New Places

Sometimes I have a really hard time going new places. When mom gets out the leashes to go somewhere- it's unbelievable how different me and my brother, Cohen, respond. Cohen gets super excited! He starts running in circles, barking, and jumping up and down. He's thrilled he gets to go on a new adventure. Me? My tail goes between my legs, my tummy starts to get nervous, and my mind starts to race. A million and a half questions run through my mind: where are we going? who will be there? will it be safe? will I be safe? will I get anxious? Will people notice I'm anxious? What if I act weird? What if new dog friends/humans don't like me? What if, what if, what if...

So, my brain says, "Stay home!!!!!!!! It's safer!!!!!"

Can anyone else relate?

Mom tells me the more I give into my anxiety, the worse it will get. She says the more I avoid things I'm anxious about, the more anxious I'll get about them. If I face them head on slowly and with support, my brain gets used to new places/things (she calls it desensitization- I don't know what that means, just sounds like a fancy word for "cool as a cucumber.")

She said as someone that loves me, she wants to shelter me from things I'm scared of, but knows that will only make me more afraid of those things.So, she tries to support me in stepping out of my comfort zone. It sounds really tough to be a dog mom.

There's a fun breathing technique I've learned that helps me feel more calm when I'm nervous. I'll teach you that one in my next post "control your breath, control your anxiety."