Is Your Doodle Scared of Dumb Stuff?

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Today, I had to take Vern to the vet to check his incision. He got neutered last week on Wednesday and the area looked redder and more swollen today. Vern has not been completely following the doctor's orders of rest and relaxation, especially when he sees the cat. Anyway, I took him into the office and he immediately peed on the floor when I was signing in. I guess I can understand this since last week he came in with more body parts then he left with and I think he was making sure they knew he still used what was left.

Well, while waiting in the lobby, he spotted a picture on the wall of a big dog and started growling and barking. Next, they took us to the room in the back and on that wall was a poster of a tabby cat and he would not take his eyes off of it and continued to growl and bark. They offered to move us to another room, but I reminded them that at our last visit, the other room had a picture of a vicious bird (wink, wink) and he did not like that either. He stayed on full alert the entire office visit and was too busy keeping his eyes on the tabby cat to worry about the exam.

Now, we were very careful to socialize Vern with people, kids, dogs, places, etc., but not once did we think to socialize him with large pictures of animals :) On the way out the vet's office, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and almost had a stroke at the hairy beast looking back at him.

For the most part, I try and ignore him when he does this stuff, but today I actually was tapping on the glass and saying, "Vern, look it is a picture."  What response I was hoping for, I don't know.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to handle this behavior and/or does anyone else have a dog doing similar things?   Thank you!!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Isn't Vern around 4 months old? Fear Stage-Age. Maybe?

Of course in conjunction with his last car ride, last vet visit, this may be the problem if age is appropriate. I have a copy of " The Stages of Dogs" and I am sure there is one around here on DK also. Let me know if you can't find it and I will email it to you.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Vern is 6 months now. He is bravest when Fudge is with him and a big wuss by himself. Cute, but not too brave. I did not find the "Stages of Dogs" and if you find it, I would love to read it. I will try looking again, just in case. Thanks.

[laurie lehr]

I have it Laurie

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Here is a link for Developmental Stages:
These are not in stone when it comes to months/age so to speak and can be individual to the dog. But a good read and may help. Always good to have another copy around here somewhere

http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/pup-dev.pdf

P.S. My dogs talk to themselves in the mirrors also. I just say they have Imaginary Dog Friends :)

P.P.S. Hope Vern is feeling better soon.

[laurie lehr]

What a funny story , Jasper is afraid of our cats , different floors , people with hats all kinds of funny things also !

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Two things that Vern really took notice of on TV were "Remember the Titans" and "Law and Order, SVU". For the Titan movie, he sat quietly on the bed and just watched. The episode of "Law and Order, SVU" made him bark. He would not stop and I finally just turned it off. A barking dog on TV will get both of their attention, but they quickly get over it. He is a funny dog.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Hey Laurie--Months ago someone blogged that their dog went nuts over Law and Order? Was this your blog??
Dun Dun.... music was added. Funny piece

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Here it is--It is your blog Jane! LOL

http://www.doodlekisses.com/profiles/blogs/noah-doesnt-like-law-amp...

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

This deserves another play:

http://blog.rickbreslin.com/extras/doink-doink.mp3

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Starlit intently watches TV also. At night, the TV is set to a timer. She wakes us up when the TV automatically shuts off.

I wonder if the silence wakes her or does she stay up late and watch it while we are sleeping. Dunno?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Oh yes....Neither Murph or Guinness like the statue of the dog at our Vet's office....no that's an understatement because they HATE this dog! I can't even remember which one of them actually started the growling thing with the statue, but now they both do it. The funny thing is that they are way to "chicken" to get close enough to discover that it's not real, and I just don't want to force the issue. I even tried going over to it and petting it last time, so they could see it "means no harm". Of course, there was nobody in the waiting room at the time (otherwise I'd probably be posting from a padded cell). Anyway, that didn't work. They also go a little nuts whenever there's an aggressive dog on any of the shows. They bark and growl, and I usually have to turn it off. I can't even begin to tell you how many Dog Whisper or It's Me Or The Dog shows there are where I've missed the ending. My guys are "whackadoodles", but absolutely adorable. I have no words of wisdom about how to address this. I keep hoping that it is just a matter of maturity (probably wishful thinking).

[Carol and Banjo]

I'm laughing so hard now Jane! LOVE LOVE LOVE your guys!!!!