An Update on Pickles

Enjoying a walk in the park

It's been a while since I've written anything about our little dude, Pickles. He's doing very well and becoming more socialized with each passing day. I really see a huge difference in him and it makes me both happy and sad at the same time. I'm beyond thrilled that he's comfortable and confident at home with us and that he's learning to trust. Yet every day, with every little tiny bit of improvement I see, I can't help but feel a little sadness for him, his mysterious past, and others like him. I'll never know if he went through something that made him so fearful and distrusting, or if he just never knew how to properly interact with people. Either way, it's sad. But I'm so glad to see him loosening up a bit.
 

This is so exciting!


We received a few applications for Pickles and we're hoping one of them is successful. I'll admit, I'm completely terrified of how he'll do with a meet & greet if we get that far. But in my efforts to be completely straightforward with everyone about Pickles, I may have sold him a bit short. I've been a broken record telling people about how he bit a rescue lady once, how he will probably bite them until he adjusts to his new life, and that they need to be prepared to handle that without freaking out. While it's important to be frank, the fact is that Pickles hasn't bitten anyone since that incident over 3 months ago. He reacts poorly to strangers, sure, but the bite was a one-time deal. I really don't know that he'll bite again. He's gotten so much better with people coming to the house; he'll bark his face off and be skittish for about 15 minutes, but he'll warm right up as long as no one tries to be his best friend too quickly.

I'm tired!

This got me thinking: why do we expect dogs to be our best friends right away? Why should dogs just automatically trust us? We certainly don't hold people to the same standard; we have to earn other people's trust. I've never gone up to a new person and expected them to be my pal right off the bat. We frown and scowl at each other walking down the street. If a random person came up to me on the street and hugged me, I'd flip out. Why is it such a shock that a dog may be nervous around new people, even fearful, and possibly react negatively if pushed out of his comfort zone too soon? It shouldn't be. Pickles needs time, space, respect, patience, and love. All dogs need that, not just Pickles.

Now I'm hungry!

On a related note, we went for a walk with Pickles and Flea in Grant Park last weekend and encountered some awesome dog manners from other people. One man stopped several feet away and asked if his dog could say hello to ours. Later, a child asked if he could pet them. This made my heart sing! Taking the Chihuahuas for a walk can be stressful...oftentimes there are reaching hands and running feet and curious canines passing by. All of these stimuli can be incredibly challenging for dogs with insecurity issues, like my Flea, and dogs who are still learning how to interact with people, like Pickles. But there were no stressful encounters for us that day because everyone used their dog manners. How refreshing! We had a great time and Pickles got to take some goofy photos for his Facebook page. Paws crossed that I'm not imagining Pickles's improvement and that his meet & greet is a success! We need all the pawsitive thoughts we can get!