Our little chap is now six months old and looking very grown-up. He is somewhat lacking in the bravery department (on seeing some ducks in the garden, he hid behind the sofa!!) and has to be persuaded that the 'big wide world' outside his garden is really not that bad. He goes for walks in the fields around us with great joy and confidence, but we were somewhat concerned that his 'big adventure' may have to be curtailed when he refused to go in the car. Up until recently, we have been picking him up and putting him in a crate in the back of the car. However, as he has outgrown the crate and is too heavy to pick up we thought it was time for him to start getting into the back of the car. He was having none of it and obviously very unhappy about the prospect - so time to look in the 'expert' books (remember, I bought 5 of them before Barney arrived) to see what they suggested. We started off with sitting on the tailgate with him in the back having a game and cuddle (positive re-enforcement the books said) - (barking mad said my neighbours on seeing me spending my afternoons in the back of the car!!!!). We then progressed to having lunch (Barney that is) in the back of the car (he thought this was fun - not so sure I did), but as soon as we went to close the tailgate he was off like a scared rabbit. We began to fear that we would never get him to accept the car until a moment of inspiration, courtesy of 'Nanna Meow', 'try putting him on the back seat next to you'. Yes! it worked - he was still unsure, but we took him out to Herstmonceux Castle for a lovely walk in celebration. Each day we go out in the car and he is now eager to go (though very much has to be helped in). Although it is only April, it has been so warm and it's wonderful to walk over dry fields and in woods covered in bluebells - Barney loves these walks, but still stays close which is lovely.
1 - It's incredible how fast he grows. Now that he's "transportable" and that he will be discovering lots of new territories I'm sure he will also find his brave side. Greetings from Switzerland, Stephan (Comment this)
2 - Stephan, Hi, thanks for your comment - I have only just found it (not very up on the technical side of this blog-writing!!!). Yes, Barney really is getting to be a 'big boy' - though, fortunately, he seems to understand that he has to be gentle around the 'patient', (who is currently asleep, but recovering really well). lots of love Linda (Comment this)
Written by:
rainbow
at 2007/04/25 - 14:42:29
in reply to: 1
3 - Hi Linda. He's apparently not only a big, but also a kind and empathetic dog. Lots of love from the other blog-writing "nerd" (quote from your patient) (Comment this)
Our little chap is now six months old and looking very grown-up. He is somewhat lacking in the bravery department (on seeing some ducks in the garden, he hid behind the sofa!!) and has to be persuaded that the 'big wide world' outside his garden is really not that bad. He goes for walks in the fields around us with great joy and confidence, but we were somewhat concerned that his 'big adventure' may have to be curtailed when he refused to go in the car. Up until recently, we have been picking him up and putting him in a crate in the back of the car. However, as he has outgrown the crate and is too heavy to pick up we thought it was time for him to start getting into the back of the car. He was having none of it and obviously very unhappy about the prospect - so time to look in the 'expert' books (remember, I bought 5 of them before Barney arrived) to see what they suggested. We started off with sitting on the tailgate with him in the back having a game and cuddle (positive re-enforcement the books said) - (barking mad said my neighbours on seeing me spending my afternoons in the back of the car!!!!). We then progressed to having lunch (Barney that is) in the back of the car (he thought this was fun - not so sure I did), but as soon as we went to close the tailgate he was off like a scared rabbit. We began to fear that we would never get him to accept the car until a moment of inspiration, courtesy of 'Nanna Meow', 'try putting him on the back seat next to you'. Yes! it worked - he was still unsure, but we took him out to Herstmonceux Castle for a lovely walk in celebration. Each day we go out in the car and he is now eager to go (though very much has to be helped in). Although it is only April, it has been so warm and it's wonderful to walk over dry fields and in woods covered in bluebells - Barney loves these walks, but still stays close which is lovely.
