Walking Together

Walk stress giving way to homecoming relief.
Here's a long post for the Summer/canine behavior fan club.

I cannot overstate how much I enjoy working a dog like Summer. Unpacking baggage and refolding everything with a dog is such a wonderful process - and it's so much more amazing and enriching when they're your own. Guiding them to their potential is magic.

She threw me an interesting curveball this week: as soon as the weather changed a few days ago she became a fearful, trembling, disorganized mess anytime she was outdoors or we were getting ready to go out. We're back to crouching and zigzagging and sudden surges and cutting me off and refusing to go to the bathroom. It's a pretty spectacular reaction, and worrisome for her well-being.

She comes from a comparable climate, so that alone should not be an issue. She now seems to be particularly scared of one area along our walk that we only cross into half the time, and the only possible oddity I can think of is that maybe noise is reverberating off the garages differently in the constant, heavy cloud cover we've had. The severity of the reaction may suggest that something unfortunate happened at the start of the season last year (a housing change perhaps - kept outdoors alone for long periods?). I'll never know but, man, when I see a switch flip like that I know I'm dealing with a specific issue and procedures need to be adjusted.

Don't worry; I already have revised plans despite the lack of history. When working a dog I can feel my head open up the rolodexes of education and experience I have as I find what things to try. A case like Summer can lead to a fair amount of revision as things reveal themselves but I'm versatile enough to be quick on my feet.

I wrote a line on my application for rescue when looking for my first Beardie and used it again while looking for Summer: "I need a Beardie that needs me as much as I need him." Yup, definitely got that again. I am uniquely able to rehabilitate her and she is uniquely able to change my head around, too.

What? Oh, yes, I benefit from more than just her company. I just wrote a post about an organized process I'm designing within my science and even recognized a single strength in myself alongside a self-compliment. That's a ridiculously powerful gift for my Beardie to give me. I would not be the same with a docile, pliant breed. I need this level of difficulty to keep my mind from other things. If we can keep each other from spinnin' our respective wheels we can eventually make 'em turn in unison.

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