Works for Me (So Far): Socializing Scaredy-Dog

Miss Stella has very quickly earned the nickname Scaredy-Dog; she is quite literally scared of her own shadow.  We are fairly certain that she was abandoned by her previous family (if she ever even had one) and it is shaping up to be quite the challenge to get her to trust us.

This morning, she actually wanted to play!  It was very exciting, and I would have been so happy about it if it hadn't been for the fact that I was already running ten minutes late getting ready for school and work.  And, in addition to the playful pup, I also had Matt to contend with.  Matt has gotten his feelings hurt because it seems that Stella prefers me.  I think there are two reasons for this:

1.  Abandoned, fearful dogs generally prefer women.

2.  I have a secret weapon.

My secret weapon is this:  I keep treats in my pockets.  Stella does not like sudden movements or loud noises, so getting up from where I am to go get treats is frightening to her.  I figured out that if I keep the treats with me, she's much more comfortable coming over and getting petted since I don't have to move to get out her reward.  Matt knows about this trick, but I think he underestimates the number of treats I keep.  My pockets are usually bulging.

Right now, as you've probably gathered, Miss Stella gets treats for important milestones just about everything.

Going outside

Coming inside

Going in her crate

Coming when she hears her name

Giving kisses

Getting picked up

Eating

Drinking

Etc.

In addition to all of that, and very importantly, she gets treats when something is scary. Not all the time, mind you, because she would be eating us out of house and home.  But randomly, if there is a scary noise or movement or leaf, she gets a treat.  If she doesn't get a treat and we can coax her to come to us, she gets lots of affection.  That way, we are hoping to recondition her so that those things are associated with love and treats, and not with fear.  It's going to take some time, but she's making great progress already!

Bringing Stella out of her shell with bribery and patience... it works for me!

P.S.  I should note that she has started to figure me out.  Lots of sniffing has been happening around my pockets.

Easter

I grew up with a wonderful family.  I love my parents more than I can possibly explain.  They are not religious people; we never attended church.  I thought of myself as agnostic for most of my teenage and young adult life.

My last few months in Maryland before I moved to Louisiana were a very painful, difficult time.  I was in an abusive relationship, and when it ended, I was left a shell of myself.  I felt that I needed something more.

When I met Matt and our relationship began to get serious, I attended Mass with him a few times, and I found what I had needed.  When we moved to Memphis, I started attending RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) meetings at our Catholic Church.

After over nine months of studying, I was baptized and confirmed on Saturday night at the Easter vigil.   It was such an incredible experience - it was definitely the most amazing Mass I've ever attended.  I feel so blessed to have gone through this journey with a wonderful group of people, two fantastic priests, our incredibly kind Deacon, and Matt by my side every step of the way!

Meet Stella!

This weekend, Matt and I had every intention of spending Sunday driving down to Alabama to pick up a 7-week old St. Bernard puppy.  As you probably have noticed, the beautiful dog in the picture is neither seven weeks old, nor a St. Bernard.

She is a black lab mix (we think she's mixed with Boxer and maybe a little Great Dane) and she is eight months old.  Her name is Stella, mostly so we can work on our Marlon Brando impressions when she is in the backyard.

After making plans and buying puppy supplies for the expected St. Bernard, we decided that we wanted to adopt a shelter dog instead.  Matt has had Labs for his entire life, and he really wanted to get one.  So, on Saturday morning, we drove up to the nearest kill shelter to find us a puppy.

We were immediately drawn to Stella (her name was Jill at the time) and decided that she was the right dog for us.  We brought her home and discovered that she is terrified of everything - the dishwasher, falling leaves, squirrels, and us when we have things in our hands.  I can't even imagine what kind of background she must have come from and what is happening in her head.

She is making a lot of progress, though.  She has started to approach us instead of cowering, and she is learning her name quickly.  We are pretty certain that she will be a wonderful dog when we adapts to her new home.  We can't wait to see how she progresses, and I'll be sure to share it along the way!

Hello, My Name Is _________

Hi y'all!  I'm Rachel.  It's so nice to meet you!

I was born and raised in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC.  It's where I spent my summers, my weekends, and all my formative years.  I fell in love with free museums, the Metro, liberal arts, and having a whole world's worth of food available for delivery at the touch of a button.

After I graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in English Language and Literature, I moved to southern Louisiana to be closer to my family, including my amazing, retired parents.  That's where I met a wonderful man from rural Louisiana by way of Baton Rouge and fell in love.

We moved to Memphis, Tennessee to start our life together (and got engaged!).  Here's what's happening:  He's working full-time.  I'm going to school for a biology degree on a medical school track, working part-time, planning our wedding, and trying to get enough sleep.

I'm about to be 25 and I'm trying to get a handle on this grown-up idea.  This is going to be my outlet for so many things:  how I do what I do, what I do when I don't, how I adjust to the culture shock of going from DC to the deep south to the mid-south, and day-to-day comings and goings.

Hopefully, it'll be a good documentation of this crazy ride I'm on:  starting a life, starting a family, and starting a career in a new city all at the same time.  If I don't write it down, I'm afraid it will be lost forever after my next all-nighter!

C'mon in and poke around - feel free to comment!  I'd love to hear from y'all!