When I take Ziggy out for walks I get a lot of this:
And I've pondered this a lot. Did I get a defective Catahoula who doesn't have any stamina and needs to catch her breath every six blocks? Does she love the feel of the grass on her belly? Is that because the harness chafes?
And on and on. I've thought about it a lot.
And then today, it came to me when she sat for a break instead of laid down because it wasn't a good spot to lay down. I watched how she was looking around, her ears and nose twitching. She's taking an overstimulus break. She is on her own initiative saying, "Hey, I'm feeling overloaded and I need to process which I can't do while we're moving and there's constantly new stimulus. Can we stop here for a minute or two and let me just let my senses catch up with my brain?"
This is not unprecedented. When the trainer said I needed to start cradling her to calm her down and we tried it and it did NOT work, I started to think about what would work, and it's wrapping my arms around her and rubbing her chest. This is what has calmed her through many a stray pedestrian freaking her out, etc. But then she started to seek this out, and it's always the same: her butt touching my right foot, her side leaning against my left knee, and her needing me to touch her with my hands. Three points of contact, and she can calm herself well. She also does it when we're playing fetch - she'll run after the ball or frisbee a few times but then she appears distracted. She's distracting herself intentionally, so that she does not get too worked up. When friends have pushed her to run and catch more, she gets out of control, her prey instinct in overdrive.
And I've pondered this a lot. Did I get a defective Catahoula who doesn't have any stamina and needs to catch her breath every six blocks? Does she love the feel of the grass on her belly? Is that because the harness chafes?
And on and on. I've thought about it a lot.
And then today, it came to me when she sat for a break instead of laid down because it wasn't a good spot to lay down. I watched how she was looking around, her ears and nose twitching. She's taking an overstimulus break. She is on her own initiative saying, "Hey, I'm feeling overloaded and I need to process which I can't do while we're moving and there's constantly new stimulus. Can we stop here for a minute or two and let me just let my senses catch up with my brain?"
This is not unprecedented. When the trainer said I needed to start cradling her to calm her down and we tried it and it did NOT work, I started to think about what would work, and it's wrapping my arms around her and rubbing her chest. This is what has calmed her through many a stray pedestrian freaking her out, etc. But then she started to seek this out, and it's always the same: her butt touching my right foot, her side leaning against my left knee, and her needing me to touch her with my hands. Three points of contact, and she can calm herself well. She also does it when we're playing fetch - she'll run after the ball or frisbee a few times but then she appears distracted. She's distracting herself intentionally, so that she does not get too worked up. When friends have pushed her to run and catch more, she gets out of control, her prey instinct in overdrive.
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