Kkuri (her new name is 'Richi') is doing really well these days. She was a girl who needed a bit of an adjustment period. On the first day she had to ride in the car for a long time, and she arrived home so very calmly that I was really proud of her. But the moment we got home, she completely changed, haha! As soon as Kkuri arrived at the house, she started showing signs of separation anxiety toward my mom. I had ridden in the car with her too, but she only acted that way toward Mom, hehe.

I think Kkuri probably has extremely sensitive hearing. On the first night, she reacted strongly to even the tiniest sounds in the house (like the rustle of blankets or feet touching the floor) and barked all night and into the early morning. We tried playing white noise loudly in case that would help, but it didn't make much of a difference. It went on like that for over a week... It was hard on us too, but it was heartbreaking that Kkuri couldn't sleep for more than a few minutes at a time. When we first went to the cafe to meet her, we saw her sitting there nodding off, and seeing her keep doing that at home made us feel so sorry for her.

Her sensitivity to sounds kept getting worse, and her separation anxiety toward Mom kept intensifying, to the point where she even had potty accidents and started nipping. I tried bits and pieces of the gentler, more doable separation anxiety training methods from YouTube videos, and she improved very, very gradually. Then I thought maybe she needed a change from the environment where she was constantly glued to Mom, so I briefly took her to a friend's house without Mom, and other family members came over to visit — and before we knew it, she'd suddenly improved a lot! I think having lots of people around to pet her, talk to her, and love on her helped settle her heart.

She's still an ice princess who doesn't easily let me touch her, but recently she's started allowing me to pet her when she's lying down, and I'm so grateful for that. At first she'd get aggressive whenever we made eye contact, but now there's none of that at all — in the mornings or when I come back from going out, she licks my hand and wags her tail for me. Every little change she makes is so endearing. Her separation anxiety toward Mom is still something we need to work through, but she's improved so much compared to the beginning, so I'm going to keep working at it slowly, believing she'll keep getting better.

Now Kkuri no longer barks at night and sleeps through the night. On walks, she's no longer anxious to hurry back home — she's become a dog who can take her time, sniff around, and truly enjoy her walks. She learned "sit" really quickly, and she's a smart girl who picked up how to use her nose-work toys in no time, too.

I'll be back with another update on Kkuri next time. Thank you so much for bringing Kkuri into our lives!!