Maggie's Mojo

It's four days since Denzil left, and I finally feel like I've got Maggie back.  Tuesday and Wednesday especially Maggie was acting in a way that I can only describe as "mopey" -- maybe even a little depressed.

Symptoms included:

• Much less happy barking than usual 
• No desire to go outside unless absolutely necessary
• No following The Husband or I around the house
• Sleeping under the bed most of the time
• No helping her brindle brother protect the house
• No barking and running to the cupboard when the word "biscuit" was said

The Husband pointed this out to me on Wednesday, and sure enough - she was a mopey girl.  Thankfully she continued eating, drinking, peeing & pooping normally - so I didn't worry that something physical going on.  I realized then that Denzil really never went anywhere without Maggie - except to class or for a short walk.  Maggie has gone places without Denzil many times (dog shows, seminars, a week for the National Specialty), but he'd never left her.  I'm pretty sure she knew something was up and didn't like it.

So how to get my sassy old lady back?  I decided to train her more (the girl loves to work).  We're learning Utility scent articles which requires her to think about doing something new.  It also involves lots of treat, praise, and cheese whiz (yum!).  I've been keeping the training extra-lively and get her to bark, woo, and even frap a bit between tries.    It also takes about 20 minutes to run through the exercise every day, so she gets lots of my undivided attention.

It seems to be working.  I wouldn't say she's 100 percent herself, but she's much more lively, gets excited to go outside, and is back to following me around the house.  Whew.

This is how I like Maggie to be - wagging, happy & sassy

Denzil update:  My dad and Denzil made it home safely yesterday, and Denzil seems to be settling in fine.  My mom has already started to call him "our dog" - which I take as a good sign :)