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07/03/05 Sunday: Rudy's back and butt are healing very nicely!! He has definitely learned his first trick with the use of a clicker -- he knows "tell me a secret"! Rudy is very proud of his new trick too! He even ran with the other Shelties today when they chased a bird!!! I sat him on the couch yesterday and today with me. He wasn't so sure about it yesterday, but as you can tell from today's pic, he is now pretty relaxed about it!
Rudy & Luke Rudy & Katie
Luke, Andy, Lucy Blue & Rudy Couch taters Lucy & Rudy
07/07/05 Thursday: Rudy has graduated from a closed crate at night to leaving it open. He usually starts out on a bed in the hallway he claimed as his, but during the night he always moves back to his crate in my bedroom on his own. I think he likes the privilege of being able to choose! When we go outside, he will nudge me in the back of the leg. He doesn't hesitate anymore to come up to me when I am sitting outside on the ground to get his share of petting and butt skritches. He even does a little run in front of me now and smiles. No tail wag yet, but one day I will earn one from him! At meal times, he knows he eats in his crate in the Great Room and heads for it as soon as I start distributing bowls. Other Sheltie Rescue people have come to visit Rudy for his "meeting strangers" training. Right now they are the only ones I trust meeting him because they know proper etiquette when working/meeting a dog fearful of strangers. They know not to stare, hover or push him and wait for him to decide on his own if he wants to meet them. Next journal entry will be after his next vet visit on 7/13 when he gets his bloodwork redone to check for infection and thyroid level (unless something significant needs reporting beforehand). I plan to work more with him using the clicker and teaching him to walk on leash on my left side instead of all over in the next week.

P.S. I walked Rudy on leash to my backyard at 7pm, and started working him with the clicker. He only received a click if he was on my left side. I was hoping for anywhere on my left -- low and behold after just a few clicks, he understood and was walking in heel position watching my face!!! We weren't walking fast, and there weren't any distractions, but he sure did good for a little dog who wasn't leash trained! When I ran out of treats, I let him off at the bottom of my yard so he could potty. He peed, then hurried to get right back by my left side all the way to the back door!
07/15/05 Friday: Rudy's back is healed!!! The vet said he will have a bald spot right in the middle, but I told Rudy he could always do a comb-over when his fur gets longer! The vet readjusted his thyroid meds -- they came back a little high in his bloodwork. He was well enough to receive his 3-year rabies shot, and will get his DHP on the 22nd. He is still a high flight risk -- but I'm working with him on that which will take awhile. Any little noise/movement scares him when outside the security of the backyard/house. I took hot dogs with me to the vet to reward him for being good. While the vet tech was examining his wounds, Rudy kept bobbing his head at her. She asked what he was doing. I told her he is trying to make her "click" for a hot dog! He was stressed, but was fine once we got home.
07/20/05 Wednesday: Rudy and I have ventured out on my front porch for some clicker work. He is very afraid when out front, and I know this step in his training is going to take a long time. When a car would go by, and he looked at me, I would click and treat. He was very, very nervous. Any movement or noise frightened him. It will be awhile before we get beyond the front porch, but that's OK -- I've got plenty of time. When we went back inside and I took his leash off, he started bouncing around telling the other Shelties he survived front porch training and didn't die!! Rudy and Katie are playing inside with each other every day now!
Rudy was sound asleep on my lap until he heard my husband turn on the camera. He has one little eye barely open to see what Scary Gary is doing.
07/27/05 Wednesday: Rudy and I slacked off on training due to the heat and two other Shelties who were staying with me while their Mom was out of town. I took him out front Wednesday around 6pm for a little front porch training. Again, he gets a click and treat when he looks to me. He did much better, so we tried the sidewalk leading from my front door to the driveway. He was frightened, but he also was starting to look to me for safety. He did fairly well, only getting frightened when a car stopped in front of my house. I redirected his attention to me and had him walk to the door (which was safety to him). Then, the child next door started shooting off a cap gun which sounded like fireworks to Rudy, so I took him back inside before he got totally spooked. Not once did he go into back-up, freak out mode, but I was careful to help him keep his attention on me. When I unclipped his leash in the living room, he did a couple of little circles and bounced -- he was very pleased with himself!
07/28/05 Thursday: Rudy had his first outing other than going to the vet! I had to pick up Holly from another foster home, so I took Rudy along because he knows Theresa and her dogs. Theresa carried him into her house because I knew it would be too much for Rudy to expect him to walk up and into a strange house. Once inside, he was nervous, but I had his trusty clicker and hot dogs. He did pretty good for a first time out! He didn't explore -- stuck pretty close to me which was fine with me. I want him to look to me for his safety, and not bolt. We all went into her backyard, and just being in a strange yard with strange sounds got him a little freaked out. Again, I would click when he looked at me. He didn't explore outside either, but stuck fairly close to either me or Theresa. Didn't stay long, he was doing very good and I wanted it to end with him being successful. I walked him from her house to my van (which he recognizes) using his clicker to let him know when he was doing good. He was so glad to get home and he was happy he lived through his scary adventure! Next outing will be PetsMart! My husband will have to carry him in for me (I have a bad hip), and I will also take Andy along who is a very confident Sheltie. The automatic doors would totally scare Rudy to death, and I don't want his experience to be a bad one. I will not let any people approach or touch him -- just a quick visit in and carry him back out to the van again.
08/14/05 Sunday: Rudy and I never made it to PetsMart. I decided it would be too much too soon for him -- he can barely walk out to my van on leash -- PetsMart would have been sensory overload for him. Cars driving by and kids playing still scare the little guy, but he is doing better. To help Rudy in his socialization training, I moved him to another foster home today. It broke my heart to leave him, but I know it is the best thing for him. His foster home knows clicker training, which is a familiar training tool to Rudy. I miss him already -- he took a piece of my heart with him today.
09/05/05 Monday: An email from Rudy's foster Mom.

Hi Janice-
 
Our friend Rudy is really coming out of his shell!  Now that he no longer has tummy trouble his appetite is back and he has so much energy!  Of course he still loves to snuggle on the couch but when I ask him if he wants to go outside he immediately starts to spin in a circle and practically bounces to the door.  Once outside he will prance around the yard, take care of business and come running (yes running!) up to me with a big Sheltie smile on his face as if he is so proud of himself.  And he should be!  He loves to lay in the grass and relax on the deck and when our dogs bark, he joins right in!  He has a very sweet bark but I am certain he thinks he is a very tough guy as he barks at the kids walking to school.  He seems to have found his place with our pack of mini Shelties and although he is the largest Sheltie in the house, he is always respectful of the others- even when Cheerios are being handed out!
 
Physically his waistline seems to be coming back ( he had lost a couple pounds at the last vet visit) and his tail and bare spot on his back are starting to fill in with fur!  I have been trying to stick with Cheerios as treats since they are low fat and he seems perfectly happy to tell me "secrets" and give "kisses" for a click and a Cheerio.  He definately understands the clicker and I am waiting to catch him when he sits so I can click and treat and train him to "sit".  For now he is happy to perform the tricks he knows and has taken to licking me very gently every so often when he wants me to know he is near me.  He is a sweet, sweet boy and seems to thrive on love and attention.  I feel as though he is slowly gaining confidence, and that one day soon he will realize what a special boy he is!
 
Beth
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