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sebenikelaApollo the Dog has learned that he is allowed to have boundaries over the past several months, so he has decided to have ALL OF THE BOUNDARIES, to the point where he's suspicious about any human who isn't my sister, brother-in-law, or me. (I will not pretend I'm not chuffed that I make the cut)
This means he really doesn't trust my parents. When we got here, he'd give them a wide berth, or watch from behind one of His People. The first time the siblings left to visit his family (who lives half an hour or so from here), he got very protective of me, kept putting himself between me and them, even growling if they got too close. When my parents left and came back, he barked at them like they were intruders.
Since then, they've been working on earning his trust through patience, love, and bits of ham. He's started letting Mom pet him, so long as one of His People is around. My dad is still Scary--he's a big guy with a deep voice--but Apollo got up the nerve to take some ham-bits out of his hand yesterday. Then he ran over to hide behind me and looked at me like "am I okay?" (I told him he was a Very Good Dog and gave him lots of pets)
We got here on Saturday. Today is Friday, and when we were all eating breakfast at the table, Apollo walked over by my dad's chair and asked for pettings. Cautiously. My siblings left after breakfast, and he was only a little concerned, rather than tense and scared. He's currently snoring by my feet.
"How many years of loving will it take for him to trust people?" my mom asked. "Or do you think he'll always be a little broken?"
"I don't know," I told her. "He'll probably never be the most carefree dog in the world, but he's getting better."
This means he really doesn't trust my parents. When we got here, he'd give them a wide berth, or watch from behind one of His People. The first time the siblings left to visit his family (who lives half an hour or so from here), he got very protective of me, kept putting himself between me and them, even growling if they got too close. When my parents left and came back, he barked at them like they were intruders.
Since then, they've been working on earning his trust through patience, love, and bits of ham. He's started letting Mom pet him, so long as one of His People is around. My dad is still Scary--he's a big guy with a deep voice--but Apollo got up the nerve to take some ham-bits out of his hand yesterday. Then he ran over to hide behind me and looked at me like "am I okay?" (I told him he was a Very Good Dog and gave him lots of pets)
We got here on Saturday. Today is Friday, and when we were all eating breakfast at the table, Apollo walked over by my dad's chair and asked for pettings. Cautiously. My siblings left after breakfast, and he was only a little concerned, rather than tense and scared. He's currently snoring by my feet.
"How many years of loving will it take for him to trust people?" my mom asked. "Or do you think he'll always be a little broken?"
"I don't know," I told her. "He'll probably never be the most carefree dog in the world, but he's getting better."