We had a big victory this afternoon. John attempted to offer the girls the Milo’s Kitchen chicken jerky, but they huddled together at the far end of their pen. First, when they didn’t respond, he threw a couple of pieces to them. I asked him to get closer, and he walked into the pen. When he did, Flower began growling.

I pushed back the couch so they didn’t have a tunnel, and it freaked them out. Someone knocked over their water bowl. I asked John to sit down in the pen with them, as I had done at Barbara’s. Although they were frightened, Flower bravely reached for a piece of chicken jerky. Candy finally responded and took a piece from John. Then, Dottie took some. After a while, they all had taken several small pieces from him. Candy also let him pet her while she ate her jerky. Dottie also let him pet her. When he tried to pet Flower, she froze with the jerky half in and half out of her mouth, but eventually, he was able to stroke her a few times.

Later, I decided to remove the towels that had gotten wet from the water. I pulled the flexible gate out, making the space larger. Candy, the Inquisitor, started roaming in and out of the pen. Even Flower came to the end, wagging her tail, which she usually doesn’t do when John is nearby. Eventually, she went back to their communal doggy bed, where Dottie was sitting. As for Dottie, she had been shaking earlier, but she stopped while John was feeding them.