Poconos Post #2, and part I of the June 5 story.
It was a really fun thing to watch, although it was clearly stressful for him. We've seen him get like that before, but it has always been when we're asking him to do something that he's unsure of (for instance, going up or down stairs when we first got him). This was fascinating because, for some unknown reason, he had convinced himself that he had to do this. Has he been watching dock diving on TV or something? Was it a challenge to his doghood or something? Very strange, but we were all very happy with him because he had obviously overcome a significant mental challenge to splash off the dock.
- - -
Today we woke up fairly early to go out to the dock before church. As soon as we got out by the water, Jonah was looking over the edge again. He would look, then back up and whine. The looks started to become gazes, and he was leaning out over the edge for a closer view. Again, he would whine and retract, coming over to check in with us. We were in no way (at least that I was aware of) telling him to jump in, but it was clearly on his mind. Next he would reach far enough to get a drink, judging the cool temperature and the distance to the water. More whines and returns to us for encouragement. We would tell him he was alright but otherwise we were trying to let him figure this out on his own, and not stress him out if he decided not to. We didn't want him to think he had let us down. This was his own idea, after all. Quickly drinks were not sufficient, and he started taking one paw and stretching it down for a little tap into the lake. Then whines, backing up and looking for a new angle. After five minutes of a clearly stressed puppy, he got both front paws down in the water, and then, splash! I still don't know if it was intentional or not. He looked surprised at the cold water, and he began to paddle for shore, where he immediately became a hyper excited dog, racing all over the shore and dock with obvious pride.
It was a really fun thing to watch, although it was clearly stressful for him. We've seen him get like that before, but it has always been when we're asking him to do something that he's unsure of (for instance, going up or down stairs when we first got him). This was fascinating because, for some unknown reason, he had convinced himself that he had to do this. Has he been watching dock diving on TV or something? Was it a challenge to his doghood or something? Very strange, but we were all very happy with him because he had obviously overcome a significant mental challenge to splash off the dock.
- - -
For the rest of the week, Jonah only jumped off the dock a handful of other times, but he was never stressed again like he had been. Somehow he had proved to himself that he was able to do this daring feat, and then he had decided it just was not for him. He went in the water quite often, but he found that it was much more comfortable to not use the dock at all, go in from shore and swim out wherever he wanted to go. Not a bad choice, if you ask me. I've never been one for the big plunge into cold water. I'm happy to swim if it's cold, but, like Jonah, I'll take my time getting in (although he usually bounded into the water from shore at full speed!).
No comments:
Post a Comment