For the first time in months and months, I took my two dogs for a walk, one at a time. They cannot go together because the young one goes bonkers at the sight of another dog and she feels backed by Chucho, the old guy. Those months ago when I made the mistake of taking them together, they managed to knock me down in front of a fenced yard filled with small yapping dogs.
That is unfair, it was the young dog, Pecas, whose leaping and twisting while barking knocked me over. Realizing that taking them both was simply undoable, I took Chucho home and took Pecas by herself. With no backup, she revealed that she is terrified of the street. That made her quite obedient since she kept close to me on a very short leash.
But of course, with no help at all, I managed to trip on the sidewalk and crash to the ground. There were a couple of people around, but they weren't about to approach me. I had a dog and that stopped any aid I might have gotten. I was not injured, actually, but it took me a long time to right myself. It frightened Pecas too, what was I doing on the ground like that, so suddenly??
Then came the diagnosis of a labral cyst, which got worse during the observation weeks, and an x-ray showed that another part of my hip was threatening to become bone on bone. Thus the total hip replacement which imposed a period of almost no activity, which in turn triggered once more a raging fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
But today that ended, as far as the dogs are concerned. Yes, one city block felt like a marathon, yes, I was weak, sore, and aching, and yes, I wondered if I was going to have a heart attack. But we made it, one dog at a time.
However, other interesting matters had to be sorted first. Pecas can be without Chucho for a bit, and without me if she is with Chucho, but she can't be without us both. I had to convince my husband that he would have to undergo Peca's howling and barking because I was going to take Chucho first. He deserves it, he seems depressed and had just spent the night trembling through a thunderstorm.
Pecas went into her cage, which she loves, and I left with Chucho. I think the noise inside the house probably registered on the Richter scale, but when we returned after a very short walk, Pecas was quiet. Her walk was tense and challenging. She hates the street, and we saw three border collies on leashes, which sent her into a crescendo of howling and barking. But we made it, and I let her stop any time to sniff the trees and grass. Her attention span on the walks is so captured by fear that I couldn't teach her the "left" order when I changed directions. Inside the house, she learns things I never taught her, but outdoors terror takes over her mind. It's going to be a long road, but we will try anyway.
There is a lesson her for all of us and any dog owner or parent should learn it immediately. You do not trick children or dogs. You don't pretend. You don't try to save yourself bother by deceiving a child or a dog. You don't leave a dog in the back yard so you can sneak off with another one; your yarded dog will know about it, and it will never trust you or the back yard again. Children and dogs can absorb the facts of life if you let them.
A dog will learn that you will come home again. It will learn to take turns and love it. It will adore you as a result. It might forgive you if you try to deceive it if you undo the harm.
A child may never trust you again. Be careful. Be kind.
