Stella: End of Week 1

Stella has been doing pretty good dealing with strangers. She has reacted a couple of times, but the reaction was kept to growling and tensing up, not lunging or barking. This is great progress from where she was when she arrived a week ago.

Kids on skateboards terrify her. She can cope with kids on bicycles, but she does get very nervous about them and she tends to move behind me or to the other side of me.

Stella has been trying to become friends with Glimmer, but because she’s already attacked her several times, Glimmer doesn’t trust her and she tries to move away. Unfortunately, this ends up triggering Stella to attack, which makes having them in the same part of the house together unpredictable, at best. Stella has no problem sharing me and husband with Glimmer, but she won’t tolerate Glimmer’s rejection of her.

As we begin Week 2 of Stella’s time with me, I’m going to be exposing her to her triggers even more than I already have been. She’s been showing some improvement in giving trust and building some confidence, and I want to keep that momentum going.

Have a great day, and remember to stay calm and lead on.