Kody ran into a bit of a wall with walking. The dog whisperer approach really helped in many different ways, but once he got too excited, it took too much work to keep him back. It was just too much jerking and no amount of calm on my part would help. When a dog is jerking your arm every second, believe me, you won’t stay calm for long. So I would hold the leash behind my back with both hands to keep him under control. But even that was tedious.
So I decided to take my friend Pat’s advice and a get a Gentle Leader dog harness. It holds the connection to the leash on their chest so if they pull it turns them sideways or even backward. It works great. But today is the first day of use and he definitely is protesting by barking and snarling, it’s not pretty. But I have gentle ways of dealing with this too, and in time, it will pass
But I feel like being in public with Kody is getting increasingly difficult. And what’s weird is that statistically unlikely sequences of events keep happening on a daily basis resulting in huge frustration on my part. It’s like proof that God exists and his sole purpose is to torture me.
Today we went for a second short walk at Ardmore Park to give Kody another quick chance to get used to the harness. To try to make it brief as possible here is what happened in list format:
- As we get to the park I feel the need to go to the bathroom even though I just went right before we left the house. No problem this is a short walk.
- We get out of the car, Kody throws a tantrum worthy of an academy award. People stare, no problem, I knew this would happen. Calm him and continue on, tantrums every five feet.
- About 50 feet in, Kody has calmed down mostly and seems to be having a good time. My stress level lowers and we have a good walk.
- We loop around to the final 50 feet back to the car and I see a woman is playing with her two small white dogs off leash on the lawn. Stress level back up, but no problem, I get Kody within view and wait.
- The woman takes the cue and puts her dogs on leash so we can pass. Stress level down a little.
- When we get close enough, Kody throws a major tantrum. Stress level way up. But no problem, I walk him by quickly to where he’s calm. During a break in the barking I explain how it’s his first day on a no pull harness. I doubt she can hear me.
- I get Kody far enough down the path to where he’s calm again, and take this opportunity to relax. But lady decides she needs to leave too and apparently right now, so she’s following us! After about a second and a half break Kody is barking again. Stress level up, brain suffereing from overstimulation.
- Lady is walking amazingly fast toward us even though I would think anyone would want to be as far away as possible. I quickly try to go to the car.
- I have to stop because a car is trying to park near us. But the car just has its signal on and is blocking traffic behind it even though all it has to do is pull to the right for easy non-parallel parking.
- Somehow my clogged brain determines it is safe to go because the car is taking too long, but also determines when the car does park it will unleash a stream of traffic driving right by my car and the door I have to let Kody into. I hope people will notice my dog and my open door.
- Kody, who has probably been barking this entire time, jumps in the car. Good.
- I try to get the harness off before sending him into his crate but somehow he has done something to get it configured in the oddest way I can imagine where it is very very difficult to get off of him.
- As I’m trying, a little boy pops out of nowhere right next to me asking “Hey can we touch your dog?” Not pet mind you, touch. And I am so busy I don’t even see the kid, or if there really is more than one.
- I initially reply calmly, “Maybe, I just have to get this harness off.” What was I thinking? I’m still in denial about how bad the situation really is, like I said, my brain is clogged with input.
- Kody is not at all into this addition to our group, barks madly, and I say, “You know what, he’s not in a good mood so not today.”
- Kody runs into his crate.
- I still hadn’t removed the harness, but need to as he will chew clean through it if I don’t and I just paid $27 for it.
- I pull Kody out of his crate, somehow manage to get the Rubik’s Cube of a harness off of him, and he runs back into his crate.
- I get in the front seat of the car, and my stress level is so high, and my brain is so clogged that I almost can’t even drive.
These things happen fairly often in my life now. And I adjust to each event, but the universe always manages to take it to the next level. My life is not bad, by any means, but this is just incredibly frustrating. After a situation like this, you just feel so abused and worn out. I’m bitterly jealous of people whose dogs are just happy go lucky and don’t have barks that can shatter your bones.