Get Over Yourself

Just got back from taking Maggie to PetSmart for an outing. She's been in our car three times now. Once to the vet, which was uneventful. Once with Shane to agility class. She threw up in the backseat as we rounded the corner near our house on the way home. Today, she threw up in the backseat as we pulled into the driveway. Almost home! Dammit. This time she vomited down the side of the seat so it was everywhere. Fun. I guess we have to get out more.

I've caught myself calling Shane "Jake" now and then. Shane's demeanor has changed since Maggie arrived. He seems so much more like Jake now. Maggie is bullying him the same way Shane bullied Jake. Except this time Shane engages Maggie in play where Jake would just ignore him.

Trying to stay motivated with Shane's training now that we've quit competing. I tell myself that maybe someday we can compete again, so keep training.

A light bulb went on last night. I joined a Yahoo group re: aggressive dogs and the moderator kept mentioning Control Unleashed. I dug the book out and read some passages I had highlighted last year when I first read the book.

"A reactive dog will rush toward something or someone that he is uncertain about, barking, lunging, growling, and making a big display. People sometimes perceive reactive behavior as aggression, but a reactive dog is not rushing in to do damage; he is attempting to assess the threat level of a given situation."

"Reactive dogs are anxious, and their response is intense because they are freaking out."

I had planned on taking Shane to Triple Crown this weekend to work on his desensitization around agility trials. I managed to talk myself out of going Friday afternoon because it was so hot and I had errands to run. I got up early today, but couldn't bring myself to go. I became very anxious and all the talk in my head was not helping. "That's the aggressive dog." "She doesn't know how to manage that dog." "Keep away from her and that crazy dog." I tried to tell myself to get over myself, but it wasn't working.

At lunch today while I was explaining all this to Frank, everything became very clear. I'm anxious and telling me not to be anxious does not work. Correcting Shane for his behavior doesn't work because you can't tell an anxious person to not be anxious. That's what I'm learning with Janice. How to make Shane more comfortable so he does not become anxious. Now I have to figure out what makes me less anxious. The knowledge that we were reported to USDAA doesn't help.