Before and After

It's been an interesting  couple of weeks. When Sebastian turned up at our door, he was much too thin, covered in burrs, tired and confused. First we tried to find his family, but had no success. Next we left him with Dr B to have a checkup, vaccines, be neutered and have a microchip implanted. When we brought him home on Monday afternoon he walked into his crate in the garage, curled up and slept. For the next four days he ate, walked outside on leash and slept. We introduced him to the other dogs, keeping him leashed at all times.

Saturday morning things changed. I took him outside around 6 AM but he refused to go back into his crate. I tried to coax him, but his answer was "NO". He and I sat together on the porch for an hour till the rest of the household woke up, then Rob and I discussed our plan. We fed him with Morgan, who he already knew, then walked them together. Then we took him into the house. All day Saturday he stayed in the house on leash. Either Rob or I always held his leash so he couldn't make any sudden moves.

We learned that Sebastian has a couple phobias. He's afraid of certain noises such as fireworks, thunder and any snapping sound. He also was afraid to walk on the tile floors because his feet slipped. Saturday night we left him alone in the living room when we and the other dogs went to bed. The living room is carpeted, but the rooms around it are tiled so he was stuck in the one room. I got up a couple times to check on him and he was asleep in the same spot in front of my chair.

Sunday we took him into the back yard and let him off leash. He wandered around a little, but mainly watched the other dogs. We kept him leashed in the house again till the afternoon, then unleashed him. He stayed close to Rob and me. There were two little growly events between him and Fudge, but they were both reprimanded quickly and leashed again for a few minutes. Sunday night he again slept by himself in the living room.

Monday we rubbed Paw Wax on his foot pads. It's a substance used with show dogs to keep them from slipping in the show ring. I had some because Bentley had also been afraid of slippery floors.  He started testing the tile floors and discovered that he didn't slip. He came into the kitchen at breakfast and got a piece of peanut butter toast. What a neat surprise that was. I guess he'd never tasted peanut butter before. Monday night at bedtime Sebastian carefully walked up the stairs to the bedroom and I showed him an unused dog bed. He slept there all night.

Tuesday after he and Morgan ate breakfast together, he joined the others in the back yard. Then he sat by my chair waiting for his toast. At dinner time he decided that he would join the other dogs in the garage. This was the first time he'd attempted the stairs and he ran right along with the others. That night he again slept on his bed in our room.

Wednesday he watched and tried whatever the others were doing. At the 7PM outing he and the four girls ran zoomies together around the yard. At bedtime he chose to go to the garage with the others for yogurt leaving Morgan to eat hers upstairs with Rob. At bedtime he charged up to the bedroom and instead of sleeping on the dog bed, he claimed the easy chair.

There have been no aggression issues, he watches the others, then tries whatever he sees them doing and he's very smart. Show him something once and he's got it. He already recognizes his new name and has learned 'sit'. We're working on 'down' now. He walks nicely on leash with no pulling and there hasn't been a single accident in the house.

When he first came he seemed very sad. He watched the street as if looking for his family, but now he seems happy being part of the pack and is fitting right in. It's amazing what some rest, good food and  love can do for a dog.

Before:

And after:

He's a wonderful boy who loves being part of a family. Whoever lost him and didn't bother to look for him should be ashamed.