Teddy.... halfway there!

I've been fostering a dog named Teddy for the Canine Rehabilitation Center and Sanctuary. We don't know much about her past, but she is extremely shy and terrified to everything and everyone. She wasn't doing too well at the humane society (every time someone walked by she'd hide so she had no chance of getting adopted whatsoever), so Kristin Ivey of CRCS adopted her from the NHS and let us foster her to hopefully bring her out of her shell. I'm starting this blog partway through her journey, so here are my facebook statuses and texts to Kristin and a dog trainer friend Iana so you get an idea of what's been happening so far:

August 29: Well, Jake fell through (Briar got snappy with him :P ), but we took home a different dog to foster - Teddy. She's a sweet black lab mix who needs some socializing, poor girl is super shy and afraid of everything. But with Breeze and Briar's help, we'll break her out of her shell :)

August 31: Teddy, our current foster puppy. She's really sweet, but super shy and we introduced her to our pack hoping to bring her out of her shell a bit :) At the moment she mostly hides under Chris's desk, but she's now letting us pet her, taking treats from our hands, and starting to hold her head up instead of staring at floor. Slowly but surely! :)

September 3: I didn't think we were making much progress with our super-shy foster dog Teddy, until after I unleashed her after taking her out and she DIDN'T bolt to the back bedrooms! Instead she bravely explored the living room and even poked her head in the kitchen when I was making her dinner. So I just put it down there. And she ate it. In the kitchen!! *sniff* I'm so proud :')

September 7: Teddy thought my phone was a chew toy! :O
...I'm not really that mad, I had insurance so all it means is I get a new phone :)

September 10: As Teddy comes out of her shell, she gets more explorative. And more mischievious. She especially likes chewing holes in my clothes and going through the bathroom garbage, lol. I'm just glad she's no longer hiding under my desk practically comatose all day! :)

September 13: Teddy is kissing and wagging more than shaking :)

September 13: She'll look me in the eye now :) I look at her and she doesn't cower away

September 19: Teddy had her behavioral assessment today. It went as well as can be expected, not well :/ She's made a lot more progress with me than the test shows, but she got nervous because she didn't know the test administrator. But I know how good she's gotten :)

September 19: Teddy's assessment set her back I think.... it scared her so much she's not even responding to me any more :( I couldn't get her to leave my room, not even when I put pot roast outside the door!

September 23: Teddy slept on the bed with me and Briar last night! :D I was curled in a tight little ball 'cuz she was taking up half the bed, but that's a small price to pay! :D 

September 24: The upside to Teddy hanging out on my bed: she doesn't pee on it any more. The downside: she eats on it and gets my sheets drool-y and dog-food-crumby. Yuck :P

September 26: Ever since her assessment she doesn't want to come out of her hidey-hole. Not for treat even :/ She'll come out when I'm not in the room but she'll just hide again. She isn't willingly going outside at all. But when we get in the living room she sprints for the door.

September 29: I just saw something miraculous. Briar and Breeze were really excited and playing and when they ran into my room, Teddy play-bowed and started jumping around with them!!! \(^o^)/ And when they ran out, she chasrd them out the door and almost into the living room!!! \(^o^)/ Hooray for patience, playing dogs, and miracles!!!

September 30: She's been doing really good today! She kept coming out in the living room to see what me and the dogs were doing

October 2: So Teddy hidor a while again after Chris came back but it didn't last long. She's coming in the living room more and wagging more :D Chris has been feeding her and this weekend my brother's going to come feed her. Hope it'll help :)

October 2: Teddy started eating one of my new books. On dog behavior. Lol

October 4: Can any of my Renoite friends help me out? I need a few people to come to my place and feed our foster dog. She's painfully shy and needs to meet new people. Any volunteers? :)  

October 4: We saw Teddy and Breeze playing!!! o(≧∇≦)o They were wrestling on my bed! Of course Teddy hid when I looked in but I could hear them play-growling! :D I've gotten her to come with me with the leash on but the walks still terrify the living hell out her. Our walks are never pleasant :/ She does NOT like traffic and we've got construction by our place right now so she's even more nervous.