Buddy is a Homeward Bound alumnus, class of 2015. He’s awfully handsome as you can see. He’s staying with me for a few days while his folks, Mary and Drew, are out of town. Buddy is one of those sweet Goldens that tends toward the velcro. I never have to hunt him down in the house because he’s almost always a few feet away.
He’s a considerate little guy: If you stop petting him for a few seconds he’ll let you know with a little nose nudge. He’s not relentless though. He’ll remind you two or three times but if you can’t devote the time at the moment, he’ll settle in nearby in anticipation of your next opening.
He’s quiet and has excellent house manners. He’s a happy guy that loves to play with his toys. He’s almost perfect.
Almost? Well, there is this little reactive thing Buddy has with other dogs. I don’t know his back story. Maybe he had some bad experiences. Like many, many dogs, he might not have been socialized properly with other dogs. But he was definitely on the reactive side after he came to Homeward Bound.
But Mary and Drew, Buddy’s new humans, are our favorite kind. They adopted Buddy even though he wasn’t perfect, and they committed to taking him to class for the training he needs to reduce his reactivity. Not every dog can get past the reactivity and learn to socialize off leash with other dogs. But those that do are able to add another dimension to their lives and are much better off for it. Mary and Drew have done so well with Buddy that he has already had a successful play date or two. And when Drew dropped him off yesterday he met my Scrappy for the first time. They did well enough together that Buddy has been able to stay inside the house without being segregated for safety reasons. Hurray! That’s a huge step!
ROB & DOG 
[…] met Buddy before in previous posts. He’s a Homeward Bound alumnus who comes to stay with me and Scrappy every now and then. […]
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[…] Buddy had been with us once or twice before but Scrappy mostly gives him the cold shoulder. That’s okay because Buddy is still getting used to being around other dogs so just being around Scrappy for a few days is good for him. Buddy does quite well considering he was a backyard dog for the first 5 years of this life. He’s a very sweet boy with people but a little awkward with dogs at times. But he has the perfect family, and they are slowly getting him used to other dogs and working to increase his self confidence. […]
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Rob, we cannot thank you enough for all of the incredible care you gave our newest family member! 🙂 We really are so very grateful!!! Happy Holidays to you!!!
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No problem at all. Buddy was a delight to have around.
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So glad he’s doing so well and not so reactive! He’s lucky to be with you, Rob! I wish I could get Woody back to class. Still can’t get him in the car, but we’re working on that as I can (not making a lot of progress, unfortunately – he’s more afraid of cars than he is of other dogs, He did meet the neighbors dog through the screen door, Did a quiet growl then immediately turned his back on the dog. I wasn’t prepared for the meeting, so didn’t have a clicker or treats. I was surprised by the ‘back-turning’. Not sure whether that was a good thing or not, since it didn’t happen in the one class I went to. I seemed to me he was protecting himself (“That dogs not there if I can’t see it”). I’ve been laid low with the back injury (from when Woody knocked me down that day of his reactive dog class) so haven’t done much training. We’ve done more work dealing with my 4 cats, which has been a more immediate need. I’m keeping in touch with Kat, who’s very helpful!
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Mary, hope you are feeling better soon. It’s sure hard to do any training when you are hurting like that.
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Amazing! A wish we have for every dog that comes in “reactive”. Love the special people that come along, give these pups a chance, and follow through.
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Amen to that.
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🙂
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