A small breakthrough for Beatrix
An odd fear beginning to be conquered
The 3-3-3 rule is real. Three days vs. three weeks vs. three months, a rescued dog slowly gets it into her or his fuzzy little head that s/he is really home.
Halfway to the 3-month mark, that is, at the end of March because February 13 was her “got-cha” day, there was a breakthrough with Beatrix, a.k.a., “Bea” or “B.”
She let me touch her with a hand towel.
In the first two weeks after her “got-cha” day, during a couple of warm days that produced eight muddy paws, I approached Bea with a puppy wipe or an old, soft hand towel. She tucked tail and yipped (she yipped!) as she ran away. I didn’t even touch her and she yipped out loud.
I could get her to sit on a towel, but that doesn’t get the mud off. Dirty floors and couches were the order of the day.
Then, at the end of March, another couple of rainy, muddy days pushed their way passed the front door’s threshold and a towel on the floor recorded the few paw-steps that happened to land on it. Uša always sits and waits for a toweling off. From around the corner, Bea watches him stand stoically during his wipe-down. I see her, so I get down on the floor, hold the towel down low, and invite her to investigate. She accepts. A sniff or two and then I move it toward her cheek. She accepts. She also accepts the top of her head being dried off. She may even have enjoyed that.
Celebration! She gets a treat and does her special little dance on the towel she just conquered.
The paws are still wet and muddy-ish, but the next time they come in, she’s quicker to approach the hand towel and accepts its offer to help to get some of the wetness off her back. All the way down her back! I offer a puppy wipe, but they’re still untrustworthy. Some day.
There are only a few ways that fear gets the better of Bea at this point. There are many more ways that silliness gets the better of her. I’m so looking forward to seeing what other hand towels will unfold by the three-month mark.
A visual representation of 3-3-3: Beatrix from her days in the rescue, Paws and Claws, to a few of her more blissful moments at home.
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Love this. Patience is such a virtue when it comes to dogs who are frightened of so much.
That is so Shiloh - even to this day, 6 years after rescue! I've set up a space in the coat room with an abundance of towels. She works on a puzzle toy or chews a bone until she is dry and dirt has dropped. It mostly works. Go B! Great job, Jeanne, for being patient enough to let her fears unfurl in a manner that keep her safe and build connection with you. It will be exciting to see if she learns anything from Usa paw wiping!