A Hard Rain
September 28th, 2008
Filed in: Uncategorized
Oh, Bodie.
Bodie’s has an unusual issue. He hates hates hates windshield wipers. Bodie’s person works at a local vet clinic - one that happens to send a fair number of new clients my way - so I was more than happy to stop by one sunny (thankfully) afternoon to help out.
We had an audience as we began working in the back parking lot … seems Bodie’s car-based freak outs were legendary around the office.
“Wait till you see it!” they crowed.
“Oh, but I don’t want to,” I replied.
Although I’m sure it would have been entertaining to witness Bodie in kill-or-be-killed mode, I made sure that we kept him low key for the entire session. Once a dog tips over into extreme reactivity, all hope of progress is lost. That adrenaline coursing through the body short circuits the ability to process anything other than fight or flight … think about it; would you be able to learn a new skill after being confronted by something unnerving or scary? “Ok, the masked intruder is gone now. Time to memorize the Gettysburg Address!”
We took it very slow with Bodie … got him used to getting in and out of the car (often a freak-out trigger), got him comfortable with the usual sights and sounds of car travel (ditto) and made sure to reward him with hot dogs for keeping his cool. I wanted Bodie to think, “This car stuff is easy! I get hot dogs for doing nothin’!”
We had a very successful first lesson … “freaky Bodie” did not make an appearance!
