When we arrived home from a nice walk in the park today, with bonus paddle in the stream, Sky did not want to get out of the van (see video).
What to do? I was concerned that there might be some noise going on that I couldn't detect. Sky is very noise sensitive. But she didn't seem upset: just very happy in her travel crate, and not inclined to get out of it!
My next thought was possible pain, that might be stopping her from jumping down from the van. So I set up our dog ramp and tried again. Nope.
So I sat down on the tailgate with her, with the crate door open and the ramp set up. We watched all the children walking home from school. And our neighbour heading out in her car. And some dog walkers. And the sun shining, and the bushes waving in the breeze. Ok, Sky is mostly blind, so watching is more of a metaphor. Experiencing, maybe?
Anyway there was no pressure, no physical coercion, just sitting together. This was very nice, but I did have training plans to write, so I closed the crate door and fetched some treats.
Chicken chips were enough to catch Sky's interest. She wandered out and down the ramp, ate some treats, and then hopped back up on the tailgate next to me! Luckily I had closed the crate door. Definitely not pain, then.
We watched the world go by some more, then a small treat scatter led her down the ramp again and I took her into the house.
I still don't know why Sky didn't want to come out of the van as usual. She seems perfectly happy now she's inside; she's dozing in the sun in the kitchen. But what I do know is that I didn't force her, drag her out, pick her up, or otherwise coerce her into doing what I wanted. Dogs are individual beings, with their own needs and wants. If we honour those to the best of our ability, we will build a solid relationship based on trust and respect. Wouldn't you rather have that, than a frightened or resentful companion?
