Hello! I currently have three foster puppies, about 8 weeks old, and when I first pulled them from the shelter I'm pretty sure they had nearly 0 human exposure in their short lives. I've been very hopeful seeing their progress, but am looking for some advice to see if I'm on the right track with them, as I've never encountered puppies who are so severely undersocialised before! I'll give some details below, but TL;DR is there a possibility for these puppies to turn out somewhat 'normal' given how feral they were? What else can I be doing for them during their time with me to help them progress?
To give some background on where they started and how far we've gotten in about a week and a half: When I first got them, they were completely shut down. They would just cower in the back of their crate and shake, would not interact at all, wouldn't eat around humans, etc. They had been abandoned in a box by the river, and truly acted as though they had never been around people before.
After a week and a half, they will now play with me, they get excited and wag their tails when they see me, will vocalize at me (in a playful manner), and two of them will ask for me to pet them and even give me kisses and sit in my lap! One puppy of the three still won't willingly let me go beyond scratching underneath her chin/chest. They will eat from my hands, and know the command 'sit', but don't respond to being called to, and don't quite naturally follow humans as puppies this age typically would. They are still a bit avoidant when I'm standing up and are much more comfortable when I'm at their level. They are still very avoidant with new people, but can exist around new people much more comfortably than before. They won't totally shut down around them, but will avoid them. They love other dogs though! They don't seem to be food or toy aggressive towards people, and will let me handle them (although they are uncomfortable and shut down of they have to be picked up etc, which I try to avoid).
What I've been doing with them: I haven't been pushing them too hard with socialization since they were so terribly shut down, so I've mostly been focused on getting them used to me and normal day to day life in a home. I spend a lot of time sitting on the floor with them, playing, talking to them, rewarding them with treats and praise etc. They've traveled in the car, been to the vet, and I've had random people over to just exist around them and toss them treats.
Is there any hope that these pups can become "normal"? If so, how can I help them along?
Thanks in advance for any and all advice!
submitted by /u/zetalouise123
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