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SHDs Success Stories
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SHDs Success Stories
Those of us with “Second Hand Dogs” start from a different place than those who get puppies. Our dogs are not a clean slate. They come with not only the unique personality quirks that all dogs have, but also an often unknown past. Critical skills such as socialization that need to be acquired during the early months are often lacking. Trust has always to some extent been broken. Behaviors that might have been useful for survival in their past can be counter-productive when in a loving home. Each dog and situation is different, but the common denominator is that we need to celebrate small successes that may seem trivial to someone whose dog had a solid start in life. Please share your successes, big and small, with us here so we can all share in your excitement. Your success may also give the rest of us hope for a situation we may be struggling with for our dog. Looking forward to your stories!
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As most of you probably know from my questions to Robert, Lance has some extreme fear reactions to situations that were hazardous to him during his time on the streets. One of the biggies for him is parking lots, where the open space, cars, and people overwhelm him because he cannot keep his eyes on everything at once. He tucks his tail and will do everything in his power to get out of there as fast as possible.
We have been working on this following Robert’s advice with short sessions in quiet parking lots. I have also been pairing work in the parking lot with his favorite activity – going out on the hiking trails.
Once the COVID pandemic settles down, we want to get back to traveling with our camper trailer and take Lance with us, but this will entail him being OK in RV parks with all their noise and commotion. He already understands that the trailer is “home,” but our local RV park was initially terrifying to him. We literally had to drag him through it to get to the hiking trails.
This week, we took our trailer to the RV park for a few days to do some work on it and to continue working on getting Lance comfortable in that environment. He absolutely amazed me! There were campers on either side of us, but he did not bark or growl at their noise at all. He looked up to us to see if we were concerned, and then settled down! When I took him out, he was alert, but his tail was up and he was relatively relaxed. Even when a few people came out of their campers, he startled but quickly resumed his sniffing and exploring. Hallelujah! We still have a ways to go before he is ready for a busy crowded RV camp with children running around and screaming, but this is a HUGE step for him!
Now to continue working with him on the parking lots at shopping areas. Bit by bit…
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