Libby - Female Bichon Frise

07-07-2023 Libby is a very scared girl who has come to us from a breeder. She is a darling girl with a lovely gentle nature but rather shut down at the moment as the move has been a huge adjustment for her as she has never left the breeding kennels before. Libby is really scared but allows us to handle her but shakes with fear and deserves so much more than the life she has had so far. She will need a home where there is at least one other dog to be her friend and who will allow her to cuddle up with them for comfort and support if she wants to. Libby will watch what they do and then start to copy them which will help her with house training and lead walking etc. These are things which may take her a while to pick up as the garden may be a scary as the house at first so her adopters need to have plenty of patience and love to help her learn and be sure she is comfortable walking on a harness and lead in the garden before taking her for a walk in the outside world. Libby has a Grade 2 Heart Murmur which does not require medication currently but will need to be monitored by adopters vets. Libby has seen our vets for a much needed dental and had 17 teeth extracted, she now appears much more comfortable and is eating soft food well. With time and love adopters will have to the privledge of seeing Libby flourish. 05-09-23 UPDATE This week Libby has had a well needed hair cut as she was getting far too warm in her bushy coat. I did take her into the vets to sedate her as I knew she would be way too stressed without it. I can definitely tell she feels a lot better and more free as her confidence has actually improved a bit since!! She seems to be approaching me a lot more and is giving me way more kisses than she used to. She’s also been easier to pick up which I think is because there are no mats tugging on her skin anymore so it’s more comfortable for her. Don’t get me wrong, she does still have a long way to go with her fear of being handled, but this is definitely a big step in the right direction. I’m really hoping a foster home or a forever home comes for her soon, but until then I’ll keep doing everything in my power to earn her trust. She is an absolute darling of a girl, she just needs some help. 01-11-23 UPDATE I’ve been doing a lot of ‘touch’ work since my last update on Libby because even though she has made a lot of progress, she does still really struggle with human hands. I find with a lot of the very scared dogs that unless you push them out of their comfort zones a little and start stroking them, even though they don’t like it at first, it does help!! I think it just proves to them that the thought is a lot worse than the actual action, and that it can be enjoyable once the initial fear is over. Libby is doing really well and she’s already getting a lot less jumpy. Around her neck is where she’s the most sensitive so I’ve been extra gentle around this area. I’ll keep doing this daily with her, only for a couple of minutes, and then I’ll reward her with some treats afterwards because she loves her food. This ends things on a positive note, which is always what you want after every little training session!