Stress

Howdy blogaroos. Squirmy here – ready to go to day 3 of boot camp. Phew! I’ve survived the first two. We did lots of fun exercises with heeling and truth be told…I like to heel. That’s because I like action stuff. Stays? Boring. Heeling? Yee haw – I’m all over it. PLUS the Warden used a secret weapon to reward me when I did a great job. Smoked Gouda. Seriously. She was searching through the fridge for something to use for treats and she figured she’d try that. BINGO. Even better than cheese strings. Even better than freeze dried liver. What can I say – I have good taste. Plus are cheese strings really cheese? Not that I’ll turn it down – but trust me – the smoked Gouda is better.

After the first day of camp, some folks said their dogs were tired out when they went home. That’s what the Warden was hoping for. Actually- praying for. Nope. I was raring to go when we got home. She said she has yet to EVER see me really, really tired. And trust me – it’s not for lack of trying! Personally, I could go to boot camp every day!

All of my obedience practice is carried out so that one day, I’ll be able to compete. I am learning what I need to do. And I’m slowly getting there. BUT – I have one BIG problem holding me back. The Warden. She gets VERY nervous when she competes. As if her life depends on us doing well. I mean I could see if there was like a million dollar prize – but hello- no such luck.

Now this article talks about what happens when humans get stressed…

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220929133350.htm

Yup. We dogs can smell stress. So. When we step in that obedience ring and we smell stress- well guess what? It only stands to reason that we either get stressed too – or try to figure out why our human is stressed. So all that practice goes haywire.

If anyone has suggestions on how to destress the Warden – besides drugs and alcohol – let me know!

OK. Gotta go get ready. She better bring the Gouda.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.