. She didn't like the soft sand but as soon as her feet hit the water she turned into a different dog! Now after 3 trips to the beach she is running in the water, swimming in the water, chasing frisbees and balls and just in general being a regular dog! One of our friends didn't even recognize her!!
Thea is also swimming in the pool. She dives in (however gracefully she can manage) and retrieves toys! What a change from the dog we met almost a year ago.
Thea also has a new "sport". I've been working her on the agility equipment. She jumps over the jumps and runs over the A-Frame and Dog Walk. I even have her jumping through the tire (at a very low level). Of course, she is being lured all the way.
Because of Thea's past I doubt she will ever play in agility like other dogs. Her learning capacity seems to be very limited. I've been able to teach her to sit for a cookie and get on equipment for a cookie but in 10 months I still have not been able to teach her to "shake".
Who knows how long she was in that horrible puppy mill but it was a very long time. Every now and then I see a glimmer of a "normal" dog... but she will always be "different" and "special".
For now... Thea Brave Girl is living up to her name!
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