Well, that's Nacho. He's a bit like a mascot - not of the whole shelter, only of the armchair in the office, where he had grown roots sitting and looking grumpy.
Nacho been in foster care for a while now, and we can finally present him again correctly.
First of all, he is not the most social dog in the world, and probably never will be. His whiskers and eyebrows and moustache make his antisociality incredibly cute - he looks perpetually grumpy and that's adorable.
Despite not being the most socialized dog in the world, he is very functional in a home. He can stay home alone, he goes for walks, he is house trained, he eats his food, even though he prefers that no one is present, so you leave the bowl down and go to another room for a while, and as he starts getting used to you, he comes and sits close to you, and even closer to you, and he can even climb to bed with you (although we don't recommend it, at least not in the beginning).
On the road he is quite afraid of cars, and generally things with which he has not been in contact since he was a puppy, so if you live near a central road, you leave the house with caution and enter as quickly as possible in alleys, away from traffic.
Nacho is a dog that imitates other dogs, as dogs with low self-confidence usually do. The presence of a second social dog in the house will help a lot, because Nacho will copy their behaviour, or at least try, the presence of a second dog with behavioral issues will not help at all.
Dogs like him are not ideal for families with very young children, because they will not be able to follow some basic instructions on how to treat the dog - Nacho needs space, time and stability in the behavior of the people with whom he lives.
Nacho is the dog that will take a while to wag his tail, will be slow to show confidence, will be slow to look happy in a new home. The more stable his routine is, the faster he will adapt.
He will probably never wag his tail to guests, but he will wag it for you. Just for you. And this is what makes those people who have adopted "fearful" dogs bond so much with them, this exclusivity, at least in the early days, or in the early years. Sometimes all the years of the dog's life.
