Test

Okay, I dunno if we're actually up to version 7 yet. But all entries I've written (going all the way back to the hand-rolled PHP/MySQL lightweight blogging system I made in 2002) are now available and searchable all in one place: here. I've started to get a feel for WordPress and love how fast it is. I still have some template tweaking to do, although I'm going to try to keep things loading faster than the previous iteration.

The biggest thing to note is that I finally have working comments that aren't going to bury me in spam! Woo! I don't know if anyone is out there reading this, but if you are, leae a comment and say howdy!

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First off, more about Sidney. She was the fourth dog I met on Tuesday and was at the top of my list when we started the matching process that afternoon. She's dark red, medium-sized (about 50 lbs), and sweeter than anything. We had a little bit of trouble with her enthusiastic snuggling (basically jumping on me) at first because my posture is not terribly authoritarian, but I've been working hard with my trainer on having her just rest her head on my lap instead of jumping up. She absolutely lives to please.

One of the slogans they keep drilling into our heads is "Success Breeds Success." When our dog gets a skill right, we give massive praise, and then we stop and move on to something different. Then the dog remembers its success and (hopefully) will do it right the next time. The coolest thing Syd and I have done so far is having her open a drawer, get out a remote control, close the door again, and drop the remote in my lap. Also, she can pick up something that I've dropped and put it on the desk next to me. All of this requires a ridiculous amount of cheerleading, but Sydney gets so happy when she does something right!

So today we start three weeks of what's called "umbilical cord training." During these three weeks, Syd's attached to my wheelchair with her leash 24/7. I'm the only person who can make eye contact with her, pet her, give her commands, etc. Of course, small exceptions can be made (for example, mom and dad can take her out to the bathroom if it's too cold or rainy for me), but the point is that she's supposed to learn that I'm her "person" and that she has to listen to my commands. Otherwise, we'd get home and she'd be all "ooooh, new family, everybody loves me, forget that 'sit' and 'stay' stuff!" It's been less than 12 hours, and … I feel like I'm strapped to a two-year-old. Which, in fact, I am.

This is really hard work. I've had my fair share of breakdowns over the past couple days. I think everyone's feeling overwhelmed … I'm just one of the few who's admitting it. It's extremely frustrating to see your dog preform a command perfectly for their trainer then just raise their eyebrows when you ask for it. We've had lectures on challenge and resistance, and a lot of the suggestions we've gotten there have been helpful. But still … I guess I just didn't anticipate how draining this would be, physically and emotionally. Supposedly we've gotten through the worst part and things will be smoother after the dogs stay with us tonight … we'll see.

We have our first outing tomorrow, to Super Wal-Mart. I've got some anxiety about that (nothing to do with the dog, just my agoraphobia), but I think it will be a nice change in the routine. I'll have more pictures tomorrow night. Until then, I love you all!

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