Okay, I may say this a lot when I start working with a new dog, but I love Teddy! Besides simply showing me his sweet personality on our first visit, he checks off a lot of the “I could adopt him” boxes – he’s mid-sized, he’s pretty good on leash, he’s affectionate, and there seems to be a limit to his energy level. These pluses don’t erase the barriers to my adopting a dog – for starters, I’m away from home a lot, and I have a yard with a shape that doesn’t lend itself to fencing. But those barriers are no defense against falling in love, and I just have to toughen up and focus on helping Teddy get to a place where he can make a good impression on someone else.
I think Teddy’s been in some version of dog pound / shelter since October, but he came to the humane society where I met him in November. Dogs spend some time in the intake kennels before they are available for the public and volunteers to meet. I didn’t see him when he first came in, but the shelter photo of him offers some idea of his past.
Whether he was so skinny because he was mistreated, or was lost and not finding much to eat, or was too stressed out to eat isn’t known. He’s gained weight now, and looks like an entirely different pup.
The Annex building is a pretty recent addition to the shelter facility. On days the dog park is too muddy, or the weather is too cold, or the wind keeps us out from under the big trees that surround the dog park, the Annex is a blessing. The dogs get to run and we all get to stay warm and dry. There’s some agility equipment in the room, and to my surprise, on our first Annex visit, Teddy headed right over to the tunnel . . .
Teddy really likes the tunnel. I think he likes to be be enclosed. On our third visit, the tunnel was resting against the park bench and Teddy went to crawl under the bench by going behind the tunnel. The tunnel rolled away and Teddy seemed very surprised. He recovered though, and settled down under the park bench.
When I first saw the park benches in the dog park, I figured they were for the people. I definitely use the benches, but I learned that the dogs had their uses for the benches, too.
As far as Teddy goes, I think he likes the security of being in the tunnel or under the bench. Once he gets to his true home, I suspect he’d like a crate as a home base. In the meantime, I’ll visit, work him through the commands he already knows, “sit,” and “down,” and continue working with him on waiting at doors – he’s already pretty good at this and has quit using his nose as a battering ram to get on the other side. We’ll work on “look,” and work on getting him to move further when I cue him to “touch” my hand.
Because he came in with no history, for some cues I can’t be sure what he knew already and what’s new. On our last visit I discovered he’s very reliable when I ask him to “sit,” and then “wait.” I walked the full length of the room, and he stayed put.
Whether the cue “wait” was new to him or not doesn’t really matter. The lesson I take from the time I spend with Teddy is that he’s attentive to verbal and visual cues, he’s treat motivated, and he’s a loving dog. Despite that Boxer/Pit Bull tough guy façade, Teddy is very affectionate. He flashes a wonderful smile that communicates his pleasure in hanging out with a person. But capturing that smile with my phone in one hand while I pet him with the other is proving tricky. I’ll work on it!
Eudora Watson 