Day 6, Cone free at last

Friday, Jan 31, 2020 @ 6-8 am

I'm happy to report that this was an uneventful morning.  We're settling into a routine that makes this part of the day go smoothly.  Aurora was out and fed - antibiotics in her kibble - then returned to her enclosure while I let out Molly and fed her - Molly doing her best to avoid direct interaction with Aurora.  It went so smoothly that I actually was able to shower and dress and still make it out the door to get to work ON TIME for the first time this week. She does still whine when I step away but it doesn't last nearly as long and it doesn't result in coughing spasms. So, that's a thing.
Happy Friday.

@ 6-10pm

I arrived home to find Aurora was returned to her crate without the cone, so I left it off.  We did the dog shuffle without much fuss and once they were both fed I decided to test the laundry basket.  I placed her sleeping blanket in the basket and placed her in it, then lifted the basket from the floor to the couch.  She stayed in the basket, mostly (I think) because she couldn't figure out how to get out of it.  The next step is testing it in the car tomorrow morning. 

It's unclear how long she was without the cone during the day but it's worth nothing that she was a different dog this evening.  How much of that is being cone free and how much is familiarity is also unclear. The change is remarkable, though.  She did growl at Molly a couple of times, but stopped immediately when I called her on it.  The first time was resource guarding.  I had given each of them a Blue Bone.  I have only the large size bone, meant for my larger dog.  Molly made short work of hers and Aurora was still working on it when Molly approached, to be warned off with a growl. I was concerned that it could escalate quickly but a brief "Stop it" was enough to send them both to their separate corners of the room.. The second time was in my lap.  Aurora was lying across my legs on the love seat and Molly got up to shift positions on the couch, which elicited a growl from Aurora.  I told her to knock it off and I got a look, but she did stop immediately.  The rest of the evening was uneventful.  Despite the improved relations between the two of them, with those two growls I decided to keep Aurora in the crate for the night.