Simba went with me yesterday afternoon to get a mailbox set up... I've been taking him with me consistently, testing him in all kinds of new situations to see how he'll react and handle any fears or issues that come up... While he did bark at two little girls who came by, his confidence levels and self esteem have done a radical change since the beginning of this process... He'll allow strangers to pet him and while I'd like to see him continue to hold his head up and not sink in, it's all a matter of time...
He really loves sitting in my lap and looking out the window as I drive... He's not yappy or antzy in regards to going bye-bye, but I think he actually looks forward to it... For sure, as soon as that lead goes on, he's a new dog all together!
Another thing I have noticed is that the extreme level of his humping has diminished... The more secure he gets in his own little world, the more it seems he doesn't have the need to do this or to tear up and destroy stuffed animal toys... Pet Palace has a good article on humping in case anyone is interested... Dogs do it for a variety of reasons, not just sexual ones...
When I catch him in the act of tearing up a stuffed toy, I reprimand him with the 'no, Simba!' and then I pick up what remains and go on about my business... I understand the drive and psycho-ness of this behavior, but I don't want to do much more than ignore the bad behaviors and reward the good ones... Isolated dogs or dogs not socialized properly tend to 'act out' like this (for lack of a better term)... The natural prey drive all dogs have seems to be carried to the extreme - they caught it, they're going to destroy it, etc... If Simba destroys one or two stuffed toys a week now, it's unusual... Originally he was destroying several every day...
Another thing he's now doing is coming for TLC and affection... He comes to me and wants to be petted and cuddled... I'm an avid Cesar fan and firmly believe in the 'rules, boundaries, discipline and then affection' mantra... Maybe I go overboard and hand out too many kisses and cuddles, but I need them just as much as my dogs do... LOL... I can't sit down without having a few in my lap and as many hands as I have, that's how many are getting pats and pets or rubdowns... Then I switch over to someone else... I go to sleep every time doing the same thing... I think they enjoy the soothing as much as I do, and as long as they're not complaining, neither will I!
