and Moxie Brown, aka Monkey has made lots of improvements in her social skills. She is still afraid of parked vehicles and people she doesn't know (especially men), but she warms up to strangers more easily than she did when we first brought her home. I'll be honest. Some days it can be really frustrating. But, then I think about how she's changed in 10 short months. She'll come in/out of the house without me having to follow her until she hunkers down in submission, she's gotten used to living in a house and most of the noises that go along with it (she's still not a fan of the hair dryer), we can actually take her for a walk and have her walk on lead, and not try to bolt constantly (although, she still does if something "freaks" her out). We're still working on when we take her out in public into a confined space (ie vets office and pet store). She doesn't do well in those situations, even though I have a pocket full of yummy treats to bribe her with. I've learned to take a couple of poop bags with me whenever I take her out, because when she's stressed, she poops (thankfully, she's NEVER done that in our house!) and she's probably going to make a lake, so I try to keep an eye on her and keep my fingers crossed that we make it out before that happens. It hasn't gotten easier for me, when it comes to the looks I get from people when she has her moments. It cuts me to the core to see her shaking, drooling like a St Bernard, panting and giving the great whale eye at things/people that scare her, and then watch her turn to a statue with her heart pounding or the great look of fear in her eye as she tries to run to get away from thing/person that scares her. It makes me sad for her that she's so traumatized, and it makes me angry that her former "owners" made her the way she is. So, we keep plugging away at it, and when we're at home and she's in her element, I wish others could see the great personality of this funny little brown dog that we greatly love.
So, a new adventure for us tonight. I signed Moxie up for a very basic beginners agility class. She's one smart cookie, and has been walking over some items in our yard that will be similar to what she'll experience in an agility class. Honestly, I'm only doing this for the socialization. At this point, I don't ever see us going out of our trainers yard, and don't know if I'll ever be able to have her off leash (she's a runner). Nevertheless, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best!
