The bad news – I can’t possibly do anything but warehouse and screech at a 90-pound 10-month-old Giant puppy while trying desperately not to move my arm and guarding it to be sure it doesn’t go in a naughty direction (because if it dislocates we have to start all over again). I wasn’t ready to do anything sensible but fortunately friend Dawn suggested I send him out for a board-and-train with friend Barbara (http://dogsden.ca). By the time I was out of the hospital, I was more than ready and Barbara agreed to keep him until I get the green light from my surgeons to use my shoulder normally. The more I think about this the more grateful I am to both Dawn and Barb, because I can’t think that Serra and I would have come out of this with any kind of positive relationship if I was trying to keep us both sane and safe while not being functional enough to actually think or walk around.
And while I’m thinking about this, I’m so thankful that his training is 100% non-physical, which means that any control comes from his brain and not from me yanking him around, so the only danger we’d be dealing with would be his 10-mo baby brain and momentary excitement. Can’t wait to get him home! (and to be able to drive again, and to be able to move my arm without taking a pill first, and to walk outside without having a bodyguard on either side of me, and to sleeping in a bed instead of a recliner… )