MACINTOSH MONDAY

Pet detective, psychologist, dog trainer, research analyst and behaviour expert. Those are just a few of the roles Andrew and I have been playing this week when it comes to Macintosh. You may have gathered from the blog that Macintosh is a very active dog (!!) and that he likes to be energetic and loves his walks. Well for the past week and a bit Mac has slowly been enjoying his walks less and less, even to the point of refusing to go on them. This has affected him so much that unfortunately this week Mac has been rather subdued at home and has done absolutely nothing of interest. Honestly he's been the most boring dog in the world!

At first with the walks it was simply him refusing to go very far, then his tail began to be lower and he looked less happy on the walk. It evolved into him beginning to sit down on a walk and be reluctant to move and eventually the last couple of days of last week he would just lay down and refuse to move. Which is great. It meant that I would be trying to move him or coax him along and he just would stubbornly stay laying down. At times I had to almost drag him along because I knew if he didn't get a walk he would be a nightmare at home and no amount of playing can replace his walks. I honestly must have looked like I was hurting him and it felt like that was the case but I knew how important it was to take him for a walk. We had to find a solution. 

So we began the flitting between the various roles. I would take Macintosh out for a walk but document every part of the walk from his reactions, to what I could see or hear, to how far we walked and even the heat and time of day. I would text Andrew all the information at mission control in Florida. Using his various forms of technology (iPhone, iPad and Macbook) he would then analyse the information and research the interesting parts. I would continue the walk, sending photos when possible to show the reactions of Macintosh. By the time we returned home Mac would be recovering from his ordeal on his bed as Andrew and I talked it through and read various articles. This happened EVERY time we went for a walk. That's twice a day every day. Ugh!

Anyway our dogged determination (excuse the pun) paid off as we have now officially discovered what the problem is. Drumroll please... Motorbikes. It's as simple as that. Poor old Macintosh is scared of motorbikes. And unfortunately there are a lot here due to the space and the open roads. we had unwittingly been walking him around as motorbikes had gone past and that deep throated rumble they make was scaring him. The final straw to confirm this was as we tried to go for a walk yesterday evening. I opened the front door as one went past the house and Macintosh literally leapt off the floor, ran into the house and hid under the dining table. He was quivering, licking his lips and looking generally petrified. 

Now the trick is to train him out of his fear. Research says exposing him to the sounds in a safe environment is the way to go. It will allow him to become used to the sounds without exposing him to the fear. We begin playing motorbike sounds at a barely audible level for a small period of time and observe his reactions. Once he is comfortable with that you begin the next day to turn it up slightly. Once he is comfortable with that level you turn it up further. Eventually you will find that he is able to act normally around a motorbike sound. Or at least that's the theory. 

So now we are beginning to implement this and we'll see what the results are. I never thought I'd say this though but I want his lively self back. I miss his mischievous side. For now though I'll leave you with a picture to remind you how cool he is. I love that dog!

H