She Didn’t Trust Me at First
Not every dog is going to love you right away. And honestly, that’s fine.
When I started walking Bella, she wanted nothing to do with me. Two minutes into our first walk, she was done. Leash on, feet planted, eyes skeptical. We turned around and went back inside. I wasn’t offended. I’ve been around enough animals to know that behavior like that is communication, not rejection.
Bella is a breed that gets a bad reputation — one of those dogs that people cross the street to avoid based on looks alone. What I saw was a dog with a history of trauma who was also navigating a big life change alongside her owner. New schedule, new routine, new person showing up at her door. That’s a lot for any animal to process.
The Moment Things Started to Shift
Her owner was still home during our trial week, and I think Bella wasn’t quite sure what to make of me in that context. Then the first week her owner went back to work, something shifted. I showed up solo, and while Bella was shaking a little when I walked in that first time, by the second walk that week there was a pep in her step I hadn’t seen before.
I started paying attention to what she actually responded to. Treats? Not her thing on a walk. What she responded to was encouragement — verbal affirmations, a calm and steady presence, someone who wasn’t rattled when she got tense. I learned her triggers. I learned how to read her body language and adjust before she got overwhelmed. Consistency did the rest.
A few weeks in, her owner reached out and asked if we could move from three walks a week to five. She said Bella seemed calmer. Happier. That she just wanted her to feel good while she was at work.
That’s the whole job, honestly.
Every Dog Deserves That Kind of Patience
Fear can look like aggression. Anxiety can look like stubbornness. Animals don’t have malice — they have reactions to things that feel unsafe, and it’s our job to figure out what those things are and help them feel supported anyway. When you treat a dog as an individual and meet them where they are instead of where you expect them to be, you’d be surprised how quickly they start to trust you.
Bella isn’t the same dog she was on that first two-minute walk. And that’s not magic — it’s just consistency, patience, and paying attention.
That’s what I show up to do every day.
Your dog deserves someone who pays attention. Book a meet and greet and see the difference for yourself, or check out our services.