Doug and his story!

I drove to meet Doug's Mom and Dad to surrender him to our rescue, and we met at an antique store in Virginia. When his parents brought him into the store, he was so beautiful that everyone turned and had a collective gasp. My best friend said he totally sparkled. By the end of the trip, I was smitten but guarded. I currently had 4 in my house, two of my own, and two fosters. So we, as a board, decided we would swap some dogs around so I could foster and evaluate Doug. Trish took the two puppy mill Mama's out of an Amish puppy mill in the midwest and I took Doug.

Doug taught our other rescue, Buster, how to become a dog, and the two of them loved to play while old man Tukka played the adult of the pack. He was the wonderful big brother who made sure the two knuckleheads didn't get out of line. He coached them on manners. And showed them the routine of the house. And he was the smallest of the bunch.

The first time Doug tried to bite anyone at my home was my son's girlfriend, Alondra. It didn't take us long to figure out he was resource guarding. In the incident with Alondra, it was the couch that was the trigger. He'd been sleeping on it, so he felt like it was his, thus resource guarding.

So, no more sleeping on the couch. We moved him to our room and he sleeps with us. He's our velcro dog! He has to be touching either me or my husband. He is the only dog I have ever had that insists on being in the bathroom during showers or bathing. This is because he is a very insecure dog. If he feels like he is alone, he will howl! And when we 1st got him, his favorite time was 5 am. Once he began sleeping with us, the morning howling completely stopped. He now only howls when he finds himself alone outside or in a room by himself without me for a while. But now I calm him simply by saying Doug mom's in here...

Dogs who are insecure and reactive and can be a very dangerous combination if not handled correctly.

It's not just the dogs who needed training, but also Alondra needed to learn to correct for bad behavior, something that was hard for her, but if she didn't correct him, he could hurt someone. So we worked on her drill Sargent voice, and as a team, we have worked on this issue. Because dogs need a pack leader, they can trust, and they need consistency.

Spinning is Doug's tell. It's like an early warning system that things need to be monitored and could possibly go negative.

He becomes reactive around food, so we feed him separately, and after he eats, he needs to have time outside by himself to get rid of his negative energy and excitement from being fed. By letting him out, it becomes a pressure release valve. He isn't food aggressive with humans but with other pack members.

He also spins and is reactive when it comes to being gated in our room. He's got separation anxiety. His other Mom said most of the times he tried to bite was when he was crated. He hates it.

Nope, he hates being left alone and has horrible separation anxiety. He hates the gate, but he gets better every day. The first thing I do is interrupt his spinning. The second thing is he gets a cookie when I shut the gate. So, his mind is on food, and not on me leaving. I work from home now, so it also helps to have me home. I leave every morning to work on his confidence that he will be OK and that I will be back.

So, how is Doug doing today? A year later, he is amazing. I keep in contact with his other Mom. Yep, you heard that right! She and I have an open adoption. I knew how much she loved him. She loved him so much that she gave him up. She is really the one who can tell you just how far he has come. Doug has become a cuddle bug. She cried when I sent her the family photo on our website because he never allowed anyone to cuddle him. I've also sent her photos of him asleep on my lap or on my husband. He is growing up to be a great teenager at 3. He's smart and sassy. He prances every where he goes. He gains confidence every day. And to his other mom, I want to thank her for the large donation that she sent end of year to supports our mission. The WNC Sheltie Rescue made the decision not to punish this great mom just because her boy Doug didn't fit with their pack. We wanted to be a different rescue. I can't promise we will do this with anyone else, but we would be open to it if all parties were open to it.

He was one that a year ago I would have considered unadoptable. But today he would have been if I hadn't adopted him as one of our first rescues. What we try to do is meet the dogs where they are and work with them. You can't force it. It takes a lot of time and patients. We are in this for the long haul