Day to day this week Valen’s progress has seemed tedious and sometimes downright hard; it is easy to get lost in the labor of the work. But, despite the bumps and setbacks from day to day, looking back to where we were just a week ago the progression is tremendous. The puppyhood he missed out on is in full force; around the house he is curious and into absolutely everything: especially his foster mom’s knitting. He is far beyond “soliciting” attention with those he knows best, now downright pushy for it; he has tried to steal food from his people and let foster poodle-brother know which toys he wants to be his. Though these aren’t all positive behaviors, we are encouraged he is developing the confidence to express his will. He is now almost always accepting of touch and often soliciting the attention of people, sometimes even complete strangers and the occasional child. We’ve been working hard on touch sensitivity, one bodypart at a time; he is now far less reactive on his front half. He is becoming more curious than fearful of children, though sudden movements are still an area that will require much work. | He's discovered cats are a wonderful curiosity, carrots are delicious, and deer are the most wondrous things. The physical question marks and worries we had a week ago are now of no concern. His incisions are finally looking great; his ears are getting there slowly. The couch, which took great courage to half-climb onto a week ago is now a place to sleep and get close to foster-dad. Though commands like “sit” are still a very foreign idea, early progress is happening. Occasional willingness to jump in a car has become consistently leaping into even pick-up cabs. Loud noises are still cause for panic, but recovery time is getting shorter. He has had no pottying accidents this week and made only a couple marking misjudgments (and with a head still full of testosterone those have been very reasonable). Traffic patterns and birds overhead have gone from spooky to perfectly boring. His tail has moved from firmly tucked to waving high when walking in familiar areas with people he knows. He's weathering well through the adjustment of having more volunteers taking him out and the mental demand of often having two training outings a day instead of just one. He has gone from barely grasping the idea of following to anticipating movements; he now shows not only genuine understanding but an eagerness to comply to gentle leash directions. Through sheer habit, he has grasped his place is generally on the left: such a smart boy. Our favorite success this week was the incredible moment he solicited play from his foster mom and was ecstatic to discover people know how to play too! Much work—so many trees—still to be done, but the forest is looking beautiful. |