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ust them.
11/14/15 ~~ This beauty has been with us for almost 12 weeks. She is finally starting to show some happiness. Her tail wags more often than not; she has discovered toys; and she loves to fetch. She will still back away from you if you reach to pet her, but will come to you on her own terms for some love and petting. Just this morning, she circled me 4 times and let me rub her back and scratch her butt.
We have started taking her on short car rides to the pet store and to the Vet's office just for the exposure. She gets a reward at the destination. On our first trip she was afraid to get into the vehicle, but the second time out she jumped in on her own. Although she was nervous at the pet store, she took her cues from me and did well walking around. . . even with all the "scary humans" in the store.
She has come a loooong way from the girl who would "pancake" to the ground in fear at everything. She will probably never be a cuddly, couch potato Lab, but I have no doubt that with time and patience, she will be a great companion for just the right family.
10/22/18~~ Sienna has been with us 8 weeks today.... She was spayed and had a dental done a week ago. All thing considered, she did pretty well. We are starting to see a light in her eyes and a smile on her face. And she will finally make eye contact with us when we talk to her.
She may never be a “normal” Lab, but she is a sweet, sweet girl, and every baby step forward warms the ♥️!! She will need a special, patient someone who will give her the time and space she needs to feel comfortable.
10/2/18~~ Sienna has been with us for 5 weeks. She has definitely made improvements, but they are small. I truly believe she is learning to be a dog by watching our dog. She is still VERY jumpy, and she startles easily, but today, for the first time, she actually came to me for some petting! She will willingly approach me to lick my hand, but until today, she would back away if I went to pet her.
I have found that she is absolutely terrified of a leash - not sure why. I have made a super lightweight, 1/8 inch diameter leash out of rope, with a small aluminum carabiner clip to get her outside. Then I am actually able to take the leash off, and she stays near me and does her business. She has even begun to play fetch and be excited. The excitement is pretty short lived. She still tends to keep to her safe spot in the house once all the excitement of me coming home from work settles down, but we are headed in the right direction.
She is also very curious about what I’m doing or where I go in the house, so she will follow me at a distance and then retreat back to her safe spot in the kitchen after she sees where I went. I could probably write a novel about her progress, but I’ll post a couple videos and let them do the talking.
While watching these, please keep in mind that these episodes are short-lived, and she has a long way to go yet, but slow and steady wins the race.
I like to call these Sienna’s, “moments of happiness”
9/4/18~~ Sienna is a beautiful, 4 year old chocolate Lab with a broken spirit. You see, she has spent her life so far in an outdoor kennel with NO human socialization, the product of a backyard breeder. She has been with us for a week now, and has found her safe spot in our kitchen laying next to the patio door. She will not willingly come anywhere near us but does show curiosity about what we are doing.
When she arrived, if you went to pet her, she would drop to the floor and turn her head away and try to make herself invisible. We can now slowly approach her and pet her, and I think she actually enjoys it as she has relaxed enough to fall asleep. We can now get her outside without having to drag her, and she will follow me on a leash at my side as long as there are no sudden movements. If there are, she drops to the ground.
She has a VERY LONG way to go before she will trust humans and be available for adoption, and we will take it at her pace. That said, when the time comes, she is going to need A VERY SPECIAL family willing to accept her fears and work with her on them.
In the meantime, please say a prayer for this sweet girl that she can learn to trust and have the life of a normal dog. Stay tuned for more updates as we hopefully make progress.
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