Tomorrow We Need Good Behavior!

Mia had a couple of bad days at daycare where she got a little roughed up.  A bad scratch to her face and then a scratch on her stomach, and not to say that she didn't deserve it... it still wasn't what want for her of course.  The wounds are healing nicely though with some Neosporin that mommy applies each day and things to be back to normal at her daycare so that's good to see.

Today we spent some time practicing the doorbell with her.  She seems to think the doorbell is a threat to her for some reason.  She may know that it means strangers are coming to the door and her reaction to it is pretty intense - mass barking.  This is something that we are going to need to work on everyday for a while until she comes to realize that whatever happens after the noise will not cause her harm.  She's my little princess but she does not like to feel threatened and strange things and sometimes strangers make her feel this way.

Taking her in and out of daycare we often walk by people that we don't know and she won't react, which is huge.  Sometimes taking her in the car and parking in a parking lot while one of us runs in to do a quick errand can cause her anxiety.  She doesn't bark anymore, but she will growl and sometimes whine.  Her growl is actually just part of her bark, it's the noise she makes Before she barks.... so it's not like a mean "I'm going to attack you" type of growl which is hard to explain to people who don't have dogs.  Just the growl is really just like anxiety level 1 or 2 while a full out bark is anxiety level 5 or 6.

Tomorrow is a big day for her.  We're going to have 8 guests (including 2 children), and I know that once we get past the initial greeting everything will be just fine.  I am definitely worried about her initial greeting to the little girls though, they are very little and will likely be afraid if she acts badly.