I'm feeling disheartened as I write this.
Coming back from daycare this evening, the neighbour's children were playing in the car park. As soon as George saw them, he was instantly over-threshold. He was barking and lunging and struggling for breath. The kids started shouting and running around and one of them started running towards George with their arms in the air. Luckily one of the adults stopped them.
It was stressful and chaotic. I had to practically drag him away (through the plants to maintain as much distance as possible).
As we rounded the corner, another neighbour was on the narrow path. They made a hasty retreat.
It's the worst reaction I've seen in a while. We've bumped into them a few times recently and I think the stress for George just got worse and worse culminating in tonight's explosive reaction.
George is absolutely exhausted and I suspect will need some extra recovery time.
Getting in and out of the house is stressful. I try so hard to avoid seeing anyone but sometimes it's unavoidable.
I feel like it is really hindering our progress.
I need to look into what else I can do to manage the situation. But I'm not sure what. The triggers are way too close and unpredictable for any desensitisation work.
I had it in my head to re-start the separation anxiety training tonight. But it all feels a bit overwhelming. I didn't want to be outside and see the neighbours who were still hanging around.
George was stressed, I was stressed. It didn't feel like it would be setting him up for success.
It's hard to tackle major issues of reactivity and separation anxiety simultaneously.
Just when you finally start to think you are making some progress, circumstances conspire against you. It only takes one stressful event for us to go backwards after many positive events. I really hope he doesn't get scared to leave the house again.
For tonight, I think we just need to try and relax. Tomorrow is another day.