The Beloved Grind
Ok….I am halfway back to myself. Thank you Adrienne. Super happy to have my husband home helping me. Usually when I’m sick I have no choice but to get up and work. We just have so many animals and children relying on us daily. This time with Doug retired I was actually able to look after myself properly and I am super happy about that. After feeling so down and out I took a little more time with my animals this am. I’ve been missing them. The girls (chickens-laying hens only) got extra treats, the ducks got treats also and lots of pets from Doug. (These ducks were raised in our bedroom in our bathtub so are very friendly), and cleaned out and put new straw down for the horses in their shelter. Of course they got lots of extra treats and hugs today also.
When on left and Seven(kids horse) on right.
Next I am off to do some rehab training with a big Mastiff/Boxer cross dog. He has been getting more and more dog aggressive after being attacked by another dog. The owner is pregnant and is now scared to walk him. She figures he is overly protective of her and baby and he is way too strong to handle safely. She will bring him here and I will do an assessment and then do my best to figure out what he needs to feel safe and not need to lash out. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes and sometimes it takes a lot longer. Most often it is the owner that needs the work more so than the dog and it usually takes a bit for the owner to understand that and make changes. Maybe they aren’t “alpha” enough around the dog and so the dog doesn’t feel safe or have anyone to look up to, maybe they are panicking when a dog approaches and giving the dog the message that there is a problem before hand, maybe they are they unsure of themselves and the dog is following suit and so on. This is one of my most favorite things about my job. It is challenging but very rewarding to see the dog and owner feel more sure of themselves and improve. I am glad to be a part of the solution and I am glad to be able to give people hope. The rest of my day will be cleaning, throwing the ball, bathing dogs, trimming nails, wrapping Christmas presents (I am organized this year for the first time in my life), taking Kadie to Choir practice, then gymnastics and Karson to Kickboxing. I will take time to make sure I am well rested and healing. Not to worry. 🙂
