New fear unlocked

Since he was a young puppy and due to his separation anxiety, he's been in there with me with a licki-mat while I have a shower.

I couldn't think why it had suddenly changed. Then I remembered a few days before, my dressing gown had fallen off the hook on to the floor. It fell pretty gently and didn't touch him but it was something unusual and sudden.

He didn't seem too bothered at the time, just went back to his licki-mat.

When George gets scared by something, it isn't always obvious straightaway. When he had the two incidents with dogs which (I suspect) triggered his more serious reactivity, he seemed to shake off the incidents at the time. I can't recall the exact timeframe as I wasn't looking out for it but the fear and reactivity didn't start to show for at least a week or more.

I suspect the same thing happened with the dressing gown and the bathroom. It reminded me that I might not always know the reason George is scared of something. He decides what is scary and might seem fine for a while after an incident.

It also reminded me that with George being a fearful dog, there will probably always be new scary things he wasn't frightened of before.

At least now I know not to try and force him if he's scared.

As we continue to work on independence on the home, I am hoping being in the bathroom might not be something he has to do so desensitisation to the bathroom is not a huge priority for us at the moment.

For now, I have the bathroom door open (praying the shower steam doesn't set off the smoke alarm)...could be tricky if we have guests but works for now!