Old dog, new tricks

Last year in Michigan, I got involved with my local animal shelter. I fostered some kittens, a couple puppies, and walked adult dogs at the shelter. On July 2, I got a phone call from the director. She had a dog I'd worked with, and she felt he was too much of a liability to go out on the adoption floor. This dog had been returned to the humane society so many times they wouldn't take him back. 

He was pushy, needy, he had severe separation anxiety. With the holiday weekend coming up, she worried he would be unsafe if left alone for three days. But I seemed to like him. So, either I could adopt him, or he'd be put down.

I took Bruce home that day, and the challenges were pretty clear. In the two mile drive back to my apartment, he threw my car out of gear twice because he wanted to climb into my lap.

That night, I cried about a variety of stressors in my life. Bruce looked at me and made little miming motions of wanting to climb onto me. I patted my chest as an invitation, and he provided pressure therapy until the feelings passed. 

So, come hell or high water, we were gonna make this work. I enrolled Bruce in daycare, bribed him to stay in the back seat with snacks, and reorganized my life around ensuring he'd never be alone.

Bruce has demanded a great deal of my time since then, but he's worth it. For all his neurosis, he's a happy, goofy dog that people are immediately drawn towards. He's freakishly smart, highly obedient, and he gets along with my cat. 

Half a year late, he still needs daycare every day I'm at work. But he's slowly learning to relax, and he's mastering complex obedience tasks through agility training. Most recently, I was able to leave him alone in my apartment for a couple minutes while I delivered donuts to my neighbors. I'm optimistic that six months from now, he will be able to stay home alone for 4 hours at a time while I go to work and come back for a lunch break.

Resources I've found helpful:

• The Dog Training Secret
• No Monkey Business Dog Training
• WeonaK9
• Kindle unlimited's free books on dog training