Delta Has Gone Home

When Delta arrived here in March we had a dog who was scared and timid. No one could get within a few feet of her and there was certainly no way to touch her. The Delta that left for her new home this morning was a completely different dog. Although a bit cautions with each person at first, she approached people and readily accepted petting. You could almost call her outgoing.

To be honest, three months ago I never thought Delta would make such incredible progress in such a short amount of time. I think Delta demonstrates, once again, how resilient and adaptable dogs are.

Harriett and I are not canine behaviorists. We, along with our Base Pack (the four canines who are permanent members of our family), provide a stable environment in which a nervous or timid dog can begin to feel comfortable and learn that people can be a source of pleasure and fun. Many of our friends are enlisted to help with these types of cases. But the dogs themselves are the ones who have to make the changes and learn to think about people in a new way.

There is a very short window of about the first four months of a dog’s life during which they must be socialized with people and other animals. If the windows closes before the dog has had good experiences with many types of people and situations they can never recover from that setback. Luckily Delta came to us in time and she was able to make a positive change in her life.

Poor socialization and lack of training are one of the most common fatal diseases of dogs who come into shelters. Anyone who acquires a puppy or, heaven forbid, whose dog has a litter of puppies, needs to keep in mind that it’s their responsibility to properly socialize the pups before they are four months old. Delta was very lucky. Unfortunately, many dogs who find themselves in shelters aren’t.