It's been another week packed with challenges.
George had another familiarisation day at the special needs boarding place. He did not want to go in and screamed when I left, despite the additional 'stressful events' medication.
When I arrived to pick him up, a little sausage dog called Derek came running out barking. I was quite pleased that George is not the only noisy one! And I loved the name Derek.
The owner said George did "good". She said they are just giving him lots of space and interacting around him, and slowly introducing him to the other dogs. I was so relieved. That is perfect and just what he needs.
She looked at him very fondly when she was talking. She said she had given him a "little snack". He didn't eat his dinner until 9pm so I'm not sure how little the snack was 😆
So I was feeling a lot better about the situation.
The next day we went to one of our favourite Sniffspots. Unfortunately, there was some sheepdog training taking place in the field next door! We managed to get past without too much drama.
Somehow, I lost George's bright yellow "I need space" leash. Unfortunately, it hasn't turned up. So we tried a yellow "I'm nervous" vest for his next outing.
We went on a walk at the cemetery with my friend and her dog. Despite being a sunny winter's day, it was surprisingly quiet. I'm not sure whether the vest helped with people giving us space but George did pretty well.
At daycare drop-off, we park around the corner and wait for it to be quiet before going in. One morning this week, my friend saw my car and walked around the corner to talk to us.
George was going crazy - barking and jumping at the windows. I opened the door so he could see who it was but that made it worse. He shrank away and then continued to bark aggressively.
I felt really bad. I felt bad that my friend and I couldn't have a simple chat without drama. I felt disappointed that he reacted that way to someone he knows very well and is very comfortable with. I felt bad that my friend had to deal with that.
But mostly I felt bad that I got it wrong. I didn't advocate for George. I didn't give him space when he was clearly telling me he needed it. I shouldn't have opened the door and we should have moved away.
It was an important lesson for me about context - if he is in the car and people approach, he feels trapped and the reactions are intensified. It didn't matter if he knew the person - she hadn't approached us in that place before. He was too over-threshold to even think about whether he knew her.
A lesson learned.
The next day, poor George had to have a groom. We were circling the car park for ages, diving into bushes and behind cars, waiting for a break to go in. On pick up, it was very busy again. He was barking and lunging in the car park and I could feel everyone looking at us.
I'm quite good at not letting the judgemental stares get to me nowadays but that day was tough.
Then he had another familiarisation day at the boarding place. It had been a challenging week so far. When we arrived and saw the owner, his little tail started wagging. When I left, he made one tiny cry then toddled in without any drama.
I was amazed. It just goes to show that with time and patience, and people approaching things in the right way, he can adapt and learn to settle in.
Of course I am still stressed about his longer stay but I am feeling a lot more positive than I was two weeks ago!
It was another challenging week for a little anxious soul.