GIANT LEAP for DOGKIND!

Yes! It really is a photo of Bella LYING DOWN on the seat in my car (while we were moving - slowing down for the lights).

I've been taking her out more and more in it (it occurred to me that I do avoid taking her in the car because of the commotion she creates when we stop and also because she STANDS all the way.) Well on my almost daily trips to the new place with her I started to just gently touch her bum and praise her when she sat down. She'd get up again and only sit down when touched and asked.

Then, the other day, I noticed she was actually lying down! I couldn't believe it was more than a one-off and couldn't get a piccie. But today she did it again. We'd been over to see the donkeys (but they wouldn't come out of the stable this morning) then set off for this ace secret rock pool beach I know round the back of Alexander Barracks on the SBA territory.

Rockpooling and caving she was - and still hunting lizards too. Then back in the car until I stopped to buy some lunch. Usual barking nightmare as I got out. Then back in the car and head for home - about 15 min drive. And she LAID DOWN. And it wasn't on a long smooth road - it was stop start for traffic lights and speed humps. And she stayed down for quite a while. So all hope is not yet lost! I was so pleased I sang her a song (she loves that). Today's rendition was 'Getting To Know You' lol!

Suddenly finding
Everything's bright and breezy
Because of all the wonderful and new
Things I'm learning about yoooo
Day by day

Aww well done Bella, must be your singing lol

Awesome!! Way to go Bella.

As you say what a momentous thing

However, I do tend to agree with Mandy that maybe it was due to your singing ...... I can see he tongue out, were her eyes crossed too

Oh no Mandy the singing was first employed to stop her either barking, then squawking, then making almost imperceptible little anxious noises (drove me bats but was big improvement on the ear splitting barking).

I sang to her as a reward for lying down and staying down so long!

Now all I have left to work on is her morbid fear of GRASS.
Oh and getting her used to seeing DONKEYS!

Ah well - I never give up - only took 2 yrs to get her to stop barking in car and 3 yrs to get her not to stand up the whole journey.

Average life span of a minpin - reckon I've got time to work on the GRASS lol!

Here she is earlier today - we went rockpooling and tiny caving and I tried to fool her into walking across some rough grass to follow me. This is her walking on the top of a narrow trench wall to avoid the grass! Bit of an optical illusion - the 'wall' you can see is the one the other side of the trench - inside the trench. Bella is walking on what is about a 4inch wide strip atop the wall this side.

She will happily walk over rough rocky terrain, moonscape stuff, sand, shingle, seaweed, dirt, cobbles, rough gorsey stuff but she will NOT walk on nice flat smooth GRASS! She's nuts.

This is her in her usual position for travelling. We've been all over the island with her standing like this!

Well done Bella She is a wee beauty!

Aww Bella!! I think that's my new favourite photograph of her

Just posted some of her rock pooling and caving this morning. This big LIE DOWN event took place on the way home from there.

Not due to me wearing her out - I can assure you we've had much longer and more arduous outings and she STILL stood all the way home!

*And Jenny I just spotted your comments lol!
Wotchit or I might come and SING TO YOU!
You won't forget the experience if I do -

That's great news. Shows that she's more relaxed in the car and you will be able to go to more places now

As a matter of interest has Bella always stood up in the car even when a puppy? In our case Rianna lies down on the seat, or on the floor, and often goes to sleep while moving, she loves her 'dogmobile' and quite often when we get home she'll refuse to get out

But in our case when we had two dogs, Rianna would get on the seat to give Baruska space on the floor.