Shy Simon

[Kipawa]

@MacPack:

Sometimes the best dogs are the ones that just "happen to" you, not planned at all, but there they are and there's nothing to do but take them home and love them.

Simon sounds like a wonderful antidote to your pain.

I totally agree with MacPack. Things happen for a reason. Shy Simon will soon turn into a totally wonderful dog for you. He will never replace Zelda, but will earn a special place in your heart too.

[rnasto]

To add to what tanzinia said. We trained both our pups to gunfire. We started by frrding in their crate with the door open. When the pup had a good rythem going we would tap lightly on the wall behind. If there was any reaction stop and wait for eating to resume. Repeat. We got to the point where a board ontop of the kennel could be slammed with a metal object without as much as aflinch. Now loud noises are no problem

[Verbalobe]

Here's Simon, from the day he came to Gloria's, and a week before we brought him home.

[agilebasenji]

oh, oh, oh, i do have a thing about brindle boys. they are wonderful!!

[listeme]

(Thanks, Verb, for posting it )

This picture, of course, was from a session where he and the other boy and Zelda were all doing some stacking and learning, so it's a bittersweet process to go through the many photos. There are several where Zelda is watching Debbie and Gloria stack the boys.

All three pups were being knuckleheads It was a fun day.

[listeme]

@agilebasenji:

oh, oh, oh, i do have a thing about brindle boys. they are wonderful!!

I swear, he already thinks I'm the goddess of the universe. He gazes at me adoringly. I call that wonderful indeed.

[sharronhurlbut]

What a wonderful coloration he has..he is lovely!

[agilebasenji]

@listeme:

I swear, he already thinks I'm the goddess of the universe. He gazes at me adoringly. I call that wonderful indeed.

Well, my brindle boy is the finest creature on God's green earth. (And such an easy dog - always has been from the day I got him at 10 months old.) I hope you end up just as in love with yours. You deserve the happiness.

[gjrcvw]

@Verbalobe:

Here's Simon, from the day he came to Gloria's, and a week before we brought him home.

he moves really well and stacks better than this, but there was a lot of commotion that day. I think he is super cute.

[listeme]

A week later. We're following the advice here. I tend to go a little goofy-nuts with research and joined a shy dog list on yahoo. The coolest thing I have learned so far is that Simon is barely shy at all. Yes, he is a little. But man, there are some severely shy dogs out there in the world.

We are, luckily, a clumsy household, so there is plenty of clanging and banging, and he barely seems to notice this anymore. He likes the people in our lives, mostly adult children and their buddies, and the little kids across the street. I have been taking him down the street to watch and listen at the playground. He seems to think that's fun

I think a lot of his initial concerns were a response to transitioning from rural New Hampshire to suburban Virginia. The trash trucks are still Wicked Scary.

But I suspect most of our focus for now will be on his nervousness about strange dogs. Just neighborhood walks, which we can't really avoid, are still pretty hard for him. (Again, compared to the shy dogs on the shy list, he's downright outgoing!) We bring a lot of treats and talk and tell him about the airplanes and so forth. I hope this is going to be enough to make him at least relaxed about walking, since we are walking fiends.

He's doing great. He adores clicker work. He wants to chase the long-suffering cat. He is funny He's snuggled up next to my leg watching me type this.

[tanza]

WooHoo… sounds like great progress... kudos!!!!

[Basenjimamma]

Really nice to hear that he is coming out of his shell..good work, keep it up.