Bad morning Friday. We put Zorro in the Subaru to take him to day care, and as soon as he saw the moon through the car window, he lost it. Even nipped me when I tried to subdue him. I did manage to keep him under control for the rest of the ride, basically by keeping him in a lie-down until we reached our destination.
Later that morning, I had an opportunity to interview Patricia McConnell, an animal behaviorist and author of "The Other End of the Leash." She was so easy to talk to that I couldn't resist telling her about Zorro. She was both intrigued and sympathetic. She offered a couple of suggestions: she said we could try letting him look at the moon and rewarding him with a treat for not barking. For the car, she suggested something called a "calming cap," which isn't a blindfold but does restrict what a dog can see. It's worth a try.
But here's the best part: she told me it's perfectly OK to cover the windows when the moon is up. "Trainers do that all the time!" she said. She is my hero.
After Friday's tantrum, we had a great weekend: lots of walks and no moon to worry about on the way home.
Here's a link to the feature I wrote on Dogtopia, which is where Zorro goes to day care.
http://bit.ly/BeSGL
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