Maya meets a puppy

Last weekend, Maya was attacked by two off-leash dogs.  Brian had her out for a run, and as they jogged past a woman with two dogs, one barked.  She said, "Oh, don't worry, that one doesn't attack."  Whereupon the other one attacked.

So I've spent the week trying to make sure that Maya didn't absorb any negative lessons from her experience.  Lots of walks around other dogs, lots of positive reinforcement for any exposure to them.  Yesterday, we arranged for a trip down to the Santa Fe shelter (the shelter from which we adopted Maya).

I explained to them that I have a challenging pup, who is reactive to both humans and dogs.  I also said that if we could find a dog with good social skills (especially dog-dog skills), and if Maya got along with it, we'd be open to adoption.  They were enthusiastic about a meet-and-greet, so we set one up with Sarabi, a lovely two-year-old puppy.

It went pretty well.  Maya was nervous and jumpy about being in a new place (that smelled like strange dogs and was full of strange humans).  She greeted Sarabi with raised hackles, and then immediately tried to hide behind Brian.  Then peeked out, tiptoed around, and said hi again.  Eventually, the hackles went down, and she slowly relaxed.

Two great things, from my perspective.  First, Maya had no problem backing away and de-escalating the situation.  This was something she had a lot of trouble with as a wild puppy, and something we've worked really hard to help her learn.  So it was great to see her being so conflict-averse.  Second, she eventually relaxed all the way from the shoulders back...just loose, waggy, and only mildly stressed.  To be in a new place, with new people and new dogs, and still manage that degree of relaxation is really, really great for Maya.

The third thing, less surprising but rather delightful, was that she checked in over and over and over again.  She checked in with me, she checked in with Brian, and she never stopped responding to our words and postures.  She solicited cuddles when she was stressed, which I found cute, hid behind us for safety, and did a little bit of guarding us from the strange dog (less cute, but interesting).  Overall, for Maya, this was a terrific performance.

So we're repeating it today.  They never got to a point where they were comfortable playing together (Sarabi did some face-licking, but Maya was horrified by it), and I'm hoping they get that far today.  Even if they don't, I hope Maya keeps learning these calm, happy sorts of lessons...it's so good for her.

Update: it went even better today (more relaxation in every way for Maya), but still no play.  No new dog for us!  Even so, it was a terrific experience and great for me to see my dog handling a stressful situation so well.  Good weekend!