Airedale Mia wakes up each day a bit muddled.
Her owner, you see, had a bad hair day on Wednesday. And last week, the car needed a $600 repair. And the week before, well, that was the holidays.
Mia, having no car or calendar or hairdo concerns, was at a loss to comprehend why her owner acted so distressingly different from one day to the next.
Sometimes her owner was delighted to see her, cooed endearments at her, and gave her treats for no reason at all.
And then, there were THOSE days.
Mia’s owner would yell at her in such loud, withering tones that Mia would slink away, ears low and tail tucked.
The lovely routine of Mia’s life would be upended. The dog, not knowing what to expect, or what was expected of her, could not respond to the commands she knew so well.
This angered her owner even more.
It didn’t take long for Mia to anticipate the worst every single day. Alert for any sign that her owner might be upset or angry, Mia would run away when called, lie down and expose her belly when asked to sit, and began a nervous – and irritating – habit of licking her toes over and over and over.
Dogs, and humans, crave routine. They, and we, want to know what to expect. For example, imagine that the post office delivered the mail whenever they felt like it. Or that some days, a green light meant stop instead of go. Consistency makes us – and dogs – feel safe and secure. And when we feel safe, we can relax. We are less stressed. And so are our dogs.
Yes, we all have bad days. Dogs do, too. Try not to allow your off-kilter moments to overwhelm you – or your dog.
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