Decker seems to now have turned around for the better. Finally! Every since his child immersion treatment with the 4-H dog group, he is still way better with kids.

Last week a friend of my husband and his little girl came over for a visit. They have been here many times before. And the last time that they were here, Decker started to go after the little girl, which we promptly went after him and put him down on the ground immediately. The visit was several hours and outside in the presence of the dogs. So Decker had to contend with a moving child and behave himself.

This time, he behaved quite differently. I watched intently, for any signs of oncoming aggression in his body language. I saw none. The little girl-eight years old- was very forgiving, and did not hold any grudge for his past behavior. This was good for Decker to feel, as scared behavior might have drawn him in for a bite.

He played with Kate and Tam, and the girl threw the ball for them, and ran around climbing trees and visiting with the barnyard animals.

Toward the end of their visit, I just could not believe that he was acting OK. This is one of the proofs that I had been waiting for. For him, this is the worst-case scenario, on his property, and with strangers to him, and children! He was just fine.

I do now think that with the right new home, he is ready to move on to a permanent home.