Week 3

After a week of continues research and lot of opinions, I was finally ready for saturday. I actually recorded footage of all 3 dogs, sadly it is not as professional as I would want them to be, but when I have to choose between more attention for dogs or for the camera, I would always chose the dogs.

I finally decided that I would focus on only 3 dogs, which will be Sparky, with the original therapy training, Pammy with some basic concepts, for example how to walk on the leash, sit, lay down, and how to accept other dogs. And last but not least Libby. Her training is going to be the most extensive because she has many behavioral problems, that were caused by the abuse, and her young age as a mom.

Pammy: this week I couldn't really work with Pammy because throughout the whole time outside, potential adopters were playing with her. Everyone who comes in the shelter admires her personality, yet no one ever takes her home. I was happy to see her with her potential parents, and of course she was on her best behavior when they were there. But as soon as I tried to get her inside, she went totally crazy. I did make some progress however, with the sight of her potential dad, she finally submitted, which could lead to many good habits in the future. Hopefully next week she’ll improve more.

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Libby: I worked a lot with this pretty girl, I was out there for probably an hour, which is more than I usually am, but felt like she finally opened up to me. She was less and less scared, and she even ran around with me. She never, ever refuses a hug (or a treat 😉) which makes it easy to train her. But her over-submissive personality is quite the challenge. You can never be too careful with the sounds you make, or the movements. Because she was even scared of her own leash. I got great footage, however. A new volunteer guy came out, as we were working, and I noticed that even before she could see him, she was already barking. On the footage you can see how terrified she became, and the barking only stopped when the guy actually came into the same kennel, where we were. As soon as he came in, she turned around and hugged me, and hid her face. She used me as a shield. She was so scared. Terrified. But I got it on video. And thanks to the footage, I can now analyze her behavior and come up with a better solution to the problem.

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Sparky: Sparky again, made slow but great progress. He is always so attentive, and such a goofball. He literally cries the treat out of your hand, he is a really funny pupper, and would be great for a bigger family. He walks really well on the leash now, while paying attention to me and sitting down when I stop. He is a great dog, it is a shame no one wants to adopt him.