Rojas had Souze on a lead, working through standard obedience training, when the girls returned. Boom rolled out of the passenger side with a smile and waved at him with her good arm. Elisa emerged from the driver’s side more slowly.
Grinning, he returned the wave and headed toward them. Souze walked at his side in a perfect heel position, attention on Rojas. The dog was good, very good, on most days. He had the energy, desire to work, and intelligence to easily complete his training every day. What seemed lacking on some days was his level of aggression and prey drive.
Oh, he’d go after the usual tennis ball Rojas and the other trainers used as a reward during training. And Souze had amazing scent skills. But when it came time for bite work and some of the more violent aspects of training key to ensuring dogs were ready for military or K9 work, Souze hesitated. The dog was wary, and when prodded to actually bite, he was formidable. More than capable of taking down a full-grown man. But a handler in a combat situation needed instantaneous precision from his dog, an eagerness Souze was lacking.
Rojas was convinced Souze had it in him. They just needed to work together to find the trigger. As Cruz’s companion, Lyn, might’ve said, they needed to get inside Souze’s head and understand his motivation. Until then, Souze wouldn’t be a good fit as a military working dog or K9, no matter how otherwise capable he was.
“Dad!” Boom skipped toward him, completely unworried about the big dog at his side. “Elisa helped me come up with the best idea for my presentation!”
Rojas grinned and came to a stop, murmuring a command for Souze to sit. The GSD’s big ears were up and forward, listening to Boom with detached interest. “Yeah? So the mission was a success.”
Boom’s face was flushed with excitement, but her eyes were somewhat glazed. She was running out of gas quickly, and it was just about time for her next dose of pain meds for the broken arm. “Getting the supplies was a success. There’s still a lot to do.”
“Yup, and to do it right, you’re going to need proper rest.” Rojas dropped to one knee and opened his arms to her, keeping an eye on Souze’s reaction. The big dog sat obediently and otherwise could care less. In fact, Souze’s gaze had settled on Elisa, who was approaching at a slower walk with bags of random craft supplies.
Boom came forward to throw her arms around his neck for a hug. She was a smart girl and only ever rushed him when he wasn’t working with a dog. Sudden movement and approaching a handler too quickly could trigger a defensive response from the dog. He’d been careful to teach Boom to wait until he gave the signal the way he had—going on one knee and opening his arms to her in clear body language for both hers and the dog’s benefit. Once he did give her the signal, though, his daughter didn’t hold back on the affection, and he loved her for it.
After a moment, Boom straightened from the hug and gave Souze a thoughtful look. “I could go upstairs and take a nap now then work on my project later.”
Which was a major indicator of how tired his daughter was feeling. Normally, Boom fought going to bed at all, tooth and nail.
Elisa smiled as she approached. “I can leave these on the porch.”
Souze straightened almost imperceptibly as Elisa approached. Not eager and no welcoming signs. Just a sharpening of focus on the woman.
Rojas nodded. “Thanks. I’ll put Souze away and come back to take the stuff inside on my way back.”
“I’ll go wash up.” Boom jogged toward the house.
Before Elisa could follow, Rojas rose to his feet. “Anything you want to tell me?”
Souze’s attention had given her away. Elisa was very good at pulling all of her fear and any telltale signs of anxiety and hiding them away somewhere. But a human couldn’t hide that sort of state from a dog. Pheromones, modulation in tone of voice, minute twitches in body language communicated a human’s mental state to an alert dog. And Rojas had long ago learned to read a dog’s responses. It’d saved lives on missions overseas, including his. And soldiers who ignored the warnings died, plus got other people killed along with them.
Old memories reached up and hooked into him, trying to drag him into a continuous replay of missions long completed and in the past. Every one of them had been intense, none of them had been easy, and some of them had damaged him forever.
A whine cut into his train of thought and Souze’s shoulder bumped his leg. Rojas looked down into the dog’s eager gaze and gave his ears a scratch. Souze was becoming a lifeline.