On being Cautious

Next Wednesday will be the three year anniversary of Seppel coming to live with me. A lot has changed in three years. No matter what I am always cautious with Seppel because I know what he can be capable of. However, I have lightened up a little bit.

I will never crate Seppel with Seth or LiLo.
-But I have left them alone in the car together before, many times. I feel like the car is a little different and they do have more space to get away if necessary. I don't do it a lot, but it has happened quite a few times. It has never resulted in a problem.

I will never leave Seppel unattended with my cat for extended periods of time.
-I do not trust that play will not turn into prey on accident. 

I will never have him off leash in places where we may encounter other off-leash dogs.
-Seppel has a high prey drive and is reactive. He is not a dog park dog, and he is not a reliable off-leash dog. I am okay with that, I don't mind using a drag line [I have a 30ft line we use at the beach]. I know he would go after a small dog or puppy, and I know that his personality type does not get along with everyone. I know he is not always reliable off-leash and that he is impulsive and I have no desire to risk him getting hurt or him hurting someone else's dog.
-I do take him places to play ball off leash, but I can see who is coming around me and if there is a big distraction or another dog I will push him on leash. For the most part all he cares about is the ball when we are playing, but I am always cautious.

I'd like to address Seppel and the cat. Many of you know when I first got him he had an altercation with my cat where he somehow injured him, and he also chased after my horse. Because of the house renovation the cat and the dogs are all having to share my bed. The dogs have slept with me before - back when I was living at my grandmas, and the cat has always slept with me at my house. Until now, they had never really slept together. Napolean would occasionally join them on their dog beds, but never before had they all shared my bed together. I was very worried at first because my cat isn't afraid of the dogs and I was fearful that he would walk on them when they were sleeping, which he has done. The dogs tolerate him for the most part and will only growl occasionally - and it's Seth primarily who grumps about him walking around. What has really surprised me is Napolean and Seppel's relationship seems to have grown. Maybe Seppel is just tolerating him - but it really seems like things have changed. I shared several of these pictures on facebook and instagram but this is what I find daily:

 The last two are from just minutes ago - the cat climbed right on top of Seppel!

I watch them very closely and would never leave them alone together in my room, but it does make me happy that after three years they are doing so well together, especially after such a rocky start.

Next week I'll try to rig up a 'gotcha day' post. So, so much has changed in three years, and I can't even believe it has been that long already.