I took Teddy out for a walk which, as some of you may know, is a monumental task due to his anxiety. However, he walked like a champ today! In addition, a very nice poodle met up with him and he didn't bark at this poodle or do anything embarrassing or loud!
However, the owners of the poodle then allowed their other 2 dogs (which were much bigger than this poodle and about 3x the size of Teddy) jump all over me and Teddy. As a result, I had to sweep Teddy up into my arms, thus, ending his good behavior. I had to remove him from three overly excited (but sweet) dogs because Teddy was on a leash and these weren't. Because Teddy wanted to engage, he kept getting tangled in the leash whilst these three dogs were tackling him and so I feared for his safety. Well, Teddy obviously thought there was a threat, so his whole demeanor changed after that and he barked at the dogs and the owners. Clearly, he was scared because he would bark and hide behind my legs when I sat him down again and went from friendly to very defensive and paranoid.
Anyway, I don't know if I did the right thing as far as his anxiety goes i.e. making him think there was something to fear...but I was just so worried he'd get tangled up in the leash and then trampled or bitten...I dunno...
Also, the guy says to me, "So, that's a Yorkie and a....?" Well, okay, Teddy looked a little maniacal. After all, the grass was wet and he's due for a groom. I said, "Just Yorkie.." The man replied, "Oh, he's very small." Yeah, I know.... THIS IS WHY I WOULD PREFER YOUR THREE DOGS DO NOT JUMP ON HIM.
Anyway, point of the story is:
1. Teddy is clearly improving as far as social skills
2. Teddy is clearly improving as far as anxiety (could be a fluke - we'll see)
3. Teddy is CLEARLY a spitting image of all pedigree show dogs (see pics below - Teddy on left AND add sarcasm here..) I should be offended, I think (?), because as you can see, Teddy looked EXACTLY like the dog on the right this morning! I spent exactly 4 minutes on his PONYTAIL to get him into show condition! How dare you question his pedigree you unseemly man!
