Vet anxiety over.

The vet came today and everything was fine. Hooray! Gustav only needed his heartworm checked so we could get him started on preventative for the season. He didn't love it, but he chose to attempt to disappear into the ground rather than fight. His ears were all the way back, his eyes nearly shut, and he wouldn't take treats. He was all the way on his side lying down. It was obvious his coping method was more of a shutdown than anything. However, he later came to the vet for a treat and approached her to sniff her leg once and face once. He even sat for her. So I don't think he was too traumatized. It reminded me that 1. he's not really very bad with people at the house and 2. he picks and chooses who scares him a lot, and Nancy is not one of those people.

Dottie is a little fat due to her constant treat training, I have to cut down on some kibble for sure. She's 42 pounds, which is at least three pound heavier than she's ever been. Gustav is a slim 70, right on target. Her teeth are great, too. Nancy commented on her excellent heart rate, slow despite some vet anxiety, which means she gets plenty of exercise. Hooray!

In other news, door training has been going great. I can go out, knock lightly twice, and come back in to two dogs sitting patiently in the kitchen. It's time for decoys for sure, although we still practice with just me. Shane came over and before he left did five reps knocking, then I would say "kitchen" and put the dogs in a sit stay in the kitchen, then come answer the door, then have Shane come in and sit down, then treat them and release them to meet Shane. Of course, he's a friend and he had been over for hours so it wasn't as if he had just shown up. The real key is going to be getting this to translate when someone actually knocks on the door. I think we're on our way.

Van training: Dottie is obviously going to take a while on this one. I gave them great kongs and sat with them, then stood up to try shutting the door. Dottie stopped chewing and stared at me, telling me it wasn't time to leave them in there by themselves yet. Gustav had no problem with it, however. I'm approaching it just like crate training and bought new meaty bones to give them only when they're in the van, to increase value. I think it will be at least a few days before shutting the door, however. It's so hard not to go overboard and push things too fast!

Tonight I volunteer at dog's best friend. I'm interested to see how people are doing.