Post #12 - A Rescue Story: Thursday June 16th, 2011

**This blog written by Gunner's foster mom**

Wow - what a difference a couple of days make! After our first horrendous night together, Gunner started to relax around my husband and my daughter the following day while I was at work. My husband even taught him to go down the stairs! Little by little he started to show that he wants to be where he can see the family, sometimes at the edge of a room, but always close enough to keep us in his sights. Tuesday night, which was our second night with him, he started to move closer to the family by laying by the chair in the den where we were sitting. That same night, before bedtime, he actually came into the den with our two dogs and me!  Wow, was this really happening?  He actually fell asleep on the floor with his new foster brother, sister...and mom (did I mention about the lack of sleep the night before???). When we all finally got up and continued to get ready for bed he took himself upstairs without any prompting from me so that he could be near us when I was putting my daughter to bed.  I think it was at this moment that I got the true feeling that he wanted to be a part of our family!  So, after all these warm and fuzzy moments with him, I had a dilemma - to crate or not to crate.  I decided I didn't want to undo all the relationship building we had just accomplished during the night and so my husband and I chose to let him stay downstairs with a gate separating the living room and foyer off from the rest of the house. This way, he didn't have to stay in the crate, but was still separate from my dogs during the night when they would be unsupervised.... while we hopefully slept.  We told ourselves that this would be the safest - and fairest - thing for all the dogs.  However, when I got upstairs, Gunner let me know real quick that he wanted to be with his new family and started up with the non-stop barking and pacing.  I opened the gate to the upstairs, just to see what he would do, and up he came.  He slept on the floor close to our bed....  he slept like a baby all night long... my husband and I slept...and all was right with the world again.  

Things have gone from good to better to GREAT following that. Gunner is amazing me more and more each day.  He is calm in the house and follows me around.  Stairs, no problem!  If it's a matter of staying close to his family, he'll zip up and down without any issues!  In our short time with him, we have learned that Gunner is one smart cookie! After only one night with us, Gunner had worked out the evening routine and now knows EXACTLY when it is going to be snack time for the dogs! We are walking him a fair bit each day to build up his muscle mass and exercise tolerance and he is learning quickly how to be a gentleman on the end of the leash. Since Gunner had only been kenneled (and forced to exercise in a 10 X 3 run), he had not developed the muscle mass in his hind legs like GSDs should have.  So, we walk him a couple of times each day to slowly start building up those muscles.  Yesterday, mu husband and daughter took him and our dogs for a nice long walk down the Greenway.  He was sniffing all the different trees and grasses and enjoying the great life outdoors - this is pretty amazing given that just 3 days ago he was like a bucking bronco on the end of the leash and wasn't anywhere near close to being able to relax enough to sniff things!.  After the walk, Gunner came home pooped out! Goodness knows this has to be the most exercise he has ever had in his life!

So little by little, we are seeing Gunner emerge from the shell of a dog we first met a couple of weeks ago. He seems to like to be touched more now, and always sits close to where he can watch us.  He is eating well, is respecting my dogs’ space, is gentle but cautious around my daughter, and has given me cheek kisses! And the best bit?? I got a tail wag when he saw me first thing this morning, and he actually is smiling now!  This makes everything worth while!  It will still take Gunner a while to trust all humans, but with the progress that he has made in three days, I know he will be a stellar dog when fully rehabilitated!  After he gets more comfortable, we will start focusing on some obedience training.  Time, love, patience, and consistency are what this boy needs, and we are so happy to be the family able to give these things to such a deserving boy!