Today Thatcher visited a dog park. There were many dogs there of all different, shapes sizes and personalities. Thatcher met several dogs and handled his interactions with them very well. He also met my personal dog Elsa and was very appropriate with her even though she was  a little more assertive for him than he would have liked. Certain dogs that are very forward and active still make him fearful, but you can see that each day he is improving. His owners were quite happy with how he conducted himself, but he really has not reached the point yet that any of us are comfortable letting him loose in the fenced dog park to play. In his rehabilitation process it is very important that each time he has direct interactions with other dogs that it ends in a positive way. Slow and steady are the correct approach for him as an individual. To help one of his owners project the appropriate mind set to Thatcher, we have decided that every time she and Thatcher see or pass by another dog that she will say to Thatcher “Theres a nice dog.”  Then she rewards Thatcher with food. Working with people can be the biggest part of rehabititating a dog, and in order for Thatcher to recover from his anxiety we need to convince his owner as much as Thatcher that other dogs are fine. Dogs can easily sense when their owners are unsure which can as trainers say “Go right down the leash”. Thatcher is progressing much faster than I anticipated and I am hoping by summer he can be running around on the beach again!