Pupdate: Pickles's People Progress

Hey guys! I'm super happy and relieved to be writing this post. Pickles is making positive progress with how he reacts to people! We've had two failed meet & greet scenarios due to his fearful reactions toward strangers. Since then, I've realized that I need to step up my game and put some serious effort into helping him build his confidence and develop proper people skills. It's not "good enough" that Pickles is comfortable and loving around me. We're trying to get him adopted here, and that's just not going to happen without some work that results in him trusting people more. It's my job to set him up for success.

Before anyone jumps to any conclusions, Pickles's distrust and fear doesn't necessarily mean he experienced abuse in his past. Maybe he did, but it's more likely he just developed his reactive habits due to lack of proper socialization. It's his way of saying, "HEY YOU! I'M SCARY AND I WILL MESS YOU UP!" because he's scared and doesn't know how else to escape the situation. It's much like a little kid who lacks the skills/maturity to remove himself from a frustrating situation and just hauls off or throws a temper tantrum instead. So, with the help of some incredibly supportive rescue friends, a few brave willing-to-be-guinea-pig friends, and a patient husband, I'm confident that Pickles is on the road to success.

I took Pickles to CHARM School this morning at the shelter. I've mentioned CHARM School in a few previous posts, but it's a bunch of volunteers who get together to help socialize and train shelter dogs so they can be better candidates for successful adoptions. It's led by an awesome trainer who donates her time each week to help these dogs have the best chances of bright futures. We all figured Pickles could use the opportunity to not only work on his basic obedience skills, but to be around different people in a different environment. We kept our distance from the rest of the group and Pickles got a treat every time he saw a person or another dog go by. At the end, a small group of "strangers" practiced tossing treats to Pickles without the added stress of contact so that he could see that people aren't so bad after all. It worked really well. Toward the end, he even "sat" for the strangers when they tossed him treats.

It's just a start, but Pickles had a very positive day today. Nobody lost any fingers! I'm really proud of him and super excited to see him continue to improve over time. I just had to share this encouraging news and take a minute to brag on my little Picky. I'm a proud doggy mommy today! Stay tuned to hear more about his progress and adventures! Also, if you want to see Pickles playing, chasing his tail, and just generally looking super adorable, check out this short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxKFbbxyUXo