Ed sleeping in the early morning in his new spot which he dug out yesterday evening as Niko and I sat in front of the house. He dug, paced, and wandered around checking his other spots for about half an hour before settling in yesterday evening. I was surprised and gratified to see him here this morning because this new spot is directly in front of the house about the same distance away as his old spot diagonally off the west corner. It is also much more exposed and doesn't have a tree, to hide behind like his previous spot. He has another spot which is behind a tree in between those two spots which is also new as of two days ago.

Eddie arrived at the end of January, if memory serves, and has only known his new home with almost complete snow cover. He seems to be happy with the appearance of the ground and spring time, as we all are. He has begun to chase after critters and is bounding around much more. Its almost as if he can see better now, but I suppose it could be his echo location works better with less snow cover. Anyway he seems happier and as not run into anything. I think he is beginning to like it better here and hopefully is becoming more comfortable. I don't blame him since I would have severe difficulty facing winter without the knowledge of coming spring, as nice as wintertime is. We all agree its time for winter to be over.

In favor of the argument that he can see better might be the reasoning which says his poor vision might be a result of stress and has more to do with the visual cortex as apposed to the retina or eyes themselves. Of course a combination is also possible. I'm becoming more enamored of the idea that his visual impairment might be stress or experiential trauma related.

P1010216 treats_3-23-2009

end of week TEN

Yesterday passed the end of week ten, with Eddie still sleeping under his tree, and life has been routine since I have had some work to complete. The other day when Ed had almost finished eating his dinner he accidentally clipped the bowl with a toe nail and let out a yelp as he jumped back. Otherwise he is getting more comfortable eating from the bowl so I have been moving it closer to the house and moving Niko's bowl closer to his so that now they are comfortable eating about six feet apart. Clearly Eddie is becoming more comfortable around Niko and is almost beginning to play with him. Niko Initiates the play by growling and posturing and Eddie sort of responds by backing off and then playfully lunging back at Niko but with his teeth bared. He is clearly conflicted about what is going on, but I consider this to be positive progress. Also since it is almost springtime here and the snow is melting quickly they are beginning to harass some of local ground burrowing critters together: Nothing like a little hunting to bond dogs.

I have had the flu for the past week and have not been walking them as much as normal. But last week as I just beginning to feel bad we had a long walk up to the top of a local hill and Ed really enjoyed himself. It seems the further we get away from know territory and especially the house the more comfortable he is with getting close to me. He seems to be making progress though and is beginning to hang out closer the house during the day as the snow melts and there a more nice spots in the sun to rest on pine needles.

Tonight when I gave him and Niko their bones I left his on the plate. He noticed the plate immediately and saw Niko chewing happily for about 30 seconds and then let out a few barks and paced and check the bowl/bone out from different angles. After a minute of his whining and and sitting and pacing I relented and dumped the bone on the snow beside his plate. He had no problem grabbing it even with the plate almost touching it. When he becomes apprehensive about eating he looks up and around especially at the trees and house as if checking to see if they are going to get him. He seems to convince himself that the trees and hours have not moved and then warily proceeds to eat.