calling dog lovers of PNW

[NbyNW]

aren't these dogs seriously unsocialized? Is there much you can do with a 2 year old dog who has never been handled?

I imagine that some of these dogs might not be good candidates for adoption from a socialization standpoint, and that's very sad. But some of them do make it!

We think my dog Gordy was 1-2 years old when he was rescued (we think it was Spring '08, and we don't think he came from a mill, but he was left alone long enough to nearly starve to death), and then it wasn't until about December '08 that his health was good enough for him to be listed as an adoption candidate. We got him this April, and we are guessing he is about 3 years +/-

His foster family did an AMAZING job with him. He was house-trained, already knew most basic obedience commands and was alright walking on a leash except for a tendency to pull, which we've worked on. He's gotten better over time as we won his trust.

He occasionally has issues with other dogs and with some people, but we haven't been able to figure out what the common trigger is -- we have to deal with it case by case.

We've been working on his social skills -- at the off-leash park, taking an agility class. We finally found a doggy day care that is a good fit for his personality and energy levels, and I think that is helping a great deal as well.

Yes, it is an ongoing challenge. But by contrast I once house-sat a purebred poodle whose owners got him as a puppy from a responsible breeder, and that dog had way more issues than my rescue mutt.

Here's a picture of Gordy. It's a goofy picture because the perspective makes his body look tiny -- he's about 50 lbs. And his beautiful long tail is wagging so fast it's a blur.