It always amazes me how my dogs react to my emotional state. I have always known, dogs are very sensitive to the emotions of those around them. Every now and then my emotional state is completely out of wack, for whatever reason and my dogs reactions become obvious especially my Siberian Max.
This past week my father was rushed to the ER and thankfully is on the mend but my Border Collie is looking all sad and worried. I am wondering how much of that is due to my fragile state and/or the fact that I have been away a lot this and he hasn't had his usual share of exercise or attention. It doesn't take much to throw Iggy of his game and this is a double whammy.
About 6 years ago we were moving. Anyone who has gone through the buying and selling ordeal know how it stresses a person out. You could say it was the packing that was making him nervous but because we had not sold our original house we did not pack until the very last week and Max started acting weird 2-3 weeks before the move date. Max has always been a reactive, high strung dog. By this time he was 6 years old so he had mellowed and wasn't usually a problem. In the weeks leading up to the move he start guarding things; bones, bed, etc. Not from me or my husband just from anyone else.
The same thing happened when I was pregnant. I had a very bad cold and of course being pregnant couldn't take anything. Again Max starting guarding The couch, food, etc. Just really goes to show how your emotional state affects the emotional state of your dog.
You really have to be aware of your state when dealing with a reactive dog. When Max was very young he was extremely reactive with other dogs. We worked through it and by the time he was 2 years old was reasonably good around other dogs. Meaning he could go to situation with a lot of dogs in close proximity such as a dog show but still couldn't handle a dog in his face. I was at a Walkathon and there were dogs everywhere. Max was with me and was handling it fine. I was having a conversation with someone and they were starting to annoy me. We weren't arguing but there was definitely a discussion happening. All of a sudden Max started to react at dogs 10 feet away that had been fine a few minutes earlier.
This past week my father was rushed to the ER and thankfully is on the mend but my Border Collie is looking all sad and worried. I am wondering how much of that is due to my fragile state and/or the fact that I have been away a lot this and he hasn't had his usual share of exercise or attention. It doesn't take much to throw Iggy of his game and this is a double whammy.
About 6 years ago we were moving. Anyone who has gone through the buying and selling ordeal know how it stresses a person out. You could say it was the packing that was making him nervous but because we had not sold our original house we did not pack until the very last week and Max started acting weird 2-3 weeks before the move date. Max has always been a reactive, high strung dog. By this time he was 6 years old so he had mellowed and wasn't usually a problem. In the weeks leading up to the move he start guarding things; bones, bed, etc. Not from me or my husband just from anyone else.
The same thing happened when I was pregnant. I had a very bad cold and of course being pregnant couldn't take anything. Again Max starting guarding The couch, food, etc. Just really goes to show how your emotional state affects the emotional state of your dog.
You really have to be aware of your state when dealing with a reactive dog. When Max was very young he was extremely reactive with other dogs. We worked through it and by the time he was 2 years old was reasonably good around other dogs. Meaning he could go to situation with a lot of dogs in close proximity such as a dog show but still couldn't handle a dog in his face. I was at a Walkathon and there were dogs everywhere. Max was with me and was handling it fine. I was having a conversation with someone and they were starting to annoy me. We weren't arguing but there was definitely a discussion happening. All of a sudden Max started to react at dogs 10 feet away that had been fine a few minutes earlier.
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