This is our 7th day of having Timothy- Michael stay with us.

This is our 7th day of having Timothy- Michael stay with us. In the main he is fitting in very well and although there have been set backs the general progress is going forward at quite a pace. So far there are 3 main problems we need to work together on and they are possession of toys, and maybe other things. Twice now he has attacked Tess after attention was switched from him to her and it's quite upsetting when that happens.

Timmy with his work ball.

Spending more time alone. He can be with me alot of the time at work but not all the time. He'd been fine by himself for an hour or so but on Thursday afternoon he took to the work tops in the kitchen and broke a couple of vases and was quite upset when I got home. I had introduced a crate in to the area in the morning, not to shut him in but to make him a doggy cave like the one Tess has so whether that spooked him or whether he just loves being with me so much in the garden I don't know as I haven't forced the issue since thinking it best to let the memories of the other day fade away.

The other problem is the car. He is quite afraid of it but needs to lose his fear or he will miss out on holidays, days out on the hills and getting spoilt rotten by grandma and grandad. I know I could just get hold of him and throw him in but I would rather he chose to go in of his own accord.

On the plus side he has stopped marking both indoors and out. He has a place in the garden to go and a couple of places on our walks where he is encouraged to go and he seems happy with that. I do often remind him when indoors but mostly when we sit down he also does the same, no more pacing.

He is happy to follow me around when working only wandering off now and again and he usually comes when I call him although I don't feel confident in letting him off on walks yet as he sometimes shows an interest in pheasants.

Timmy playing with his ball on a rope.

He is also showing more and more interest in playing with toys, in particular balls. He likes to push them around with his nose and feet and throw them in the air which is quite a joy to see. I try to throw the ball for him but for some reason that frightens him, he backs off and walks away. He seems to have a strong instinct for owning things so maybe he sees me as claiming it as mine and so moves away.