Socialising Shamas- it's finally happening!

Shamas mom

Shamas mom

Location
Canada
Loraseal said:
Well done to both of you!:clap::clap:
I can feel your delight in your written words!
Click to expand...
Every milestone is a joy with him. I was going through some old files today, and I found his journal from the start. It contains things like:

Adoption date October 27/2017


* * *02-10-18
finally able to walk down our own street without tail tucked.

03-04-2018
Crossed Nelson and Adelaide(first time crossing amain road) without digging in and trying to drag me home

03-07-2018
MET A DOG!
Had a tantrum first, but calmed down and went to visit after the other dog stood calmly and did nothing

Mar 30
Neutral->needs training Made a run for it today. jumped out of the car into an open field. didnt seem interested in running away...just liked the open space. I didn't chase, but rewarded recall.


I clearly remember the days when just leaving the house with him was an accomplishment, and there were "no-walk days" more often than not. He was just to afraid to go out. Dogs 100 feet off made him fall apart. I had him on two leashes at one point. one on front of him, one on back--so I could turn him out of a lunge and get him walking away. He'd look like he was going for the throat. He got such a bad rap that other owners stopped being understanding, and just avoided him altogether, giving me nasty looks

My contract gave me 2 weeks to return him, if he should prove ill, or unsuitable....he probably was...unsuitable....for a first-time owner....but I wasn't giving up on him. I knew that dogs who go back repeatedly, especially due to aggressive behavior(and he charged and took my neighbor's chihuahua in his mouth the morning after adoption, so that made him aggressive) had lower chances of re-adoption.

Plus I'd managed and trained an aggressive Shephard, so I figured I could handle him.

I DID consider whether I could keep him when he bit the neighbor last fall)went fter Tiko, and got the neighbor in the middle of it-neither were badly bit). But he took it really well, and convinced me to keep working with him. It was decided that the house guest should have known better than to leave the door open, when we have two dogs living side by side that hate each other and was bound to have come to a head eventually..I seriously considered at that point if it was safe to keep him.
 
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Shamas mom

Shamas mom

Location
Canada
Tiko having moved from next door has made a big difference to how Shamas views dogs. The two really hated each other. It's really Shamas' fault- That first meeting was really obnoxious of Shamas. He was territorially aggressive. Tiko hated him from day one and would yell at him every time he left his house. Whether he was out or not.

Shamas would run all over the house, whining and growling.

Now, with the new dogs next door, we're at a point where Ball trumps dog. They can actually be out at the same time, and he doesn't fall apart! we did that Buffer zone thing, and Shamas has learned that the dogs next door never come within 10 feet of him, no matter where any of them are in their yards. and the owner and I get along great. we're swapping training tips :)
 
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