“Hi Helen, Just wanted to tell you that Puddin’ is doing AWESOME! As you know, walking her has been a challenge with the dogs in the neighborhood. But we have seen such a change in her. One night, I met 2 loose dogs and she didn’t react at all! I just give her the cue and she just moves along. We dont even need the treats now! We actually, almost walked with a beagle and his owner last week. She has known Dudley from when he was a puppy and we were within 2 or 3 ft and she was fine. Tonight she wanted to say hi to him!
Last night, a little dog down the road was loose. She is never loose but I think the little girl let her out. Puddin’ has known Gracie for a long time too, and she actually was excited to see her and no aggression, I just kept her moving forward and she was fine!
Tonight was the real test. We were walking in the park and all of a sudden out of nowhere, a white pitbull runs up to Puddin’, He had no collar or leash and he wasn’t aggressive but he ran up to Puddin’s face but she didn’t DO ANYTHING! No growl, no bark, no nothing. He just backed away and his owner called him and he left. He seemed like a nice dog. I actually screamed because he came out of nowhere! A BIG dog and no aggression. I just kept her moving forward. Telling her to “let’s go” seems to work. She almost instinctively knows her limits and will deliberately go in another direction if she sees a dog she can’t deal with. We have brought her to PetSmart and Petco and no issues. I never let her greet another dog but she seems comfortable with a short distance between them.
It is still stressful not knowing when an unleashed dog will come running up to her but at least I think she can handle it better and so can we. Thanks to you, we have tools to work with and confidence to handle most situations.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!”
– Valerie, Owen and Puddin’