He then played with the Chihuahua and a Pug/Beagle mix for a while but eventually the owner's husband and two kids came back so we had to vacate the area. But we sat on a bench about 10 feet away and I rewarded him for looking at or moving toward the kids or any kids that walked by. A little girl actually squatted 5 feet away stared at and talked to him and Tucker didn't get nervous at all (me shoving turkey into his mouth probably helped).
But the best part of the weekend was yet to come. My friend from college came over for a visit. Tucker had never met her before so I figured it would be a great opportunity to socialize him since I knew she would listen to me. I met her out at her car and gave her my spiel: Don't talk to, stare at, or touch him. He's going to bark like a psycho dog and then might sniff you, this does not mean you can pet him. He might even put his front paws on your leg, this is still not an invitation to touch him. Don't do anything to him at all until I tell you to. She was a bit confused, she thought that if she talked gently to him and let him sniff her hand that he would come around, but I told her that would be a very bad thing to do and she agreed to ignore him.
Tucker barked a lot so I leashed him and took him out of the room for a few seconds, brought him back in and he gave a couple of woofs but was done with that. He sniffed her all over and she ignored him. Then he was fine and sat on the couch and paid her no mind. I was kind of shocked. She could move around and laugh and walk by him and he couldn't have cared less. Usually he is paranoid for hours. But usually people don't listen to me and ALWAYS offer a hand to be sniffed along with a "hi Tucker!" which sets him off. It really consolidated in my mind that he is not a lost cause in this regard and that I DO know what needs to be done but people just need to follow my instructions. After about 20 minutes I let her pet him, he didn't seem pleased so I didn't let her do it for more than a few seconds but he didn't do his telltale barking and he didn't shy away or give obvious calming signals, he just didn't look like he wanted it.
We went out for a few hours and when we came back he only barked a few times before remembering she wasn't evil. She stayed for a few more hours and he eventually came up to her asking for pets. By the time she was ready to leave he was sitting on her lap. I was ecstatic.
THEN on Monday we had a cookout. The only people who came that he didn't really know were my grandparents (nana and papa). They've been over before but he's never been able to get comfortable with them because they don't stay long enough or come when we have TONS of other people. Oh, and Tucker HATES Papa. The first time Papa met Tucker, Tucker was almost going to bark but *just* held himself back (and I rewarded him because he would usually bark). And then Papa barked at my dog. And then Tucker panicked and barked like I'd never heard him bark before. Since then Papa has constantly tried to make friends with Tucker, he keeps trying to touch him or play with him, things strangers should never try to do with Tucker. Papa would just not listen to me and insisted on forcing himself on my dog. So anyway, Tucker was not fond of Papa.
We were outside when they came and he went off with barking. I dragged him away and told them to just ignore him. Nana said okay (She's not an animal person in the first place) but papa came over to me (with the snarling, barking dog who was straining at the end of his leash) and growled at Tucker, said something to him about being "a tough little dog" in a demeaning baby voice because the Chihuahua mix must be harmless. I told papa to ignore him again, which he disregarded so I had to be direct and kind of shouted "don't pet him!". Papa quickly took him hand back and went inside.
Then I was on the deck with Tucker and Nana came out, I told her not to pay any attention to him and she didn't. Within about 10 seconds Tucker had sniffed her legs and was completely fine with her. Tucker went out into the yard on his 50' leash and Papa came out, Tucker didn't notice (or didn't care) and stayed in the yard. Papa sat for a few minutes and then asked where the dog was. I waved over to where he was and Papa started to get up. I asked where he was going and he said he had to go make friends with the dog. I nonchalantly told him to just leave him be. Papa kept moving, I stood up and told him he should really leave Tucker alone. Papa said no, he wanted to make friends with him, and asked if I was sure he should leave him alone. I said yes I was sure. Papa thought on this and then said "no, let me try" and again started moving towards the lawn. At this point I actually stepped right in front of him and said "no, you should leave him alone, he won't like it" and Papa finally said "No? oh, okay" and sat down.
About 15 minutes later Tucker came on the deck, where everyone was seated. He sniffed Papa and put his front paws on his lap, Papa pet him and then they were friends. I have a feeling my jaw hit the ground.
So Tucker is making progress, I'm going to keep protecting him from the evil strangers and see if he gets less paranoid about their intentions. Usually I let adults offer him treats and see if he'll take them but I think now seeing just how well ignoring him works, I'm going to stop letting strangers do any reaching like that. I think if he stops feeling like everyone wants to touch him he might not react so quickly when people talk to or look at him. I might let them toss treats, we'll see.
And because my blog needs pictures, here is Tucker happy that it's finally summer so he can spend time outside
