What I Mean When I Say Timken HAS To Go Slooooooooow...

I don't want to belabor the point but it is worth mentioning again that Timken is a very under-socialized doggie. What that means is he did not have an opportunity when he was a puppy on into his first year to have lots and lots of positive experiences with humans, other dogs, sights, sounds, vibrations, smells, and quite frankly anything novel. So for Tim anything new is a challenge for him to trust and feel good about. He is a submissive dog by nature so he has an extremely sensitive temperament and disposition. We want Tim to find his forever home but he will need a special family who is very patient and okay with going slow. We have had the pleasure of fostering a few tender dogs like Tim (Moon, Isetta, Sierra, Cony) but so far Tim is the "softest" dog we have fostered and that has taught us even more in how we need to work with him to set him up for success and not push him over threshold which is so easy to do if we aren't thinking out side of the box. Mistakes have been made but I am learning more and more and hope to keep them to a minimum. (there will be a blog post on a mistake I made soon :)

In a previous post we had introduced Tim to the Kyjen Tail Teaser, a toy most ratties love to chase, catch, shake and tug with us. But Tim was very skeptical about the toy. I mean who can blame him, it has a long stick thing, with a long cord, and a crazy tail thing on the end that rattles and squeaks if bitten into. To a dog like Tim this is just too scary. I decided to try it again with him today. I tried holding the wand and walking as slow as I could around the house with it trailing behind me, to see what he might do, if he he might be curious about it. He glanced from afar but then went and jumped into his chair and hunkered down. Okay that told me what I was doing was still too much for him. So here is what I did....

I decided to just lay it quietly on the ground near the chair he was in. To my surprise Tim jumped down and walked right over it. Brave!

I then got the toy and sat down on the floor next to it and just waited to see what would happen. Again to my surprise Tim came over and did this thing he does. It looks like a play bow but I honestly don't think that is what it is. He does this quite often when he is stressed, but he was doing it close to the toy so I just sat quietly taking pictures.

He moved positions and did it again. (Notice his leg is almost all healed up!)

Here I set my hand close to the cord and he stayed in this bow position for quite a while. I still said nothing.

I was amazed when he sniffed the cord! More brave behavior on his part. I know this seems like nothing but to Tim this is work. His brain is working, he has to muster up his courage to stay with it and sniff the cord which in his mind could harm him at any moment. I was so happy but still kept completely silent so he didn't have to feel like I was egging him on. This was all his choice and that is what he needs right now.

I moved the cord very slightly and kept my hand near and he sniffed again. I was giddy inside...

Timken had gone out of the room and I decided to put the tail on my leg in case he came back in, I was curious what he would do. Sybil decided to come and check it out, she had been cautious of the Tail Teaser too but not nearly as worried as Tim. I laughed when I realized she matched the tail.

A little later I had it on another leg and Tim came in and stood his front paws on me to check it out! WOW!

Here Tim does the nervous bow but keeps his front legs on me for reassurance.

Here Tim is even more on top of me, he does this a lot for reassurance, he likes to be on me or my husband. But he is looking at the tail so this is awesome!

Here he managed to get as close to me as possible, he is pushed right into my chest but still looking at the tail. You might be wondering why I am not giving him treats. I chose not to work with treats because of another experience I had that back fired with treats. (I will blog about this and explain more in a later post)

Sybil comes in and starts to play with me and the tail part of the toy.

Sybil inspires Tim to even get braver! Look at him now, no bow, not on me, he is on his own checking the thing out! Still I just sat there and didn't praise him for fear that he would feel pressure from me.

Sybil gets really brave and Tim is following suit. Sybil helps Tim a lot in our house and we are very thankful for that. (nice curious ear position and facial expression)

This just blows me away! I had gotten up and went to my computer to download the above pictures off my camera and when I  turned around to my surprise there was Sybil chewing on the tail and Tim lying down in a relaxed state just watching over her. Oh my gosh I was so thrilled as I hurried to grab the camera to snap the shot.

So this little story gives you an idea of how rewarding it is to work with a dog like Timken. It also will demonstrate what kind of nurturing, patience, and commitment anyone who adopts him will need. When you adopt a dog who needs a lot of socialization in small increments and with an unlimited timetable it is not for everyone, but I know there is someone out there who will be up for the challenge and Tim will not disappoint. He is a loving, goofy, super intelligent boy and the rewards are endless when working with him. Seeing him blossom in less than two months has been miraculous. Just think how far he will go in his forever home!