12:19 If you all could see Rufus right now you would laugh. He is on the couch asleep, in the craziest position. Yesterday we stopped by Malaika’s house and I was anxious to see how he would respond in the new surroundings. He did great. He didn’t hide or shake. He walked around a little bit but kept close by. It was great to see him look to me for guidance instead of just immediately hiding without thinking.
Rufus got to see his brother Buzz and owner last night at group class. He was sooo excited and jumped up to greet her. And then he did something that surprised us all. His owner worked with him for a bit and when she did he began acting a little defensive towards another dog. Not aggressive by any means but barking and pulling at the leash. This showed me a couple things. First is that he is getting more confident. I noticed in the past couple days that he has been using his voice more. His self esteem is improving and its starting to show. The second thing that we noticed is that he is at a intricate part of his rehabilitation. When you take a dog from nervous to confident you have to make sure to keep his new found esteem in check. All of a sudden you have this dog that feels proud of himself and realizes he has control and since its so new to them they don’t know how to control it. Sometimes you don’t know what type of personality you will find underneath all that pent up nervousness. With Rufus we still have a great tempered dog. It will be important that his owners take control of any unwanted behavior right away so that he understands its wrong.