It’s been 12 days since our English shepherd foster arrived. I’ve been gone for 5 of them, leaving Mark to handle him. He’s done a great job.
RePoe has made some progress. He’s sleeping thru the entire night with no barking or rustling about. He’s sitting or standing in his crate while we leash him up. He’s infrequently cowering in the back any more.
He’s pretty curious, but not interested in our pack yet. He’s only been exposed to very undersized English shepherds, most of who were his relatives so it’s understandable.
Big steps happened Monday, my first day back.
RePoe took three steps. They only amounted to a few inches, but they seemed like miles.
I was sitting cross-legged on the floor after we had worked for a while. He was standing with his side to me trying to digest lesson we had just finished. The lesson, by the way, was mostly people are good things and he can be near them. If you had popped in off the street to watch, most likely you would’ve said it was akin to watching paint dry.
While he was mulling things over, I very carefully reached out and did something most dog owners do all the time without thinking. I scratched RePoe’s butt.
I’m pretty sure it was the first butt-scratch he’s had in his entire life.
He stood and tolerated it. I stopped after a few seconds.
Then he did something I never expected. He slowly and deliberately picked up his hind right foot and moved it closer to me, followed by the rest of his body, keeping his side to me.
He was asking for more. Who was I to let him down? After all, he’s been let down his entire life. I, of course, reached out and scratched for a few more seconds and stopped.
Again he moved his right hind foot closer, followed by the rest of him.
I again obliged, this time scratching his butt and up his spine a bit. Once more, I only pushed it a few seconds before I stopped.
It appeared I had him right where I wanted him. He moved his foot once more, but couldn’t get any closer without putting it in my lap! He was willing touching my foot!!
He was BEGGING FOR BUTT SCRATCHES!!!!!
Of course, I accommodated his wishes. And then I pushed him even a little further.
I got to pet him. Not just a quick chest scritch-a real, stroke-the-entire-length-of –his-body petting! Mind you it was only a couple quick strokes, but it was progress.
While I kept my outward demeanor, quiet, calm and collected, there was a celebratory festival going on inside!
Wahoo!!!!
