Shoobie (aka Potter) is doing quite well and has become a big part of our lives. Dave and I are trying to spend as much time as we can helping him to gain confidence and loose his fear of "strange people and things". It is a lot of work at times but so rewarding to see him adjust and mature. He is very comfortable in our home and yard and at my workplace and along with that has become very playful. He is showing more and more of his "personality", which is so much fun...and occasionally challenging since we now have some very basic behavioral issues to deal...but part of the process of his "coming out of his shell". Mostly he has gotten more "demanding" in his desire to play, we are working on letting him know when this is inappropriate.
Last week we took Shoobie on a weekend trip hiking. He thoughroughly enjoyed the hiking, and tolerated staying in close quarters with friends of ours, and had a blast playing with a neighborhood dog that showed up at our cabin. He travels well in the car...very content lounging in the backseat.
We had a visit last week to a local trainer, Ann S, who has several border collies of her own, to get suggestions on what would be best to work on in getting him ready for obedience class starting September. So now we are working very hard at heeling, especially in stressful situations, like walking in our neighborhood...a place where PEOPLE are his biggest fear. We are just starting to see some progress there, and Ann explained to us that this will help him in so many other areas.
We have stuck to our plan of exposing him to at least one new situation or place or person everyday. This has been very productive in the learning process for both him and us. We now are realizing we need to reevaluate him and what we do frequently since he has been going through many "changes". It is very interesting to see how different he has "become" from one week to the next and keep things moving in the right direction. Though most of this seems obvious as we go along, we think it will be helpful to check in with Ann and get him into class to make sure we are addressing all of his "issues".
We are hoping Shoobie is feeling like he is "home" now...and happy to be here. I know Dave and I have become very important in his life, like he in ours, but it is also fun to watch him slowly develop relationships with so many of our friends, family and my shop customers, plus their canine counterparts....
Lorrie
