Fiona was in the show today and didn't do well. She won her class the other day and Abs won it on the day she showed but today was a stress-filled day.It started before the show and could have ended up to be a tragedy. I want to explain as this was an accident that I didn't foresee.
I have an old laundry tub that I bath the dogs in and have been doing so for years. Today, Fiona was struggling and ended up getting a foot stuck in the drain. It's one of the scariest things to occur as you do not know what to do at first. You must calm down first and you couldn't handle it alone. It tells me that I not only need a phone with me especially when I am alone but I also need a tool kit.
I screamed for Nathan and he came running. Our son came running as well.
Fiona was frightened and was screaming which added to the stress level. Her foot was solidly stuck. We tried putting conditioner down the drain and massaging her foot but it was stuck tight. She kept struggling and we kept trying to calm her down and hold her in place to eliminate serious damage to the foot.
Nathan used his head and sent our son to get tools to break the drain. We thought one side would open it up to allow her foot to come out but no, it took 4 sides broken to release the foot. During this time she had shampoo on that had started to dry in and was full of mats but initially that was not even a concern. We were worried about her being able to stand on her foot. I massaged the area and she didn't flinch so a good sign and then placed her on the floor to see if she could walk. Yep, all was looking good.
My next thoughts that randomly went through my head was, she's full of mats - now what? The sink is broken - now how to finish this. What if she needs an operation etc. Maybe we shouldn't show her but if we don't, it's like getting thrown off a horse and when that happens, you have to just do it.
Gad, I didn't realize the depth of my love for my dogs. Sure, I love them but it takes a fear like this to tap the true depth of those feelings. I think I would have fallen apart if she had been in pain and I thought she was but what I was hearing was fear cries. It's not something I foreseen. I used that basin for years without an issue. But still - to get past something like that...well it would be hard.
I got her ready for the show in 45 minutes when it usually takes me 90 minutes each dog. Adrenaline, mats and all is a crazy thing.
But - Fiona felt the stress. She refused treats from Daddy at the show. She slept all the way to the show and all the way back from the show. She was relying on me as I believe she saw me as the one that helped her when she was in trouble.
So now I will spend my time stepping back and letting Nathan become that person again. He's already working his magic. It's important for the handler and dog to connect as if no one else exists.
The point is, how you are feeling - how they are feeling affects everything for your dog. She wouldn't eat. She didn't scat and get cheeky as she usually does. She couldn't stay focused and she had STEAK and LIVER - her faves. But stress does crazy things to you AND your dog.
Compare it to a fight you just had with someone you love and and they remain angry at you but you don't understand it. They remain angry and suddenly you own their emotion by allowing it to get you down to that place they are. Well, your dog does this naturally. What you feel, they feel. They are the most intuitive beings.
The moral of this vent...
I think I would have demolished the sink entirely to save her. But, I will never be in the laundry room again without a phone. Nor will I ever have an old laundry sink with an opening wide enough to catch their feet. I will recognize that I am still upset after it is over as I have allowed my fear to sit and stay with me. This will affect my dog and I would have been better off doing anything to get past it but I did do the right thing making her get on that horse again per se.
I will have yet another horse for Fiona to get back on - 'the sink' but I will do that after a new one is in sooner than later to make sure it doesn't become an imprint that remains.
Fears are to be dealt with via slow conditioning. But what WE feel affects our dogs. We can't always control it but if we can remember that, it may minimize the depth of our emotional state.
Now on to the next day - please. :-(
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