Bella has been with me for one month.  There have been several small changes in her behavior.  Yesterday, for the first time, she accepted a treat from my hand.  I admit, I wiped a few tears away, I was so happy.  Then, very early this morning I was awakened my cat, Imja's loud complaints.  (I think she wants me to come play with her and considers 4:30 am a perfectly fine time for this.)  I turned on the light briefly and saw that Bella was on her bed!  When I looked at her, she made her way over to the concrete floor, and tucked herself a bit more out of sight.  Later, after her walk, I adjusted her bed so that it occupied her space in such a way as to make it harder for her to avoid lying on it.  Now she is lying on it, warily, but probably more comfortably.

The changes I have seen this month, in the order of occurrence, are:

- She comes to the door when I call her name to go for a walk.  (She also circles back toward her room and comes again a few times as I get my boots and coat on.  This continues until I have her leashed up.  (She is like an awkward teenager who hopes you don't notice her wearing a dress.)

- Bella now watches me, and when the opportunity presents, watches the cats.  She follows our movements with her eyes, and sometimes, with perky ears.  She looks at me with interest when I read to her before she decides to take a nap.

- She now eats well.  She will eat while I sit next to her.  Initially she didn't eat all of her food, and when she did, it might not be until a few hours had passed.

- She tolerates some petting, and perhaps enjoys it slightly.  She usually doesn't pull away or look down after I pet her anymore.  Instead she looks at me.

- Walks: At first she was very nervous and her legs trembled, especially the back legs.  Now I don't notice much trembling. She clearly enjoys walks, and is most "dog-like" when we walk.  She began pulling hard, but we have made headway with that already.  I follow Susan's suggestion and stop walking when she is pulling, beginning again only when the leash is slack.  She is also much calmer at transition points; door openings and closings and so on.  She waits until I unhook her leash and then walks, instead of runs, back to her room. She accepts her feet being wiped.

- She innovated the circumnavigation of the yard.  Her first territory?

- She can hesitantly take treats from my hand.  

- She can sleep on her bed.

Since this is my first monthly review, I want to add the long term goals that I have for Bella.  

- I want her to feel more comfortable, safe and to enjoy her doggie life.

- I want her to learn to ride in the car without terror so that we can take walks together at the beautiful parks that abound here in Ithaca.  And go to the vet if we have to.

- I want to figure out a way to give her a bath that is mutually agreeable so that I can have a clean dog living with me.
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- and finally, I want her to feel better about herself, her body and her personal space so that she no longer pees on her own tail or stands in her puddle of pee.

Bella doesn't always lie down in her corner right away after her walk.  Today she stayed sitting waiting for her treat.  Bella doesn't always curl up with her tail tightly against her.  A couple of times she sat in a Sphinx position with her two teddy bear paws forward, watching me with interest.  She  looks so huggable in that position, but I refrain.

My neighbor, also Leslie, lent Bella a stuffed dog.  (I presume she knows it may not be returned in the condition in which it arrived.)  I played with it in front of Bella and she watched with curiosity.  

The cats like it when I talk with Bella.  They come in to ignore her.  Circe drinks from her water bowl.  Imja jumps up on the dresser to look down on her.

I do pet Bella.  I think she leans against my hand when I scrunchy the thick fur under her ears.  In any case, she no longer turns away.  She sometimes even looks up at me after I stop.  She doesn't necessarily have a "why did you stop" look, but at least seems to acknowledge that something has passed between us, something that was more nice than scary.

I offered Bella some yogurt tonight.  She didn't seem to know what to do with it.  It was a strange bowl.  Then she tried it.  I could see the light bulb go off in her doggie head.  Yogurt!  She licked the bowl clean.

Bella has designed one activity that she came up with completely on her own and is devoted to.  This is circumnavigating my yard upon the completion of our walk.  I have mentioned this behavior before, but I am mentioning it again because it seems so important to Bella.  At the end of our walk she always insists on a rapid jaunt around the border of our territory.  Afterwards, Bella looks up at me as if to say, "Good, right?"  She is then content either to repeat the identical walk and circumnavigation, or to stand on my porch, hooked to her cord, as I wipe her feet.  I honor this activity because, to date, it is Bella's only act of creativity, and I love creativity.

I have noticed that Bella pulls more and more on the leash.  She is strong!  I've read that this breed was used to pull a cart of cheese in the Alps, and could even learn to do deliveries unattended.  I'm strong, but Bella can really pull me, and I want to discourage this.  I am not sure how to because I also want to encourage her confidence and I haven't yet spoken with a behaviorist.

I've discontinued bringing Bella into my living room when someone is here, even as a challenge.  I've also stopped inviting people to visit her in my back room.  It seemed too much for Bella.  But I have introduced a new activity.  My friend, Dan, brought me a 1955 copy of Thurber's Dogs to read to Bella.  I was already aware that reading to dogs is a technique used with dogs who are unused to friendly interactions with humans.  The reader doesn't make eye contact with the dog, nor approach and touch.  Instead, he or she reads calmly, every day, and allows the dog to choose when to approach.  I greeted Dan's suggestion enthusiastically and have begun reading dog stories to Bella while I drink my morning coffee.  She is a good listener, but sometimes she gets bored and dozes.