The Super Awesome Blog of Dogventuring: Shelter Journal 10/15/13

Housebroken dogs first!

Violet [PF link], as last time, was a sweetheart and loved being petted. She goes under my legs and rubs around them the way a cat does then plops her butt down and leans into me.

Photo from SDDAC

Sally [PF link], very playful today. She enjoys dismembering toys and ripping the fuzz off tennis balls.

Captain [PF link] who I still don't feel much connection with. He's cute, silly, but I personally don't vibe well with him.

Photo from SDDAC

Shep [PF link] who was actually really, really great today! Didn't wander and sniff so much, and was actively asking for attention and petting. That's a huge improvement because when potential adopters are looking for a dog, they need the dog to show interest in them. A dog that is unresponsive, wandering, sniffing, not playing or wanting to be petted, is not a dog that makes a good impression.

Gator [PF link] was not good today, he was very jumpy and rude and I was having a difficult time redirecting him. I was getting frustrated with him which is not good for either of us so I didn't have him out too long. He was taking treats which was great.

The other housebroken dogs had been out. I saw a puppy and needed some fun and to unwind. Nala [no link] is about 8 months old and has been in the shelter for a month. She knows sit, I taught her to lay down pretty easily. She likes jumping up on the benches, and jumped on me a little but not too much. She has no leash walking skills and was all over the place while walking. Not pulling much, just spinning around and bouncing and going behind me and such.

Photo from SDDAC

Next was Belladonna [PF link] and her card said she hasn't been out in about 3 weeks. Poor girl! She was very, very excited to get out and was very stressed as well. Pulled hard on leash, and in the yard she was easily overstimulated by me petting her at first. After she had time to settle in and we got to know each other better she did much better. Turns out she loves to play fetch! She liked a little squeaky squirrel toy best. Dropped it easily on command and would sit before I threw it again. After running and playing she was able to relax and calm down.

Photo from SDDAC

This girl has no name yet, she came in about 3 weeks ago. Gorgeous dog! The photo hardly looks like her, she is a beautiful sandy tan color with very soft features. I took that gross collar off and threw it away. It was falling apart, stinky, and certainly doesn't look charming on her. She was doing fine, having fun and playing and enjoying getting attention. I saw potential adopters come in the yard next to us so I leashed her when a staff member brought the dog in that they wanted to look at. I'm glad I thought ahead because these two didn't like each other and were trying to fence fight. This girl is in heat and the male is intact which could have been part of it, let alone the overall stress of kennel life.

Photo from SDDAC

Pittypat was next [no link] who has been at the shelter about a month. She was difficult to get out of her kennel, thank goodness she was wearing a collar I could grab because she almost managed to bolt out. On leash she was ridiculous. Spinning, pulling, twirling, darting around. I mostly ignored her at first to let her sniff around, potty, and check things out. Once she was ready I called her over. She wasn't very interested in toys and stayed focused on me. Over time she relaxed, got some good petting, and the walk back to her kennel was much better. She's a short little Staffy.

Photo from SDDAC

I noticed Chiques [PF link] when I had gotten the pretty no-name pittie out before Pittypat; the kennels go no-name -> Chiques -> Pittypat. I noticed her because she was terrified. Low body posture, head lowered, tail low, ears back, pupils dilated, pacing nervously while watching me. She was freaked out and stressed beyond belief. It wasn't difficult to get the leash on or lead her to the yard. She slunk along, very low to the ground, practically crawling. In the yard I took the leash off the completely ignored her and walked straight back and sat on a bench. She pottied, sniffed around a lot, and slowly came closer and closer to me. The instant my fingers touched the side of her neck she leaned into me. She climbed up on my lap, one front paw then the next so slowly and gently. I massaged her neck, ears, cheeks, shoulders, down her spine, her hips. With her still half in my lap I slowly scooted off the bench and lowered myself to sit on the ground so she could curl up and lay down if she wanted. She didn't leave my lap. She remained half over one leg for a minute, then went between my legs and faced away from me. I kept massaging her back and shoulders, and behind her ears. The entire time I was doing the "5 second rule of petting" to make sure she was comfortable with what I was doing. I automatically stop petting when she alerts, like when she's listening to the kenneled dogs bark. When she'd look away I'd start petting again. I must have sat on the ground for close to half an hour with her. She was relaxing so I thought I'd try to get her up and moving. I calmly stood up and sat on the other bench and happily called her over. She came slinking over and I pet her. Then I stood up and went back to the other bench and called her happily again. Back and forth and back and forth several times. Each time she was a little more confident. Moving more quickly, head just a little higher, legs not quite so bent and she was walking taller. It was hard for me to put her back in the kennel.