Ooops!

I have to apologize to my all of three followers. I completely forgot to write yesterday. I did have a session with Luke, just didn't post anything.
We did our usual thing today. It is becoming a routine now which is good. It is much easier to get and maintain his attention when everything is not so new.
At this point in time I have made a few observations I would like to share......

There are moments when I "see" the real Luke. The relaxed Luke. The Luke he could be if (when) he makes it into a home. What people at the shelter see is the frenzied, stressed, over stimulated Luke. A by product of shelter life. I see this Luke when we are doing mat time and I am giving him a massage. The stress and anxiety melts away. His response to the touch of a human hand is evident.

When we walk through the parking lot Luke pulls toward every car. He knows it is the way out. Many of the shelter dogs do this and it is just heart breaking. When we are done with our session we have to walk back through the lot and Luke's whole demeanor changes. He knows he is going back to his run and the anxiety and stress returns.

This is the point in time when this training endeavor becomes difficult for me. We have passed the point of no return, we have developed a relationship. He counts on my coming every day. It is an onerous responsibility. I know there is no end to this. It will only end when my boy gets a home.