Why Seamus Needs Another Dog

A number of people without other dogs have been interested in adopting Seamus - and I can't blame them - he's pretty darn cute!  The thing is that Seamus is happier and more confident with another dog around.  He actually wants to have nothing to do with humans at all.  And not in that "Sorry, I'm busy playing - see you later!" kind of way - but in the "I am afraid of you, don't know what to do around you, want to disappear into the floor" kind of way.
 
I understand the urge to want to help a pathetic dog.  Look, the truth is that I fell for my first foster because she was the most pathetic dog ever and I worked diligently with her to get her to trust me and eventually, to actually want to be near me and ask for attention.  It took 3 months to be able to touch her and a year and a half before anyone else could.  And honestly, thank goodness I had a dog who could take the lead and show my foster the ropes.  If my dog weren't in the picture, I can't say that we would have made the same progress and if we did, it never would have been made so quickly (I know, a year and a half doesn't sound quick!).  I earned every second of her trust and it was HARD.  There were times that I felt frustrated, rejected, and fed up that after spending my time, energy and money, my foster still refused to interact with me or trust me at all.  And bear in mind that in the early days, interactions only occurred in one spot in my house - my bedroom - and that was it.  And when we weren't in my room, she would run away from me if I even looked at her.  No one wants a dog who doesn't want to have anything to do with them!
 
But what made the difference for my foster dog was having a confident, easy-going dog show her the ropes, show her that when I was giving out treats, it was good to get in line, that dog parks could be fun, that it was safe to eat dinner when I was around, that walks were fun, that barking was ok, and that I was someone who would treat her with kindness - ALWAYS.
 
That first foster is still with me now, 4 years later - I guess she's mine now.  She is not quite "normal" but she is a completely different dog.  She is now the bossy one in the house, she is first in line for food, her tail is often up, she LOVES doggie day care where she plays with other dogs and even lets the staff pet her - in fact, she now asks them for cuddles.
 
It has been a long journey and I have taken the same journey with a few other shy dogs - one far worse than this girl.  I thank my own dog for being the catalyst for change and healing in my foster dogs.  I wouldn't be able to do this work without her and I know that Seamus needs nothing less than that as he strives to be a "normal" and happy dog.