FOMO

George is surprisingly curious for a fearful dog (curious George!).

He always has to see what is going on and always has his nose in everyone's business.

I can't open a package without George sticking his nose deep inside the wrapping.

He is constantly sticking his nose against the next door fence if he hears a tiny noise.

There used to be a small gap there which he could see through. I blocked it off when his reactivity started but he still pokes his nose against the place where the gap used to be 😆 There used to be a dog he liked next door and he likes the neighbour so it's not surprising.

It's perhaps also not surprising that he needs to always see what is going on. As an anxious soul, I think he needs to see and understand to feel OK. He has to investigate every noise.

We are working on continued calm and relaxation but it is a work in progress.

And of course, his separation anxiety means he can't bear to be left alone. FOMO at the extreme end.

My FOMO relates to the isolation of caring for a reactive dog with separation anxiety, and the adjustment of my expectations when I realised my dream is not what I expected.

I think I mostly have that under control. But I still feel a lot of FOMO for some specific events.

A local cavoodle group meet once a month quite near to where we live. I look at all the photos and videos and feel FOMO hard! We can't even go to that lovely park let alone when a group of dogs is intentionally meeting.

None of those cavoodles look anxious. I look at them all having such a fun time.

We used to go on local group walks. I loved it as we got to meet new people and explore new places. George seemed to do OK.

When we met with the vet behaviourist, she mentioned that given George's high levels of anxiety, he probably wasn't doing as well as I thought. He was probably shutting down a bit.

So I stopped those walks. It would be hard to reintroduce them now. I often wonder if I did the right thing.

I feel sad that George and I don't get to experience the local cavoodle meet-ups and the group walks. They all look like they're having so much fun.

I have to remind myself that FOMO is normal but we are who we are. I need to meet George where he is, not some made-up dog I had imagined in my head.

It might not look like what I expected but we can have a great life too. I need to appreciate what we can do, and stop focusing on what we can't. It's a work in progress.