Social Skills
Over the weekend, went to a Farmer's Market in downtown Concord on a beautiful and sunny day. It is such a great market and next to State Capitol building with plenty of green space, so plenty of shade to give pups a break. This peaceful photo of pups sitting in the grass was right before an unexpected Cannon blast! Yes, Cannon-to celebrate the bicentennial.
To say it freaked me out and the pups and many other people there, is an understatement. Babies were scared, Moms were covering their ears, it was awful! We have had so little good weather this Spring, there were lots of people (& other dogs) downtown. I had actually checked the community pages to see if there was anything going on, as loud music and loudspeakers is something to plan for pups getting used to. No mention of blasts! And then there was a second one, as we made our way away the long way, from the area. Poor pups and anyone else it scared and took by surprise. Apparently a Veteran had a PTSD episode too, just so sad. Honestly, it really shook me and still is upsetting.
After getting to the car, took the pups to the garden center to get flowers where they seemed to happily explore mud, play, tug and seemed recovered. As they are both in a critical socialization period, my worry is of course for long term affect of such a loud noise, so close.
This morning, I saw the first fallout. :( A large livestock truck came barreling down my hill, sounding much like the cannon. Both pups ran to me and I jollied them but also helped them feel safe-because you can't reinforce fear, you can just provide comfort and try to help them change emotional temperature. Feeling "safe" goes a long way in working on behavior in dogs. In less than a minute they had recovered, but more loud noises and approach games are on the agenda, as we get closer to July 4th too! Even living in the country, we have neighbors who seem to not realize how scary explosives are to dogs, livestock and wild animals-although if Mr Bear decides to stay away, I am Okay with that.
While the pups were hearing from the moment their ears opened-loud opera, Sesame Street, Game of Thrones soundtracks, gunfire, thunderstorm sounds, etc...it is always a process to continue working on social skills with a pup. LOUD is back on the list for the next few weeks for sure! Seeing fear makes me sad, especially after working so hard on brave-but I think they will be ok.
