Bonnie was so happy when I came home from a month of traveling, so I'm writing about her today. I got home late Friday night, in a rental car, and she was in the upper field barking. By the time I walked through the house, she was on the deck and I walked out to greet her. She was not scared of me, but shy and a bit uncertain, because of course she has never had the experience of her person leaving, being gone for a significant time (a month!) and coming back. It was something she had to process, but she worked through it and was glad to see me. I read somewhere that if a dog's person is gone for more than the usual amount of time (a day at work?), the dog concludes that her person has been eaten by predators, and that's that.
Bonnie slept in the house Friday night. She is not crated, but we separate the back entryway (the airlock) from the dining room with a baby gate and that confines her. It makes her feel more secure, and it also keeps her away from the living room couch, where she still occasionally forgets that she is not allowed to sit on. Most likely this is what happened to her as a puppy - cute little fluffball who was spoiled and allowed on the furniture, then one day the rules changed.
Bonnie is very sweet and loving. She and the cat, Possum, have regular little love fests, he rubs heads with her and she licks his fur. It's hilarious. But she is not the kind of dog you will ever be able to yell at for discipline. A firm correction is enough for her. She is very compliant and wants to be a good dog, because most of all she wants to make the person happy before the person starts yelling and scaring her.
