Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Close to home

Zorro is still afraid to venture far from the house. When he does go out, he cowers and stares at the sky. Denny got him to the end of the block this morning, but when he got to the park, he froze and turned around. He spent most of yesterday evening in the bathtub, which he has clearly identified as a safe place.
I got some good advice from BC owners on a border collie message board who have dealt with similar quirky behavior. They advised against praising or reassuring him when he reacts that way, because that's affirming his fears. One suggested that I try to "jolly him out of it" by continuing to walk forward until he follows. That poster must have a much smaller border collie: Zorro is 60 pounds of willfulness.
Another poster said her rescue dog decided, after five weeks with her, that a ceiling fixture was a threat and barked at it for four hours straight. So it could be worse.

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