Everyday I am learning something new about having a rescue dog live with us. I think the case with Indy is she has multiple factors impacting her ability to cope. One she’s a rescue and I don’t think her previous life was very good and two the hooman she bonded with was required to leave her for several months; hence why we are taking her in. Of course it’s not ideal and certainly an adjustment for both her and us, but beyond the antics, she is loved.
Day 9
It’s been nearly a week and a half that Indy has been living with us. Overall, it’s not been too bad. We’ve had a couple of adjustments to make regarding sleeping arrangements and a minor incident with a fence but we are getting there. While roaming the property and inside the house, she listens quite well and is a good doggie. I decided it was time to start venturing out with her and expand our walking environment.
On Wednesdays, I typically take my grandson swimming but this Wednesday I was tired and still had to walk Indy, so instead Tristan agreed that taking the dog for a walk would be just as much fun! So I piled Indy into the car and off we went. Her behavior in the car was pretty typical for a dog, she would sit or lay down for brief moments but mainly stood and poked her head out the window, she seemed super happy for the outing!
As we arrived at our destination, I could not have anticipated what would happen next! Yes, she was excited to get out of the car but I underestimated her!! One click of the hatchback and her head was protruding out the bottom of the hatch, I was now stuck with her half in/half out and no way to control her. Her excitement continue to build and she became forceful on the door. If I close the door, I squish her neck/head, if I open the door she’ll jump out and I don’t know what will happen from there. At this point she’s not listening or hearing my commands to sit or stay, she’s hyper focused on getting out of the car. In hindsight, I feel that she might have thought the car ride was to take her home and that we would find her master, if we could just get out of the darn car. She finally overpowered me, remember she’s 92 lbs, and was able to slip out of the car.
The next thing I new she was running all over the neighborhood, up the sidewalk and across the street. Thank goodness it was a park area and cars were moving slowly as she jetted out in front of them. The looks I was getting from drivers and pedestrians demonstrated a judgmental attitude of “control your animal”, if only they knew…
What seemed like a very long time, but was probably about 10 minutes, I was finally able to wrangle the dog and get her back to the car. I literally had to lasso her, calling her, and trying to get near her to pet her was definitely a no go. I was told that if I showed anger she wouldn’t come, so I had kept the calling light and fun, like we were going on an adventure but that was unsuccessful. I was terrified that she would run out in front of a car that couldn’t stop, or that she would just keep running; how would/could I explain that!
We did get our walk in, and the ride home was uneventful. Once home, I tethered her to the back seat of the car and we practiced sitting and waiting before we were allowed to jump out. Hopefully, this new routine is rememberers for next time. I know I’ll never forget it!
Do you have any suggestions about how to help this doggo learn new routines?
“I think I hurt my shoulder” Doggie Momma
Trudi
The Nomad Nightingale 