Mr. Chicken...

 

Everyone knows Dandy loves his blue whale but, now there's a possible new favorite and it's Mr. Chicken!  Dandy gets pretty scared of loud squeaky toys and blue whale has a quiet squeaker, that's why Dandy loves him so much.  Well Mr Chicken has squeakers but the main noise is a muffled, crinkled paper noise which Dandy thinks is the bomb!

 

Dandy will often carry around his stuffed toys when he is unsure and needs a confidence boost to be brave with taking a risk.

 

 

I sure like you Mr. Chicken

 

 

 

Dandy seems to trust/feel more at ease with Dunham -- more than the other foster dogs we've had.  Here you can see Dandy wanting to engage with Dunham but a bit worried so, Mr Chicken came along to help Dandy out.  But then as you can see Dunham thought he might like Mr. Chicken and Dandy wasn't cool with that!  Dunham having amazing dog skills says "ok Dandy, Mr. Chicken is all yours"

 

 

 

A couple minutes later watch what happened!  This is the first time we've seen Dandy try to engage a dog this way.  Dunham isn't sure what Dandy is doing or what he wants and because Dunham moves away it allows Dandy to continue to try to engage with Dunham.  This video just takes my breath away - Dandy has come so far and he tries so hard take risks even when he's worried/unsure.  Such a brave sweet, gentle boy and Dunham is also pretty dang amazing.

 

This too is new behavior where Dandy will play with his stuffed toy with another dog so close - clearly Duham is helping Dandy to build his trust and confidence!  Also don't forget Dandy use to be a shredder of toys - back in the day, Mr. Chicken wouldn't have lasted more than 5 minutes.  While Dandy is still an anxious dog, the TTouch, behavior modification and medication are clearly helping him to feel better.