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stormdogAnother stressful dog situation today happened with the same place I couldn't find the key last time. I started walking with the two dogs, but one of them was continually stopping to lick at a foreleg. I investigated and found that the stretch fabric shirt thing he was wearing was too tight around that leg and was rubbing his skin raw. I tried to adjust the position somehow, but the dog got defensive when I touched around there; and understandably so!
This is just a ten minute "potty-break" walk, so you'd think it'd be quick. I hope it will be in the future. Today, after getting back inside, I spent a while with the dog in question. I got the shirt off and looked at his foreleg, which seemed in good shape; just irritated where the sleeve end had been. So I tore the hole open just slightly at a seam and tried to put it back on. The dog was opposed to this idea and made his opposition clear. I spent fifteen minutes or so alternating between trying to get the shirt on the dog and calming him down when he got too agitated with me. I got several bites on my fingers which, while not of the actively trying to do damage variety, were definitely warnings, not play bites. But I finally got the shirt back on him and put him in his crate to calm down. Before closing it up, I leaned in close and got lots of kisses from him, so I don't think he holds a grudge.
I'm anxious that I did something wrong. That I misinterpreted the dog's behavior, or that the shirt wasn't actually too tight, or that the owner will be upset that I tore the hole bigger, or will be offended that I talked about the problem in my report card (I did not mention that I enlarged the hole; just that I 'readjusted' the shirt). All sorts of stuff to worry about. But I believe I did the right thing with the information available. And as Danae said, the worst thing that could likely happen is that I'll lose this recurring job. I can live with that.
I've had continual low-grade anxiety as I get used to all this new stuff, and incidents like this don't help matters. I hope it gets better as I go along and that this will be a growth process for me.
This is just a ten minute "potty-break" walk, so you'd think it'd be quick. I hope it will be in the future. Today, after getting back inside, I spent a while with the dog in question. I got the shirt off and looked at his foreleg, which seemed in good shape; just irritated where the sleeve end had been. So I tore the hole open just slightly at a seam and tried to put it back on. The dog was opposed to this idea and made his opposition clear. I spent fifteen minutes or so alternating between trying to get the shirt on the dog and calming him down when he got too agitated with me. I got several bites on my fingers which, while not of the actively trying to do damage variety, were definitely warnings, not play bites. But I finally got the shirt back on him and put him in his crate to calm down. Before closing it up, I leaned in close and got lots of kisses from him, so I don't think he holds a grudge.
I'm anxious that I did something wrong. That I misinterpreted the dog's behavior, or that the shirt wasn't actually too tight, or that the owner will be upset that I tore the hole bigger, or will be offended that I talked about the problem in my report card (I did not mention that I enlarged the hole; just that I 'readjusted' the shirt). All sorts of stuff to worry about. But I believe I did the right thing with the information available. And as Danae said, the worst thing that could likely happen is that I'll lose this recurring job. I can live with that.
I've had continual low-grade anxiety as I get used to all this new stuff, and incidents like this don't help matters. I hope it gets better as I go along and that this will be a growth process for me.
