syrinx

Little Bonnie

A couple of days ago I took little Bonnie out to see my parents in Flamborough, Ontario. Now Bonnie is normally an extremely friendly pup and loves to meet new people. Well it turns out the poor little girl has an intense fear of being given away again.

Bonnie is a rescue dog. When we picked her up she seemed perfectly happy to hop in the car and come home with us. Within a couple of weeks she and Fergus were getting along famously. Bonnie appeared to be very comfortable in her new home.

Since then we've noticed on a couple of occasions that Bonnie seemed a bit nervous when visiting with Susan's mum. We got the impression that she thought we were going to leave her behind. Well of course we didn't, and she has bonded even closer to us.

Then I took her out to see my parents. Susan had to work and so couldn't join us on the visit. It was just me and Bonnie, and it was a relatively long trip - at least from Bonnie's perspective. When we arrived, I brought her to the door but she wouldn't go in! She was very nervous and refused to cross the threshold, continually turning away and straining at the limit of her leash away from the doorway. The poor thing.

Only after I went in would she even consider stepping inside, and even then she stuck to me like glue for the first few minutes. After she got more comfortable and realized I wasn't going to bolt out the door and leave her, she settled down and started enjoying herself. She even started wandering off on her own to explore the new environment.

This just illustrates that even if they don't show it, dogs are always affected by traumatic events such as changing families. Needless to say, we're constantly reassuring her that she's going to be with us forever. Taking her on trips like I did and then bringing her back home will also go a long way toward convincing her she's a permanent part of our family.

tags: dogs stress bonnie traumatic