I’ve reached an impasse with the new dog. He reacts to an open car door with stark terror. I knew this from the first day, of course, when I brought him home from the shelter. Since we had a lot of various traumas and adjustments going on, I let the issue of car rides pend for a while.
I planned a series of desensitizing rides, replete with treats, dog parks, and all good things. I thought in time we could break down the wall. Apparently I underestimated the problem.
My pride in my desensitizing program ignored the first, main problem: I’m having a lot of trouble just getting his butt into the car.
I decided to step back and regroup. Forget the happy rides plan. Focus on his reaction to the car and try to ameliorate that.
Fat chance.
We’re getting along well for the most part, and I thought we’d established a bit of trust. Apparently, though, that trust ends at the sight/sound of a car door as far as he is concerned.
I’ll survive the pain if he’s never a go-along dog, but vet trips and such demand at least a minimum of cooperation. That’s one of the reasons I chose a smaller dog, too. But I never counted on sheer panic.
What’s a poor mom to do?