Odie
Wanted to share a success story with you for my little guy, Odie.
I adopted Odie in March of 2023. Upon meeting him, I instantly knew he was the dog I was looking for. I intentionally sought out a more reserved and shy dog because of young kids in the family. I didn't want an overly excited dog who might jump on them or nip out of excitement. While I had an idea of what I was getting myself into, I didn't imagine how hard it would be.
Odie struggled with anxious reactivity for quite a long time after bringing him home. We lived in a fairly quiet suburban neighborhood, but he still was on edge every time he heard an unfamiliar noise, both inside and outside of the home. He was crate trained, thanks to fosters from NCBCRA, but had a huge amount of separation anxiety. He once figured out how to get out of his crate and destroyed the window blinds looking for a way to escape. He must've been so terrified.
We made huge progress once we decided to leave him out of the crate when gone. He would roam the house looking for us for a bit and then eventually settle down and nap. This, of course, took lots of patience and practice. I would leave for a few seconds and then return. Then bumped up to a few minutes and returned. Eventually when I was able to make it to 45 minutes gone without him barking, I knew he'd learned I'm always coming back. He never once got into anything he isn't supposed to or had any destructive behaviors while home alone.
Walks were a challenge for the better part of a year. He would lunge at bikes and cars. He would get in a frenzy when he saw other dogs - barking like mad and pulling on the leash. He would cower when passing strangers, even with large distances between us. He'd bark at strangers approaching and any child in sight. It was stressful and embarrassing at times, but he never stopped trying to listen to direction in order to please me.
Upon reccomendation from his fosters (who are also dog trainers), I decided to put him on behavioral medication to help us with our training progress. This made a huge difference in his threshold for handling triggers!
Odie is not a toy or play motivated dog, but our saving grace is that he will do anything for food and treats. I enrolled him in canine nosework classes and he began to shine! Within a few months, he was less worried about strangers around and less reactive to other dogs. He was a sniffing king! He loved having a job and he had laser focus on finding treats and scents. I can hide treats anywhere in the house - down low, up high, on chairs, on bookcases, etc. He will find them no matter what.
Nearly three years later, Odie and I now live in Midtown Sacramento - as busy as it gets in regards to people walking about and there is no escape from other dogs around.
However, he is doing fantastic! We handle triggers like pros now. He has almost no issues with strangers and even seeks them out for treats or pets. He has a few spots around the neighborhood where he knows to go for treats from the business owners and neighbors. He happily sits at the patio of restaurants to people watch with me. He goes in pet stores and slowly sniffs around. He gets excited when he sees other dogs still, but is easily redirected. He loves going on car rides to catch scents out of the window and loves napping in the car when I have to run errands. He is truly my shadow. He goes everywhere with me. We've been on tons of adventures together already, with many more to come. He is always eager to work and eager to please me.
Everyone who knows and meets him now praises what a good, sweet dog he is. He has become so adaptable, something I never thought would be possible. He is incredibly gentle and loving and wickedly smart. My young nieces adore him and he will happily snuggle up to them for pets without worry. He is the best dog I've ever known, though I'm probably a bit biased. I may even enroll him in a therapy dog program soon to see if he can provide joy to even more people.
He is so easy now it's hard to think about how much we struggled at first. I'm glad I didn't give up on him and he didn't give up on me! I hope he is an example for any other dog coming from a stressful shelter or resuce situation who is shut down or reactive. All they need is lots of love, patience, and work. I'd be happy to have 10 clones of Odie.
Thank you NCBCRA and his fosters, Dana and James, for bringing Odie into my life and being a source of support throughout his journey!
~Abby
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