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Nelson, you’re a rockstar.

At Bully Roundup, you'd be hard pressed to arrive without an over-excited dog ready to run and play. Some dogs stand shaking with excitement while their harness is being removed, waiting for the split second of release so they can take off! Other dogs are excited to play, but can contain themselves enough to be cordial during the removal of walking gear. Then we have super special cases like Nelson, where being within a few feet (or at times just seeing the other playing dogs) sends him into an excited frenzy that comes out more as aggression than happiness.

Nelson's roughly 2 years old and is a rescue from Seattle Animal Rescue. His parents Brad and Brenda are amazing people. They risked taking in a lost soul who they knew literally nothing about, and have made Nelson an in-progress success story! Since Nelson was so easily excited and no one knew how he was around other dogs off leash, we really had to ease him into the playgroup. Nelson started coming to the Roundup in the middle of March, 2010. His first few visits, it was progress to be able to get to the fence and observe other dogs without freaking out. He went on walks outside the fenced area with one other leashed dog, and we did this a few times with different dogs to see how he would react to different social status and gender, age and attitudes...

After successfully making it to the fence for a couple weeks in a row and walking with other dogs outside of the play area without incident, we decided it was time for Nelson to show us what he was made of. We gave him the opportunity to come inside the gate with other dogs occupying the space for the first time during an especially puppy-full play group. While everyone was exhausted, we put them on leashes and spread them out around the grounds. Nelson and Brad walked slowly around and greeted all the tired dogs one at a time. They stopped long enough for Nelson to get a good sniff, then rewarded him with praise and moved along to the next dog.

While everyone else remained latched to their owners, Brad did something he'd been waiting to do for a month. He unclipped Nelson's leash! It was a tense and exciting moment for everyone, especially Nelson! Chewing on his tennis ball with the strength of 325 PSI, Nelson walked stiffly around the grounds investigating with his head low and tail straight. After a few moments, it was as if Nelson flipped a switch inside and completely chilled out. His body language softened, and he wasn't so off-putting.

The other dogs relaxed and tails started wagging. It was almost as everyone (humans and dogs alike) took a huge breath and sighed. Nelson engaged a few dogs to encourage them to chase him and his ball, but the poor thing didn't understand that everyone else was pooped!! He did well when Posie oggled his ball and reacted with nothing more that an appropriate vocal gesture and left it at that.  In the beginning we thought perhaps Nelson was aggressive in his ways, but after a month's worth of observation, Brad and I came to the conclusion that he just likes to talk! He talked all through the end of the Roundup, with stifled grumbles and mumbled barks through his ball. Which, might I add, stayed in his mouth the entire time he was playing.

All in all, that day was quite a milestone for Brad and Nelson. Brad and Brenda continue to build a relationship with Nelson and establish boundaries, and we help them explore his off-leash side. While offering assistance if something were to go wrong, we give dogs like Nelson the chance to grow their social skills in a positive environment free of hormones, irresponsible owners, aggressive playmates, and unstable pack structure. Bully Roundup is dedicated to working with those special dogs that possess the needed characteristics to grow into wonderful examples of the breed. Its dogs like Nelson, who despite whatever they may have been through in the past, have learned to trust people and other dogs again. The road to recovery will be long for Nelson, but we're there right by his side, every step of the way.