madisonalicia Posted August 11, 2018 Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 Hello! I posted about my beautiful Merle Border Collie female, Rogue, weeks ago. I feel that it’s only right to update her progress on this forum and gather some more information/advice via comments because they helped immensely! Compared to where she was when the last post was written, Rogue has truly blossomed into a wonderful dog. She is so loving. She has stopped submissively urinating for the most part, and only does it in small quantities when she is extremely frightened (i.e. stranger comes into home and she is caught off guard). She roams off leash in our yard and does extremely well with listening and staying close. She definitely knows who her people are! She loves to burn energy. Sometimes when a man asks if they can pet her, I will make them stand where they are and not approach her. She will go up to sniff him with excitement and apprehensiveness, with her tail slightly between her legs, but will open up upon realizing that he means well and just wants to pet her! We had a friend over just the other night who happened to be male, and she ran right up to him and sat between his knees so he could pet her. We always tell our male counterparts to not go up to her, even though it can be hard because she is such a beautiful dog! She approaches many more people now instead of scurrying away. We are so proud of her progress! She likes to spend time in her kennel. We leave the door open to give her access whenever she likes. She will sometimes take a bone into her kennel and chew it in there. Sometimes she spend a bit more time than we would like her to spend in her kennel. I am home for the majority of the day, everyday. Therefore, I leave the kennel door open so she can come out if she would like. She typically comes out and roams the house freely when I am home, but tends to recede back into her safe space when my fiancé gets home from work. He has been doing his best with not approaching her, and mostly just living out his daily routines in front of her. She is comfortable with me, but sometimes I will hear some rattling and find her in her kennel, head poking out of the entrance rested on top of some toys. I leave her be. I want her to feel that she has a ‘safe space’ that’s all her own and she never has to feel scared in. But I will always keep the door open so she knows she can come out. She’s been coming out more and more each day when he is home. Hopefully in a few weeks, she will be able to approach him without as much fear! It has been a long process but she has adjusted little by little, and it is truly awesome to sometimes sit back and think about how far she has come and how far she can still go! I love my Rogue! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madisonalicia Posted August 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 ***SIDENOTE*** Rogue used to have a pretty rough coat and she shed it very easily because it was so fine. When we met her sister during adoption, her sister had a much silkier, healthy looking coat. I can say that since having her, her coat looks 100x better! She does not shed nearly as much (only because it’s summer and very hot here in Kansas). But her coat itself looks very similar to her sister in that it is very soft, shiny, and healthy. I take that as a good sign of her progress as well!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted August 11, 2018 Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 Great updste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrecar Posted August 11, 2018 Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 Kudos to you for your kennel etiquette. That is my protocol as well. My dogs will often crate themselves or go back into the bedroom when the novelty of visiting family or friends wears off, and visitors are tactfully asked to respect that. It sounds like you’re doing a great job with Rogue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooper2 Posted August 11, 2018 Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 Thanks for taking the time to give us an update. It always frustrates me when someone new posts here about a problem, people take the time to offer advice and support, and we never hear the outcome. It's great to read about progress and success. And you tossed in a puppy picture as well. You earn a gold star! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted August 11, 2018 Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 What they said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted August 12, 2018 Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 Glad to hear all is going so well. You are doing a good job of working with her, and as you are discovering, it is very rewarding to help a shy dog come out of her shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maja Posted August 13, 2018 Report Share Posted August 13, 2018 Good news, thank you for the update Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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