It's been awhile...

Have you ever had a friend who lost weight and you didn't notice until they lost 20 pounds, and then you feel really guilty for not noticing sooner? That's how things are with Teddy. I've had him 8 months now, and I stopped noticing any progress. Then I thought back to how he was when I first got him, or even to 4 months ago, and I realize how far he has come. It hit home last week when I had some friends over, and Teddy let my male friend hold him. And not just for 10 seconds either - for a few minutes (for those of you who don't know Teddy, a few minutes is like an eon in Teddy's world!) Teddy doesn't trust people in general, and men in particular, and especially not tall men. And he let a very tall man hold him! Of course, I had to pick him up and give him to Dave to hold, and after a few minutes, he squirmed out of Dave's arms, but still....He also approaches me for affection. In the beginning, if I went to pet him, he would roll over on his back, and just wait for it to be over. If I held him in my lap, he fought to get off. Every so often now, he lies next to me on the couch and scoots over until a small part of his body is touching mine.

I took the dogs on vacation in July - a week at the beach. It was like Disneyland for the dogs - an entire beach to themselves, to run and play and sniff to their heart's content. I think being around lots of people for a week really helped Teddy. I'm sure all the treats he got didn't hurt, either. Since we came back, he has been better about letting strangers pet him. He may never be like Ranger, who lives to sit on my lap and believes that everyone we see on our walks is his best friend and wants to pet him. He may never win ribbons in agility the way Ranger has, or learn new tricks to impress my friends, but he is special in his own way, and has his own place in my heart.