Pooh has come so far that sometimes think of her as a typical, carefree dog. Then, she reminds me that she’s far from typical and I remember I’m a blogger! We have a new object in our house that upset her for a while. We got a hard foam cylinder that you lay on and roll your muscles with. I didn’t consider the implications of having this benign exercise item in our house. It was a show stopper! Pooh walked in and looked at it, lying there on the floor, as though it may attack her at any moment. She identified it as a risk and kept her distance for many days. About a week passed before she hunkered down and crept toward it. After a couple of sniffs she backed slowly away and maintained her distance. I recognized that if I wanted her to continue our early morning cuddle session I would have to put the roller away instead of leaving it in the middle of the room.
This reminded me of the early days when she was fearful of furniture and objects in general, as though these inanimate objects would grab and confine her. It was difficult to introduce her to people sitting in chairs because she was scared of the furniture in addition to the actual person. She prefers wide open spaces, like being outdoors, and dislikes navigating doorways, hallways, or any possible confinement area. Over the years she has gotten better about adapting if we move the couch or bring a lamp in from a different room, but it will always be something to keep in mind. As I write this, our house is on the market and I can’t help but wonder how she will adapt if it sells. I’m sure there will be some casualties, like the baby gate that I thought would keep her in her room last week when I wanted to use one that was easy to put away during house showings. I thought she was calm enough that she didn’t need her large industrial strength metal gate because she stays in her room with ease when the gate isn’t even closed. Silly me. If our house sells we will see how a high anxiety dog adapts when her entire household is packed up and moved. Maybe if we don’t buy any new “stuff” and arrange things in a similar manner she will roll with it?
This reminded me of the early days when she was fearful of furniture and objects in general, as though these inanimate objects would grab and confine her. It was difficult to introduce her to people sitting in chairs because she was scared of the furniture in addition to the actual person. She prefers wide open spaces, like being outdoors, and dislikes navigating doorways, hallways, or any possible confinement area. Over the years she has gotten better about adapting if we move the couch or bring a lamp in from a different room, but it will always be something to keep in mind. As I write this, our house is on the market and I can’t help but wonder how she will adapt if it sells. I’m sure there will be some casualties, like the baby gate that I thought would keep her in her room last week when I wanted to use one that was easy to put away during house showings. I thought she was calm enough that she didn’t need her large industrial strength metal gate because she stays in her room with ease when the gate isn’t even closed. Silly me. If our house sells we will see how a high anxiety dog adapts when her entire household is packed up and moved. Maybe if we don’t buy any new “stuff” and arrange things in a similar manner she will roll with it?