Conquering Her Fears

Our little Henna is plagued with "issues." One of the pitfalls of adopting a rescue with little known background.  We are counted among the lucky that even though her issues are many several, they are not of an aggressive or debilitating nature.  She is, on most levels, an ideal pet.  However, she is petrified of the water.  She runs contentedly along the shore or the edge of the pool watching as others enjoy cooling off on a hot day but don't even think about getting her in on the action.  She bolts for the safety of the house in an instant.  Mistakenly we thought she might enjoy the boat on the condition that she stay dry.  Wrong.  She cowered in fear on the bottom of the boat, shaking uncontrollably and drooling like a leaky faucet.

Last week we I got the bright idea that we should try her on the boat here.  The lake is calm, there is no bouncing hull and she can see out easily through the rail that surrounds the deck.  There is also no rising or falling tide rendering the boat difficult to board at the cycle's extremes.  It's a simple walk- on.  And so we did.   It was time to conquer her fears.

She needed a little nudging to cross the threshold.  (That should be translated as tugging an pulling on her leash and finally dragging her onto the boat.)



I was hopeful, she wasn't cowering in a corner, and once underway she relaxed a little and began to move around the boat giving it a good sniff.  And then the panting started....followed by the shaking.



Yet she moved freely around the boat and seemed content to watch the happenings on the water.  You might even say she looked interested.  When we stopped for gas the shaking stopped and she happily took in the sights, watching the comings and goings of the busy marina with curiosity.



But by the time we arrived back at the safety our dock her tongue had doubled in size and I was afraid we might sink from all the drool.  I have never seen a dog whose tongue would grow so long and large from stress.  She bears a strong resemblance to Gene Simmons, don't ya think?



All in all I would say it was a successful first outing.

Especially if you're a KISS fan.

Link to Project 365.