Chops digs the basement, and hugs!

Chopper continues to progress, slowly. It's funny how humans can be taught. With our first dog, Otto, we were spoiled. He was very eager to please us, above all else.  That big oaf could be taught with very little effort.  He learned verbal commands and hand signals with a few liver treats and lots of head pats.  When we got Kolohe we didn't have to train her at all. She learned by observing Otto, though motivated mostly by food and not at all by head pats. With Chopper we've had to learn a whole new language and way of doing things. His progress is slower then I could've imagined, but when he moves even an inch forward the cause for celebration takes over.  Otto learned to ring bells to tell us when he had to go outside in a day.  A day! Kolohe learned right away, too, although she unlearned the first time they came flying off the wall and crashed.  Then she learned to go get Otto to ring the bells for her.  It was actually pretty easy.  We are still trying to figure out how to get Chopper outside.

Chopper's favorite time to go outside is 2-3AM.  I'm not kidding. At that hour he'll wake us up, eyes sparkling and tail wagging.  One morning he even put his paws up on my bed and stood over me willing me up.  Granted his legs were shaking the whole time, but even my confident dogs never did that!  The world is quiet at 3AM, no scary noises or sights, I can see why he feels so comfortable then.  Of course our lives would be easier if we could get him into a non-fearful state during normal hours.  

Other things have come easier (though not easy). One of the places we hang out in our house is in the basement. It's where our tv is, our recliners, our fishtank.  It would be Greg's mancave if it weren't for our wedding pictures and my hula dancing elephants decorating it.  In any case, we used to spend a lot of time down there, but since we got Chopper it's been less and less due to his lack of stair skills.  When we would go downstairs Chops would stand at the top and look down longingly.  Well one night Greg decided enough was enough, and coaxed and led him downstairs.  Within a minute Chopper had settled down on a blanket and curled comfortably up.  The next night he came down with just a suggestion. And that's how it's been ever since! Even with the television on.  In fact, the basement has rapidly become one of his two favorite places in the house.  To us, this is a huge cause for celebration.  Here he is settled in with Kolohe in our basement.

We've learned how important chin rubs are  to Chopper.  They can pull him out of an anxious state and give him confidence.  It doesn't work when he's gone total disassociation (aka Chop-town), but anything less then that can really be affected by the gesture.  Before bed he now comes to my side of the bed and asks for them.  We call it "night-time-petting-time," and it's a regular ritual.  He even likes hugs from time to time!  Yes, hugs!  I can't explain how I get the signal, I just do.  I always watch his reaction in case I'm misreading, but so far so good. Here's photographic proof of said hug, along with one jealous Kolohe.