random stuff
I PICKED UP RYE!
THIS IS HUGE!
Ok, so as I may or may not have written about before (I don't remember and don't feel like checking) - I have been working on desensitizing Rye to being held. This has mostly been a lot of running my hands over her sides while I'm petting her and sometimes under her belly, touching her with both hands at once, maybe one hand on either side of her, etc etc etc. I was feeling pretty good about it, too. We'd reached a point where I could cup her face with my hand and pet both her chin and the top of her head at the same time, or she could rub herself against my leg and I could pet her other side, so that she's between my leg and my hand. All going well! She likes being touched.
So then the other day she was responding really well to me running my hands along her side and belly, so I just reached my hands around her and... picked her up.
A few inches. For maybe two seconds. And then put her back down.
BUT!
THAT'S STILL HUGE!
She was just fine after that - her body language was her usual "well, that was weird, but ok" and she just nibbled on her food and asked me for more pets. SOOOO AWESOME!
So now I want to normalize those little pick-ups. I've done it maybe twice more since and I plan to keep trying. I will only try if I'm REALLY sure it's going be ok, of course. Only after the "rubbing hands over her sides and belly" test and only when she reacts super calmly. I want it to be just a no big deal, whatever kind of thing, so picking her up when it would scare her would be counterproductive. But so far, gentle, non-threatening, careful introductions and normalizations of things has worked really well for her, so I'd say I'm doing well. ^_^
---
One week left. Or, six days, actually. We can do this. We're past all the known possible blow-ups, and there is very little left to do. Utilities, maybe a final walk-through, and we sign. That's it. The POD is scheduled for delivery, I've ordered moving boxes, and I've suggested we aim for 2-3 weeks to actually complete the move. I've never moved an entire home's worth of shit. Eek.
And THEN, after all that, we sell this house. oof. But for now I'm just worrying about the closing. And getting the move started. After more stuff is done I'll worry about stuff further in the future.
THIS IS HUGE!
Ok, so as I may or may not have written about before (I don't remember and don't feel like checking) - I have been working on desensitizing Rye to being held. This has mostly been a lot of running my hands over her sides while I'm petting her and sometimes under her belly, touching her with both hands at once, maybe one hand on either side of her, etc etc etc. I was feeling pretty good about it, too. We'd reached a point where I could cup her face with my hand and pet both her chin and the top of her head at the same time, or she could rub herself against my leg and I could pet her other side, so that she's between my leg and my hand. All going well! She likes being touched.
So then the other day she was responding really well to me running my hands along her side and belly, so I just reached my hands around her and... picked her up.
A few inches. For maybe two seconds. And then put her back down.
BUT!
THAT'S STILL HUGE!
She was just fine after that - her body language was her usual "well, that was weird, but ok" and she just nibbled on her food and asked me for more pets. SOOOO AWESOME!
So now I want to normalize those little pick-ups. I've done it maybe twice more since and I plan to keep trying. I will only try if I'm REALLY sure it's going be ok, of course. Only after the "rubbing hands over her sides and belly" test and only when she reacts super calmly. I want it to be just a no big deal, whatever kind of thing, so picking her up when it would scare her would be counterproductive. But so far, gentle, non-threatening, careful introductions and normalizations of things has worked really well for her, so I'd say I'm doing well. ^_^
---
One week left. Or, six days, actually. We can do this. We're past all the known possible blow-ups, and there is very little left to do. Utilities, maybe a final walk-through, and we sign. That's it. The POD is scheduled for delivery, I've ordered moving boxes, and I've suggested we aim for 2-3 weeks to actually complete the move. I've never moved an entire home's worth of shit. Eek.
And THEN, after all that, we sell this house. oof. But for now I'm just worrying about the closing. And getting the move started. After more stuff is done I'll worry about stuff further in the future.