“I cried a lot, it was hard to imagine if this was even possible and that maybe she would be an afraid dog for a lot of her life…”
It’s been a whole year since Bunny, the newest edition to the Marbles house, found Jenna Marbles and Julien Solomita. The pair adopted the young greyhound, a blood donor dog who needed a loving home and never made it to the racetrack, when she was very timid and needed to learn how to be a dog.
“We had a hard time with things like her resource guarding toys”, Jenna admits. “It was difficult to work on but I think the biggest change actually came from building a relationship with her and building trust”. Resource guarding happens when a dog becomes defensive over belongings which they believe are being permanently taken away from them. “She knows now that she can trust us and that I’m not going to take her toy, the worst thing that’s going to happen is that I’m going to throw it across the room so you can chase it and it’s even more fun”.
“It’s been an amazing process and time. She is a much different dog now, she’s very happy and we’re so happy and lucky to have her
“She used to be afraid of everything, but now she will gladly come almost all the way into the kitchen and she will always come in for treats”, Jenna shares in the video. “A year ago she didn’t want to be around the TV and didn’t like the sound of it. Then one time we took her to Big Bear (in San Bernardino County, California) and she decided that TVs were okay and she started coming in [the living room] on her own terms little by little and spending more time there. Now she’s in love with Seinfeld, she’ll sit on the couch or her little beanbag and watch for hours.”
While some of her other dogs can be mischievous, Jenna admits that their new edition to the family doesn’t follow the trend. “Bunny doesn’t have a streak of mischief in her”, Jenna shares. “We have a baby gate for example, it’s a short gate and she could easily step over it or knock it over but because it’s there she’s incredibly respectful that it’s time to stay in that room”.
“A year ago you might remember how we had to teach her to walk up and down the stairs – that’s not a problem anymore”, Jenna says while laughing. “She’s really good at it and sometimes she likes to be first up or down the stairs or first out the door. Gate means go if you’re a greyhound so if there’s ever the possibility of a door opening her face is smushed up against it and she’s ready to go.”
The relationships both Jenna and Julien have fostered with Bunny have been commended by commenters on their videos over the last year. “Bunny loves me plenty, she’s very affectionate and very sweet, she loves me and I’m her mom”, Jenna says. “But she thinks Julien is just the best person in the whole world. They have probably the cutest relationship, she always wants to play with Julien, his is her play buddy. If she could pick someone in this house to play with, it’s not Peach or a toy, it’s Julien”.
Looking back a year ago, Jenna admits that it was hard to imagine what the future would look like for their family. “I cried a lot, it was hard to imagine if this was even possible and that maybe she would maybe be an afraid dog for a lot of her life, which was okay, but I was really hoping she would come around and feel more comfortable and she did.”
“Thank you guys for being patient and coming on this journey with us”, Jenna says to the camera. Her viewers have watched Bunny’s progress over the last year and she has quickly become a popular addition to their household.
“We’re just lucky to have you Bunny, thank you for being in our lives. I couldn’t be happier and proud of us, because we really did that.”
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