K is typical of an under socialized dog - she's fearful of her surroundings and clearly doesn't trust people who haven't earned her trust. Can't say I blame her a bit! So yesterday she spent a good amount of the day baby gated in the kitchen with no pressure or expectation to interact with the humans. This allowed her time to take in the noises and smells of our house. It also gave her the choice to wander around the kitchen or hang out in her crate. She's clearly stressed, again this isn't a surprise and we are not forcing her to do anything. K can eat or drink if she'd like to and she has some bones and toys to play with or chew on. When we come into the kitchen we drop a high value treat on the ground and do what we came in to do and then leave. She has the choice to take the treat or not.
K is very skittish and right now is not interested in out touch or attention from us and that's perfectly fine. With a dog like K it's imperative that the human agenda not be pushed onto her. We are excited to have her in foster care but, she doesn't know us or trust us so again, we have some relationship building to do. This could happen fairly quickly or it will take time - that's for K to decide.
I can't imagine K in a shelter setting and it's not surprising she wasn't adopted. Again I'm thankful to our volunteer in California who pulled K from the shelter, helped her get over her nasty upper respiratory infection and then got her up to Washington. I have no doubt that K will warm us and she's a perfect candidate for foster care. So stay tuned as we begin our journey with K!
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| She's not real fond of the camera - this on full zoom |
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