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Today was my first day going out to the shelter to help walk the dogs and it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately the shelter is about a 45 minute drive out from my house so it's not something I can fit in every weekend but I plan to try and get out there every 3-4 weeks.
Part of what motivated me to go out and help walk the dogs was to be able to meet them and help figure out who would probably be a good fit as a long term foster (potential failed foster haha). I'm already helping out with short term fostering but feel I'm close to getting my brother to agree to a long term foster.
Most of the dogs I'm considering have been at the shelter for about a year now and were saved from a hording situation with 70-90 dogs on the property. They are all really shy and scared and are walk in pairs to help them feel more comfortable. All are much more comfortable when they are with other dogs.
I walked two of them today and shortly after we got them out of the kennel building and heading over to the trails the girl I was walking froze up. So I sat down, pet her, and just loved on her trying to get her more comfortable with me and feeling safer. I was with a senior volunteer walking her buddy and we switched dogs to see if she'd feel more comfortable with the senior volunteer she knows. Warmed up a bit more but still didn't want to budge until the senior volunteer let out a really excited "let's go!" and broke into a jog and off we went, got to the trails and she was a happy girl.
We switched dogs again and she was still happy to be out sniffing around with her buddy. Talking with the senior volunteer as we walk the dogs and apparently I'm somewhat out of the norm for new volunteers because I didn't just give up when the dog froze up and didn't want to move. Kinda surprises me that people would be so quick to give up on walking a fearful dog in a situation where they only get walked on the weekends. Giving up on her only makes it worse for her.
She's a very sweet dog and so is her buddy who walked with her. She warmed up to me pretty well on that walk alone. I walked the dog in the run next to her after I put her back in her run. He ended up getting me all bloody with his happy tail and got me pretty good before I noticed the blood on my arms. Quick visit with the kennel manager and his tail got some spay on it to stop the bleeding and we had a nice walk. Got back and the girl I had walked earlier is looking happy to see me again so I decide to go in her run and give her some loving and treats for a bit before finding another dog who hadn't been walked yet.
I got to meet two of the others I was interested in at the end of the day when the senior volunteer I walked with earlier got them and the boy she'd walked earlier together in a play yard. The other too were really shy and didn't interact with me directly but after a bit got up the courage to come sniff me when I "ignored" them approaching.
Going to be a fun experience getting to know these dogs and figuring out who will be the best fit with Jubel. I think three of these hoarding rescues could make a good match and Jubel could help them learn some confidence. There are a few other long term residents I'm interested in but didn't meet them today. Next time I'll seek them out for sure and spend some more time getting to know the shy pups too.
Part of what motivated me to go out and help walk the dogs was to be able to meet them and help figure out who would probably be a good fit as a long term foster (potential failed foster haha). I'm already helping out with short term fostering but feel I'm close to getting my brother to agree to a long term foster.
Most of the dogs I'm considering have been at the shelter for about a year now and were saved from a hording situation with 70-90 dogs on the property. They are all really shy and scared and are walk in pairs to help them feel more comfortable. All are much more comfortable when they are with other dogs.
I walked two of them today and shortly after we got them out of the kennel building and heading over to the trails the girl I was walking froze up. So I sat down, pet her, and just loved on her trying to get her more comfortable with me and feeling safer. I was with a senior volunteer walking her buddy and we switched dogs to see if she'd feel more comfortable with the senior volunteer she knows. Warmed up a bit more but still didn't want to budge until the senior volunteer let out a really excited "let's go!" and broke into a jog and off we went, got to the trails and she was a happy girl.
We switched dogs again and she was still happy to be out sniffing around with her buddy. Talking with the senior volunteer as we walk the dogs and apparently I'm somewhat out of the norm for new volunteers because I didn't just give up when the dog froze up and didn't want to move. Kinda surprises me that people would be so quick to give up on walking a fearful dog in a situation where they only get walked on the weekends. Giving up on her only makes it worse for her.
She's a very sweet dog and so is her buddy who walked with her. She warmed up to me pretty well on that walk alone. I walked the dog in the run next to her after I put her back in her run. He ended up getting me all bloody with his happy tail and got me pretty good before I noticed the blood on my arms. Quick visit with the kennel manager and his tail got some spay on it to stop the bleeding and we had a nice walk. Got back and the girl I had walked earlier is looking happy to see me again so I decide to go in her run and give her some loving and treats for a bit before finding another dog who hadn't been walked yet.
I got to meet two of the others I was interested in at the end of the day when the senior volunteer I walked with earlier got them and the boy she'd walked earlier together in a play yard. The other too were really shy and didn't interact with me directly but after a bit got up the courage to come sniff me when I "ignored" them approaching.
Going to be a fun experience getting to know these dogs and figuring out who will be the best fit with Jubel. I think three of these hoarding rescues could make a good match and Jubel could help them learn some confidence. There are a few other long term residents I'm interested in but didn't meet them today. Next time I'll seek them out for sure and spend some more time getting to know the shy pups too.