Summer Camp Welcome

I completed 🌏Intro to their World: One Walk at a Time!

In this section, it talked about body language and noticing how your dog looks and acts in different situations. Beezus is usually great at showing what she’s feeling through her body language and for someone who’s been with her since she was a puppy, I’m good at recognizing what the signs are.

Beezus loves relaxing and it is easy to tell when she is relaxed! She usually has her ears facing forward and not stiff or listening too intently (twitching or flicking around). Her left ear also relaxes and bends a bit, creating a cute look with one ear up and the other down. When she’s super relaxed (or sleepy), she loves to cuddle and will often think she’s a lap dog (the 55 pound dog is indeed not), sitting right on top of you and asking for pets. Her tail relaxes with her, often resting on the spots next to her on the couch or bed. Her eyes close or are half-clsoed when she is relaxed and isn’t worrying about every little noise she hears. Beezus definitely relaxes a lot when she’s at home and loves to show us that.

On the opposite end, Beezus’s tells for being stressed are just as obvious and I have gotten pretty good at recognizing when she needs to decompress or be removed from a situation. Her ears go all the way back when she is extra excited, whether in a negative or positive way (when there’s a loud noise, when I get home from school, etc). On her walks, she does get stressed from all of the loud noises and stimulants, which causes her to pull a lot on her leash, whine, bark at everything that moves, and jump on people (including me). Her eyes are usually wide, ears up and tense, and she’s looking around at every little sound and noise. She does get jumpy when there are other dogs or animals and thinks it is her duty to bark at them to protect me. While I do appreciate her trying to help, it can be frustrating or exhausting to deal with everyday twice a day. That is why I have gotten good at noticing her stress signs! When another dog barks at her or there is something that really stresses her out (usually loud noises), the fur on her back stand up and everything in her freezes for a second while her ears go back and her eyes go wide. Usually, to snap her out of that, I say her name or ask “You okay?” While I know she doesnt under the question, hearing me speak usually gets her to keep moving where I can then use other commands, such as “One, two” to get her to eat or to sniff at the ground (sometimes even look at me if I’m lucky!). She also likes to move when she’s stressed, not really knowing what she wants to see or do, so I let her lead the way. Sniffing or running with her usually helps to snap out of her intense mindset. She is getting to the age where everything is scary to her, so I’m working on making sure she knows that I am a safe place and that she has other safe places to go to when things get scary or too stressful.

One of the biggest traits of Beezus as well is her curiosity. She loves knowing what’s going on and likes seeing what we are doing. Her curious tells are pretty obvious since she usually is all up in your business with her head tilted, ears alert, and sniffer on the go. She always has to know what’s going on, whether you’re going to the bathroom, opening a package, cutting a piece of paper, or even sneezing. She loves to know what’s going on and likes learning about new things, even if they’re sometimes scary.

Beezus is great at using her body to tell me what she’s feeling, and while I don’t always get it right, I’m good at telling what she needs and how to help her through the big feelings she’s got going on.