thirteen's outing

Thirteen has been taking it pretty hard. She's been pacing and acting agitated, just like when she was sick a month ago, but I'm pretty sure she's upset about being alone. She and Lina were almost never separated for their entire lives. In retrospect maybe that was a mistake. Maybe I should have regularly taken them places alone so it wouldn't be such a shock for one to be without the other.

Be that as it may, I can't change it now. So I'm doing what I can to let Thirteen be around other dogs. I took her with me to take Nutty home on Friday, brought her inside and let her check the place out. She used to live there of course, but that was many years ago and the house looks totally different inside. Whether she remembered or not, she had a great time. Sean's other dogs were outside and his cats stayed out of view, but Thirteen just walked around smelling things and following Nutty, looking happier & more engaged than I had seen her since Lina died. Sean and I chatted for a little while, but after about 20 minutes Thirteen started to look scared so I took her home. I guess it was a little overwhelming.

Then yesterday Georg and I took Thirteen with us to lunch at Fosters in Durham. I was just going to let her sit in my car while we ate, but there were no tables inside. We had to sit outside anyway so I figured we'd give it a try. We found a table next to some shrubbery where I thought she might feel protected. Unfortunately it was right in the middle of everything, with lots of people sitting around us and lots of noise. Thirteen probably would have felt more comfortable if we'd sat at a picnic table at the edge of the eating area. She would have been more exposed, but away from the hubbub.

Still, Thirteen did really well. She mainly stood there looking scared, but she did check out the people at the next table, which is pretty brave for her. She seemed really engaged when she saw another dog over on the other side. (Thirteen is afraid of people but loves other dogs.) After a few minutes she even calmed down enough to sit down! Not calm and relaxed sitting, but hey, she was sitting.

She only got to say hi to one other dog. It was a Scotty who we passed on our way back to the car, who snapped at her! Yikes! The woman apologized and I told her it was no problem, but privately I was pretty mad. Still, I was pleased by how Thirteen handled the experience. We overdid it a bit, next time we'll sit in a quieter area. But she wasn't too overwhelmed for there to be a next time.

This may sound like I'm overly babying Thirteen. But you see, Lina was always much more headstrong, and had an aggression problem with dogs she didn't know. Because of that we avoided situations where they might come into contact with other dogs. Which includes just about every place you might take a dog. (Unlike that woman with the Scotty dog who sat right in the middle where other dogs were forced to walk right past it! Sheesh!) We've pretty much kept to ourselves for many years. Add that to Thirteen's natural shyness, and a strange place with lots of strange people and noises, without Lina there to lead the way, is a frightening experience for her. I think it's important for her to get more stimulation in her life, but she needs to be introduced to it gently.

So does anyone have ideas for places I can take Thirteen where she can see other dogs and people, with relatively low stress? When she was little I used to take her to the dog club on Duke East Campus, but I think they shut that down years ago.