KHRONOS

An honest depiction from our wonderful RDL-C adopter Stephanie Barbeau, about her experience since she welcomed her rescue dog Khronos (previously Scooby).

"Hi wonderful RDL-C Family! I really wanted to share the story of our dog, Khronos. It’s a long story but I hope you will enjoy the read as much as I loved living it! Khronos had a rough start in life in Lebanon. He arrived on August 3rd, 2020 and he was 1 and 1/2 years old. Other than the fact that he loved to be petted, he really showed no emotion. He did not wag his tail for almost 6 weeks after we welcomed him, and often looked lethargic. When he arrived to our home, he seemed fearful of so many things. The cat, sounds and even the house itself. Khronos is an unbelievable dog. He is bright, intelligent, cuddly but before those qualities came out, we had to work really hard with him for months. On top of the fears he had when he arrived, my baby also had resource guarding with our other dogs. He made that clear with one of my older dogs a few times and did not like puppies either. This was tough, as I am a trainer and work with puppies quite a it. He did not like non-fixed male dogs and was reactive on leash. It also took him about 3 months to get comfortable to the point that he no longer tried to escape our house. When he arrived, I allowed him to decompress for 2 weeks because I knew that he had to bond with me and his environment. After 3 weeks, I started to work on basic training. Once he started to trust me, after about a month, I started addressing some of the behavioural issues. One by one, step by step. After approximately 6 months, he was still changing and exhibiting different behaviours, some funny, some not so great… 🙂 In the last month, he has clearly shown me that he is really happy and content with us. He makes these amazing happy sounds, he trusts me and loves his environment. This is Khronos’ story. Not all rosy but it has been such an experience for us, filled with tenderness and liveliness despite the highs and lows. I love him with all my heart. He is my little clown, my big sensitive love. It took less then a year for him to fully come out of his shell and for him to feel like he is finally home. I am telling you this story because I will never regret saving this adorable dog. I am sharing this because despite the happy pictures and posts that I share, it started with 6 months of solid work with him to bring him to his potential. It required loads of patience, understanding his psychological needs instead of focusing on what I NEEDED from him and obviously lots of love. I hear so often that I am so lucky to have adopted such a good dog but what so many fail to see is that I simply followed a robust and efficient protocol to gain his trust. I followed his rhythm and did not rush the process. 6 months can seem like a long time but when compared to the lifetime of your dog, what does that represent to you I would ask? Trust can be built up with your dog. A relationship can be built with your dog. Bit by bit, and step at a time, one day at a time. " - StephanieBarbeau