When I brought Rags home almost two years ago, I knew he had issues with other animals — namely, that he hated them all and would prefer the rest of the canine/feline population on this Earth to cease existence tout de suite.
I continue to work him through the baby steps of overcoming his anxiety/hatred towards other animals, and I’m happy to report this weekend he made leaps of progress!
A good chunk of this weekend Rags and I spent with, among others, two cats, Simon and Penny. Rags hasn’t ever had any significant exposure to cats, and I’m so excited to say he actually did pretty well with it. Another few times hanging out with Simon, and he may even be at the point of being — dare I say it? — friendly?! (Penny’s a wee bit too shy/anxious for them to have a deep-seeded friendship anytime soon, I fear.)
On Saturday, I gave Penny and Simon a breather by taking Rags to Petsmart for his semi-regular grooming/nail trim. While waiting in a boisterous line to get checked in, Rags actually came nose to nose with another DOG … and not only did he NOT bark/growl/howl, he actually {gasp} licked the other dog’s nose! I nearly passed out from shock.