Mabel Tackles Francis Park--and Succeeds!

Don't worry--we didn't let Mabel off-leash in the park. This was taken at home. Park pictures still to come.

Really, she just impresses the hell out of of me sometimes, this dog. Saturday evening, armed with a water bottle, a water bowl, treats, and Chance, who we're hoping provides Mabel with more comfort in these situations and who can show Mabel through her own interactions with humans that they're OK, we took Mabel to a busy (and beautiful) park--busy was good for Mabel; beautiful was good for the humans.

With lots of cars going by on the street to our left; lots of people walking, running, and riding past us on the sidewalk; and lots of activity (e.g., tennis matches and playing children) going on inside the park, we expected that Mabel might get anxious to the point of not being able to get comfortable and feel safe again early in the walk and that we might need to make this first venture into Francis Park a short one and then proceed to increase our time there on future visits. Instead, halfway through and a couple dozen people into the 1.25-mile walk around the perimeter of the park, Mabel was doing just beautifully. By the time we were halfway through the walk, adults, children, and dogs could walk or jog past her with barely an acknowledgment from Mabel (well, almost--the sight of another dog always elicited a wagging tail, and that's the kind of acknowledgment we want!). Aside from the treat and/or abundant praise Mabel received after every instance of walking unfazed as we passed someone, she looked and acted just like any other dog out for an evening stroll.

Two different scenarios made me especially proud of Mabel. First, in the last fourth of our walk, a woman and small girl were approaching us. The girl stopped to pick at something on the sidewalk, and when she was done, she started to run to catch up with her mother. She wasn't running at Mabel by any means, but I could see that she was going to run close to us as she passed, and I thought for sure that this was going to startle Mabel and lead her to bark. But what did this sweet dog do? She stood there, watched the girl prance by, and wagged her tail. This, my friends, warranted buckets of praise.

At the end of the walk, we sat down on a bench just off the sidewalk, to see how Mabel would do when we just let people pass us, as we sat there stationary. She watched with calm but alert interest for the first couple minutes, but then--and this is key!--she not only sat down but then also proceeded to lie down next to and in front of the bench, and she remained in that position, calm and comfortable, as groups of people walked by just a few feet from where she lay. She knew they were there--she looked at them without getting up--but she just didn't care. This is the same dog who a week ago was barking in fear at people standing in their very own yards, fifteen feet away from her, while we walked by. This is big stuff!

We did have one easily manageable barking incident near the end of the evening, but it wasn't a surprising result. A group of three or four (I can't remember now) talkative older adults were approaching us with two excited, fast-walking dogs, and they were spread across the whole sidewalk. I could see that they were going to have to pass very close to Mabel, so I held on tight to her, despite the fact that B. was convinced they would move over a little bit once they got to us. They didn't, and they let one of the dogs come right over to Mabel and Chance, and all of this was fine, but then in addition to the whole big group getting very close to Mabel, one of the men very sweetly remarked, looking at Mabel, on how well-behaved she was. The combination of so many bodies passing her at once, so close, and one of the people slowing down next to her, looking at her, and talking to her was enough to make her nervous, and she backed away and barked. But they kept moving, and Mabel quickly returned to a calm state. When subsequent people and dogs passed, she remained just as unbothered as before. This is a big deal. A week ago, if something or someone had scared Mabel, then everyone else following would have scared her and sent her barking too. But this time, she was able to experience a moment of anxiousness, get over it, and encounter subsequent people with a clean slate.

We didn't go to the park yesterday morning because of prepping for an afternoon family gathering or last night because we had training class (more on that later), but if the heat is bearable, we'll try again tonight. This kind of experience and exposure is proving to be even better for Mabel than I'd hoped. When she has these kinds of breakthroughs, I feel like my chest will explode with happiness for her. This isn't just about making her more adoptable; a life with less fear is simply going to be a far better, happier life for her.