Training Tails : Rhea - Week 1 Update

Handlers: Elzea and O'Conner

Week 1:

Rhea is a special girl. The bond with her seemed to happen quite fast, so much so that she is a bit omnipotent with the secondary at times and has us lowering the expectations while with the secondary handler, working to keep time with him positive till she is ready for more constancy. She can get quite overwhelmed at moments. After a week with her, it seems likely that she has suffered trauma and or prolonged abuse in her past. She will need a great deal of confidence building and desensitization work. Traveling about our unit and the facility is going well. She requires a great deal of patience, giving her time in any area to acclimate, and waiting for organic eye contact is a great moment to draw her in to your side with positive energy and fun body movement. Been helpful when needing to reset her before moving forward. When she first arrived she pulled like a working mule. I was concerned about her ability to ever adhere to a heel. First few days were bad with lots of heaving, pulling, and fearful, reactive moments of frantic attempts to flee through and around doorways. As of today I am very impressed with her progress, it is inspiring belief in what she can achieve while here. Play time with her roommate is going well, what was awkward at first became more of her tolerating the other dog, to wanting to play but not really knowing how to play, and is now her playing quite well and is a great energy release each time with more duration and even now playing with toys while with the other dog. Her interest in toys while on her own is nonexistent. Fun to watch her learning while with the other dog. Play time with the other dogs in her pack is going well, she does at time nip at the nape of Enlo’s neck and is resulting in mild corrections from him. She is awkward with the dogs in her pack but I believe she will gradually figure out social ques.