Buster (aka Hamlet) was listed as “shy” and that was a serious understatement. Buster wasn’t shy, he was terrified of people. Today, two days later, he is shy with a little bit of scared thrown in.
But, just a little less than 48 hours have passed and he’s made huge progress. Here are some things Buster can do (though not always) now that he could not do on Thursday.
Buster can:
– Take a treat out of a person’s hand.
– Eat a treat while in his crate.
– He can walk from one end of the house to the other, following dogs or people. (Though showing him the red confidence leash speeds up the process.)
– He can walk to his crate, while wearing the red confidence leash.
– He picks toys up off of the floor and plays with him. (He joined a game of fetch, once, by grabbing a toy Lola was retrieving from me — and he kept it, though it helps that Lola did not try to take it away.)
– He can join Skeeter and Lola in roughhousing, for a few minutes.
– He can walk past a person who is standing or sitting still.
– He can go in and out of the back door while a person is standing at the door.
– He can stand in the doorway or on the steps while a person is standing there. (which is why this morning’s photo, above, was such a big deal. He could not even do THAT yesterday.)
– He can approach a person who is standing or sitting still and sniff or lick them. He might even let the person pet him for a few seconds.
– He can wander into the bedroom when people and dogs are in there.
– He can put his front paws on the bed to see what the people and the dogs are doing.
– He can wander in during nap time and decide to nap on Skeeter’s bed while the people and the dogs are napping on the bed.
– He can sniff the prairie dogs.
– He can approach a person who is sitting or standing still, when called. Though he will only go halfway before he turns around to find a safe place to lay down.
Things he cannot do, EVER:
– Hold his spot or approach a person who is walking toward him.
He’s one heck of a cute puppy and once he has some weight on, and some more confidence, he’s really going to be a beauty. Right now he’s just sweet and when he lets you walk by him or stand near him or, gasp, pet him, you kind of feel like you’ve won the lottery.
I’m having so much fun watching you all welcome not one, not two, but THREE dogs into the house. BTW when did you get to be such a big ol marshmallow of doggie love?
I’m so glad to hear of all this progress! The fact that he’s making such quick progress suggests to me that he’s going to become very comfortable around all people moving or sitting after he’s had plenty of time to learn how safe they are in your house and life. I feel so happy that you adopted him!
I am so proud of you for rescuing this sweet boy. I am even more proud of the efforts you are putting forth to help him love his environment and his people. Thank you for providing such a wonderful home for such a wonderful little boy.
He’s a quick learner!
Sounds like he’s making great progress, even in such a short time. And it sounds like he totally found the right home!
Its so rewarding reading about Buster and the progress he has made! He is so lucky! I have a blog also and Dolly is a WWR alum from 2010, its a great tool to get the word out about WWR. Sandra and Dolly