Puppy's been walked, fed, watered and medicated for the last time today now

It took a good few minutes to convince her to go on her evening stroll and the first few laps were filled with pure anxiety from being able to see clearly for the first time since she was last groomed in March, but she managed to overcome the anxiety and by the time we were half way she was back to her usual cheeky self again.  Tomorrow morning's walk might take a bit of convincing 'cos it's that bit longer but she will hopefully be fine after that.  

 

The way I'm trying to see and understand it is like being in a totally foreign country where you don't understand the vast majority of the language and you certainly don't speak any of it.  For 6 months you go without a hair cut and no way to request it either, so your fringe grows longer and longer which means you can see less and less then all of a sudden, 6 months later, you are taken to a strange car and driven to somewhere you don't remember, spend 2 hours away from everything you've got used to and left alone.

Your fringe gets cut so you can see again, but where are you?  You're then put back into the car and driven back home where everyone is excited to see you again but you have a huge sensory overload after not being able to see clearly for 6 months.  You crawl into your bed and fall asleep for a way to escape the sensory overload for a while.

When you wake up, you are being encouraged to go for a walk but your anxiety is still through the roof.  You trust the people who are trying to encourage you though, so eventually let them put your harness on and take you for a walk.

More sensory overload.

You recognise the smells from your walk that morning, but everything is big and clear and scary so you stick close to the person who is with you for a while.

As you gradually regain your confidence and get on top of your anxiety, you start to enjoy the experience you haven't had for 6 months and slowly build up your confidence again.

You can so do this!

It's still scary, but you remember that it's safe and you know that you'll be getting your tea when you get home too, so you slowly start gaining more and more confidence as the walk continues.  By the time you get home you realise that you achieved it and you're still safe and you'll be getting your food and then you can sleep for the rest of the evening and night to recover from such a scary day.

So proud of you, puppy!