What a Difference a Week Makes

Popsicle and Sundae have been renamed as Shiloh and Sally. We’ve had them for 10 days and they’ve gotten over their shyness enough to return to the Shelter. The current plan is for them to go back on Sunday morning. They will be checked in and should be available for adoption on Sunday or Monday (call the Shelter for details if you’re interested in one of them).

When the two pups arrived here they jammed themselves into a corner of the puppy room and were very timid about coming out to meet us. It’s important to note that Sally and Shiloh were not abused. They were not socialized properly, but they were not mistreated. A puppy that has been abused is fearful in a different way than a pup that has not had proper socialization.

There’s a small window of opportunity for socializing puppies---the best chance for success is within the first 12 weeks. If the pups do not get proper socialization within that time it can be extremely difficult to correct the resulting problems. Luckily, these two were 8 weeks old and that’s within the window. We were confident we could make progress with them.

One thing we’ve learned over the years is that being taller than the pups makes us very intimidating. Our strategy is to lay flat on the floor, eye-to-eye with the pups, and speak very softly to them. We reach out to touch them and try to make their experience with us as pleasant as possible. Harriett and I each spend time with them so they get used to dealing with men and women.

Puppies are naturally curious and we try to use that to our advantage in getting them to come to see us. It took only a few hours to get Sally and Shiloh to come to us. Within four days they were actively seeking our attention.

I shot some video to show you the transformation that’s possible with a little patience and quiet talk.

What A Difference A Week Makes from Tom Schaefges on Vimeo.

Sally and Shiloh are ready to go up for adoption. They’re beautiful puppies and will make fantastic companions.