Orlando -- GBNF

Orlando is one of those dogs that exist in shelters all over where what you see is not what you get. Let me explain because this is somewhat of a different post from my usual profiles.

When I first met Orlando at the shelter he seemed very shy. He didn't seem very eager to walk or play at all because he seemed to me to be a bit fearful. I didn't know whether he had just come up to the front or not so I didn't pay much attention to it because many dogs who move kennels up to the front are a bit nervous for the first day or two until they adjust.

By the time I walked him a few weeks later Orlando had regressed. He now seemed scared of a lot of places. He only seemed ok to go on the walking trail a certain way. We couldn't walk to the grassy pen because he would freeze and lower his body to the ground and refuse to keep walking.

He seemed to do a little better if I could get another volunteer to walk a dog with us -- he seemed to be a bit more confident, but if he was alone every noise would worry him.

One week I decided to just carry him to the grassy pen to try to get him to play. Instead of playing, he just stood at the entrance/exit and tried to get out (no digging or jumping--just trying to nose at the gate). This was the first time I tried to write a profile on him and I was at a loss at how to do it. He seemed so nervous and worried at all the sounds and the place that I felt like I was almost hurting him to keep him there. So we went back inside.

Wanting to get out of the grassy pen.

What you see when you see Orlando in his kennel is sometimes an excited dog. He will jump or seem eager to get out and go for a walk with you. However, once he is in the visitation room or outside on his lead, he just gets really frightened. It seemed like anyone who would give him a chance and visit with him would see only this side of him and that would be really sad.

So this past weekend, Ryan and I brought him home for the day to play with our dogs and be part of our pack. We really wanted to see what he would be like away from the shelter, away from all the other dogs and noises and whatever else scares him.

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What I saw when we brought him home simply amazed me. He transformed into a different dog entirely! I finally saw his playful carefree side roaming and running around with my dogs. I saw him finally start to take treats even though I could never even get him to sniff at a hot dog at the shelter. I saw him overcome fears of noises and large objects one by one --- all in one afternoon!

Happiness!!!!!!!

Orlando is an incredible dog. Within less than 30 seconds he'd won over our oldest dog, a 3 yr old Aussie who immediately started doing play bows with him and running around our backyard (see video below).

The next of our dogs to meet him is a rather shy dog who doesn't cherish canine attention and can get quite nervous -- well, he put her at ease entirely! I actually think he may have helped her overcome some of her fears (talk about doggie therapy!). He was incredibly well-mannered with her, and with all of our pack.

Q loves a good game of chase. Orlando obliged!

The third of our girls he met he also did amazing with. She is on the smaller side (much smaller than he is) and doesn't always understand typical canine cues and how to respond to them. Well, again, whatever he did was magic, because she didn't react to him at all -- just started playing with him. Usually it takes her an adjustment period to warm up to a dog, but not with him, she didn't need it since he was so non-confrontational and to put it in human terms, kind.

Chasing after a toy or the girls or BOTH!

He seemed to just LOVE running around with the three girls and us. They chased tennis balls and other toys we would throw. They wrestled. They chased us when we ran around but mostly each other, stopping every now and then to sniff at things.

Loving his new playmates :-)

They met our neighbor, even though he was fixing a fence with loud hammering. Although the noise startled Orlando at first, he actually walked up to the neighbor to sniff him through the fence. Such a drastic change from the dog I met at the shelter.

Play wrestling. This is a favourite at our house.!

Orlando was originally nervous about all of our outdoor furniture, especially the chairs and umbrella table. We simply sat down with the girls at our feet and let him work it out. In under 15 minutes he was laying with the girls right under the chairs and umbrella he was nervous about. It was truly remarkable how fast him mind seemed to just switch.

Focusing for treats

We discovered some added bonuses during the day with him as well. The first is that he is pretty smart and highly food motivated. As I mentioned, I had never been able to get him to take treats at the shelter while he was nervous. But at home, he loved them! We started have him sit and wait for them and he learned VERY quickly.  He seemed incredibly eager to please us and we had him work through some of his apprehensions about various outdoor furniture with the aid of treats and our dogs. He did wonderfully.

A much needed sniff break.

He also has an incredibly soft mouth while taking treats and an incredibly soft nature in general. He really loves affection -- loves to be on a lap (although he doesn't know he's a bit big for the lap at all!). I love his cuddly side so much and it was so amazing to finally see it.

Gentle mouth and very smart!

He rides very well in the car -- on the way back to the shelter he just laid down and closed his eyes. No doubt he was tired from all the running with the girls, but also he seemed very calm. I was really sad to bring him back knowing how happy he was in a home.

Hey handsome!

Orlando definitely needs a home with another canine companion in my opinion. He really looks to them for guidance to see if a situation is ok and how to deal with it. He is an amazing companion and very athletic so he would be a great running partner or doggie play partner.

Hanging out with Emmy

He walks nicely on a lead as long as he's not trying to run away from something. He is very polite greeting both people and other dogs. Basically, he's amazing...it just took getting him away from the shelter for me to see it.

Such amazing eyes! Love them!

What I want to ask of you is that if you're reading this and you plan to visit him, please don't judge his behaviour based on how he is at the shelter. Sometimes what you see pales in comparison to what you get.

"I'm the best! The humans say so!"