My husband, Blaine, and I welcomed our sweet pupper, Lenny, into our family about three years ago now. I had actually inquired at our local animal shelter about a different dog, only to be told about Lenny and that she and I had the potential to be a great fit. Blaine and I went to go and see her within a few days, and upon first glance, I knew in my heart that she would be ours.
Lenny is a rescue dog and is originally from North Carolina. She is an Australian Blue Heeler mix, and while the Heeler aspects of her breed are certainly detectable, we aren’t entirely sure what else she is. We suspect perhaps some boxer, but we aren’t entirely sure.
We weren’t able to learn much about Lenny’s life prior to adopting her, aside from the fact that she was young (seven months) and had experience being around different animals. We do think she was abused at some point because of some of her mannerisms and fears, but again, we aren’t certain what exactly she endured.
Lenny is a reactive dog to her core. We have been working with her to try to tame her reactiveness, if you will, and while she has made progress, she’s definitely still quite reactive. Interestingly enough, she doesn’t seem to be reactive whatsoever around people – rather, it’s small critters, for example, squirrels, and specific noises that set her off.
Having a reactive dog isn’t easy, and it can be rather frustrating at times. But, just because a dog is reactive does not mean they’re bad, or poorly behaved, and I wish more people considered this prior to judging or assuming Lenny has had zero training.
I sort of equate reactive dogs with people with ADHD, like myself; they’re a little unpredictable at times, but they’re still absolutely lovable.
Photo by Oscar Sutton on Unsplash
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