Halloween is upon us and I just walked my dog in the dark for her evening stroll, past an elaborate Halloween-decorated house complete with spooky sounds and visual effects...
Well, that was interesting for sure! First, we got the stop and stare, then we got a short under-the-breath woof, and it showed that my dog needed some time to get acquainted with all the strangeness of the situation.
But no worries, we knew exactly what to do and how to create more confidence!
I pulled out 4 treats and invited my girl to turn with me, away from all the noise and hoopla, and play our most favorite game: Cookie Bowling!
We kept increasing the distance until we were an additional 40 feet away, and I invited her to turn and look at the distractions of the Haunted House again!
She looked and took 3 seconds to observe, then looked at me as if to say: I See it, Now Pay me! Of course, that lovely display of calmness and confidence was promptly rewarded with three more short-distance Cookie Bowls, away from the spooky place!
We turned around again, and she took "the lead," and I followed her. She was ready to sniff around and check it out up close and personal!
There was a static display of tombstones close to the walkway, and she had a great time sniffing around and quickly found all 6 of the little treats that I dropped there when we got close.
She did not want to go too close to the moving ghost that was closer to the house, but neither was I too keen on that, so we left the house and continued our walk with LOTS of sniffing to help her get over the little bit of stress she experienced when she first saw it all!
Our dogs will always tell us what they can and cannot handle and what exposure they are ready for!
Our job as dog guardians and dog lovers is to LISTEN and Assist and Guide!
Had I forced her to go closer while she was in the fearful stage, it would have made a very negative impression and could have possibly damaged our relationship.
True dog love is about listening to your four legged partner!
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