he ate his chicken baby food fairly enthusiastically and had seconds this evening - so hopefully, that's a good sign. we had a nice evening and i showed hubby how he walks and trots alongside me like a show dog. (as if i have any experiences other than watching it on tv, but hey..)
he's getting *very* responsive to me though. still unsure of my husband (but he's a big guy and hasn't been home much... work and all) but his wariness is to be expected given his history. yesterday, however, i was really impressed by how much he knows once he's willing to share it. he's coming to me about 90% of the time when i ask (and when he's sleeping, it's sort of a '5 more minutes mom..'), sits about 70% of the time when i ask and has impeccable leash manners. it makes me wonder if in his prior life he was a show dog. he wasn't neutered when Nice Gal found him on the street so i'm curious. too bad there's no way to find out who and what he was before coming to her. i'm tempted to buy a show lead and see how he responds to it.
to help minimize his stress i've stopped just about everything but the very basics - pretty much just eating a bland diet and frequent walks. no 'training' (after our less than enthusiastic session the other morning i think i'd rather wait until he's come out of his shell some more), probably won't do any baths for a few days and just staying home - no going on any outings until he's adjusted and confident in his environment. this is my first time rehabbing a dog with prior experience of neglect so working through some of his hesitancy has been interesting. cesar milan talks about dogs living in the moment, but i disagree with some of that. i think prior experience can most certainly affect and condition an animal to respond in a certain way (memory is one of the most powerful tools for survival after all, and i think that there IS a measure of reasoning happening there, like a horse who always flips out at a man in a black cowboy hat because of memory of abuse by an owner who was male and wore a black cowboy hat.. those associations are powerful and often reinforced and difficult to remove)... anyway, i do agree that animals have a remarkable (and enviable) ability to move beyond their past negative experience once they're in a balanced place that meets their needs, either equine or canine but with neglect/abuse in the past it does take more time with certain dogs than others. the last time he left Nice Gal's home it turned out to be very very bad for him, and i don't think he's forgotten that. i hope we can prove to him that he is in a safe, loving 'pack' here too, and that we'll see more of him emerge in the coming weeks.
some nice things happened yesterday - a couple of times when i called him, he 'bounded' down the hallway to come see what it is i wanted, and when we were standing in the kitchen before bed, the cats were eating and he *really* wanted some of their food. however, i stood there, gave him a firm but gentle 'no.' and blocked him without even having to touch him. then as i walked out of the kitchen, i told him to 'come on' and he followed me into the bedroom and got in his bed when i asked him to. i think he's learning the routine and some of the boundaries and i'm hoping that it will help him feel a little more secure about being here. he also spent a significant amount of time just sniffing and exploring the place which i think was good for him. he needs to spend some more time with my husband though, particularly on walks, to help him bond and feel more comfortable with The Tall Guy. TTG is pretty much the epitome of 'calm-assertiveness' when it comes to handling animals and most of the time with people too. if i can teach him to be more observant to body language, what it means in dogs and horses, and to recognize subtle changes in an animal's demeanor, he'll make an awesome handler just because of the fact that he's so quiet minded and has a steady, even focus to him. heck, he even has a calming affect on ME when i get upset about things (which can be often, lol)... so we'll see.
i keep meaning to take a 'before' picture of ansel 'naked' so i can have it for my reference as he makes progress coat-wise...
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