Friday 13th, walking under ladders, turning the calendar page over too soon, underwear on the wrong way etc etc
Well I get the walking under ladders thing….a health and safety no-brainer if you ask me, but the rest!?…….what are people on….honestly!
Don’t they know the REAL dangers out there? Let me help ….
- DOORWAYS (yikes)
- PLASTIC and WICKER dog beds (give me a blanket on the floor any day of the week)
- WHITE VAN AND ITS MAN (there’s no excuse for them)
- Walking up THAT lane where ONCE it rained on me ( well we all hate rain right???)
- WALKING past THAT tree where ONCE I had to step though a carpet of sweet chestnut shells …..
- WOODEN bridges and steps….OMG my all time worst danger.
The list is endless…the dangers are REAL people listen to me!
We canines (especially us recycled one), sometimes come into your lives with a whole heap of baggage, and while we perceive the ‘ dangers’ as real, it’s not to say that we can’t be incredibly brave and bold and overcome them with your help.
Now as you might have gathered, I am fond of my food and the desire for a tasty tidbit (tiny grains of dry cat food are my preferred bribe) dispensed by an encouraging human is very motivating. Basically it’s simple, we go out, encounter my fear, I pretend to be scared, they patiently encourage me with a convenient supply of treats to help me through and I reward them by achieving the desired outcome!! Apparently this is called counter-conditioning ….This sounds highly scientific to me but I tell you it’s really tasty! …..and I’ll tell you another thing it works so well that I do find myself forgetting about the lane of prickles, bridge of terror etc……..oh well, I guess I’ll have to invent some new ‘fears’ just to keep the treats coming.
And they think they’re in charge!……….
Eddies recommended read of the week if you want to educate your humans on how to help us through fears and phobias properly, read Emma Lee’s brilliant article by clicking below
A bientot
Fearful Dogs ( by Woof Like To Meet)