Search This Blog

Friday, August 27, 2010

Good dog!

Yesterday Spike spooked at everything driving by. Busses, trucks, little Volkswagens. It didn't seem to matter what size the vehicle, he scooted behind me, tripped me by running in front, or tried to hide.

"Yikes, what's the matter with you?" I scolded as I unwrapped the leash around my legs again. "C'mon Spikey, it's ok!"

Finally, I stopped and waited as cars approached. Kept him beside me. Let him shiver until they were past.

About the tenth car, he quit watching. Settled down. Stopped worrying. What it took was the experience of nothing happening.

That works for me in real life too. When I'm anxious, if I can slow down, maybe even stop to look around and analyze what's happening, I feel better.

Our walk this morning was uneventful. He didn't flinch once. "Good dog, Spike!"

No comments:

Post a Comment