Two Weeks

Whenever a dog comes into a new environment, whether that's into rescue or into an adopter's home, there's a 2-week "honeymoon" period. During the first two weeks, it's common not to see a dog's true personality. With owner surrenders, strays, and shelter pulls, they're usually somewhat reserved and seemingly on their best behavior. They're observing everything about their new environment - the people, the other pets, the routine, the rules, how things work in general - and trying to figure out how they fit in. It takes them two weeks to get comfortable, and then their true personality emerges.

Although it's not a honeymoon, there's a 2-week adjustment period with puppymill dogs, too. Patience has never been my strong suit. When mill dogs first come in I want them to understand - now - that they're safe, that I'm not going to hurt them (or let anyone else hurt them, either), and that their lives have changed forever for the better. With every dog or group of dogs that comes in, I have to fight not to be impatient, not to overwhelm them, to be kind but detached while I earn their trust. Every time I have to remind myself, "just be patient for two weeks."

Two weeks and a day ago, I got in a new "batch" of mill dogs. A pair of Shih Tzu (a big chunky boy I'm calling Elvis, and a long slender girl I'm calling Cherry), three adult Chihuahuas (a chunky girl named Ruthie, a chunky little boy named Paco, and a tiny little white guy who hasn't picked a name yet), an adolescent Chihuahua (a petite little girl currently named Lena), a Chihuahua/Dachshund puppy (Remington, I think, because he's a real pistol), and an adult Chihuahua/Beagle (a girl who doesn't have a permanent name yet).

Once in a while I can tell almost from the first day that they're going to be OK; they may stiffen when I touch or hold them but they don't freeze, they may not relax when I hold them but they don't struggle or protest, they may avoid meeting my eyes but their ears prick up when I talk to them. Once in a while I even see a tentative tail wag or two. Elvis the Shih Tzu is just such a dog. He was a little tentative for a day or two, but I could see right from the time he came out of the crate he traveled in that he would be a happy, confident boy fairly quickly.

I always carry the dogs out to the exercise pen that's their "yard" at first, until they're wormed and through quarantine. Coming over the threshold and through the door is scary for most of them, though, so when it's time to come back in, I usually have to go out and "catch" them and carry them back in. Within 3 days, Elvis was coming back in by himself. A day later, he climbed up the two steps from the hallway to the kitchen by himself. A couple days after that he went out through the door himself, and a day or two later he would come out of his crate, head right for the gate to the hallway, go down the stairs and over to the door, and then outside, all on his own. It took a week, which is actually very rapid progress, but that's Elvis' personality. "OK, all that other stuff's behind me, I'm going to get on with my life!"

Now, Elvis goes all the way to the back door by himself, goes out on the patio and even out into the big yard, takes care of business, gets a drink, and comes back in. He solicits attention and, when I pet him, he maneuvers his body under my hand so I can skritch where it feels good. He meets my eyes when I speak to him. In another couple of weeks most people would have a hard time believing what his background is.

Cherry and Elvis came from the same place. I think it was probably a pretty bad place. They were both in horrible condition, and needed to be shaved down to find the dog below the mats. She was very scared at first, but even the first night she buried her face in my neck and gave me a couple of tentative kisses. I knew even then she would probably progress very quickly.

Now, she's soliciting attention (putting her feet up on my knees when I'm sitting), giving kisses, sleeping curled up next to, or even on, my feet. She still won't go out or come in by herself, and she's afraid to try the stairs, but once I lift her up the stairs and into the kitchen, she's confident enough to explore the house and to settle right into the small dog pack. She's also confident enough to go out in back with some of the other dogs. She lets me approach her and pick her up, but she wriggles the whole time I'm carrying her. I haven't decided if it's because she's afraid I'll drop (or throw) her, or if she's excited to be held. Maybe it's a little of both.

The puppy and the adolescent Chihuahua adjusted quickly, I was never concerned about whether or not they'd adjust to real life. The puppy was fine from day one, and Lena only took about 24 hours to turn into a snuggle bug. But the others have been more typical - still scared, still unable or unwilling to engage, still uncomfortable being held, still flinching when touched.

I've seen so little progress. I've quietly worried I'm not going to be able to reach these battered souls, I'm not going to be able to help them. I've watched, and I've waited, and I've hoped, and I've despaired. And then we hit the two week mark. There's something almost magical that happens at the end of two weeks.

A couple of days ago, Ruthie decided I wasn't so scary after all, and maybe being held and petted and smooched was something pleasant rather than something to be feared. A week ago she was stiff as a board when I held her, but now she solicits attention, allows me to pick her up and hold her on my lap, and snuggles right into me. She comes in through the door from the exercise pen by herself; it takes her a minute or two to work up her courage but that's better than the 10 minutes it took a week ago. She can handle going out in the big yard, though I have to go out and get her and bring her back in. When I talk to her, she wriggles in pleasure. She's going to be a wonderful little companion dog.

Until now, Paco froze every time I touched him. If I tried to skritch under his chin, he flinched. He flinched when I stroked his head, or behind his ears, but I discovered he likes having his rump skritched so I've been limiting my affections to rump-skritching. A couple of days ago, he stopped hiding in the back of his crate and started sleeping curled up against the door, where he could see everything that was going on and participate, without actually leaving the safety of his crate. This afternoon, he came up the steps on his own. Tonight, when I let him have some house time, he approached me and looked at me as if to say, "I'll let you pick me up, if you want to!" I did, and he sat comfortably on my lap while I rubbed his head, ears, and face, and when I tickled his chin a little with the tip of a finger, he raised his chin up to give me better access to his throat and neck.

Even the little white guy loosened up tonight. He didn't flinch when I reached out to stroke him, didn't try to avoid me when I picked him up, and was content to snuggle down next to me in my chair and stay there while I petted him, until I needed to get up. He's still a little leery, but he's decided it might be worth his while to interact with me and maybe he'll trust me - at least a little bit. Gotcha! I think he'll make quick progress from here on out.

The Chihuahua/Beagle is not, so far, adjusting. She may be too fear aggressive to fix. But that's a story for another post.

Two weeks. The blink of an eye, in the greater scheme of things, but it feels like forever.