Its Sunday morning and its really early. The sun's morning rays have not even begun to seep through the cracks of the blinds yet, but I'm awaken with puppy licks and kisses. I wipe my face with my hand and open one eye. I see a handsome black face with chocolate brown eyes staring back at me. Diesel is ready for his weekend ritual with his doggy friends at the local dog park. I smile and kiss the side of his cheek. "okay buddy boy," I said.
So I nudged my sleepy boyfriend awake and we all load up into the car. Diesel plays so well with the other dogs. He is never aggressive. I have to be careful because if other dogs get into a fight, he thinks they are playing. He will run up to them with his tail wagging, tongue out, and a smile on his face. I have to tactfully grab him out of the way without me becoming a human chew toy. Luckily I don't run into this problem too often.
Anyway this particular day I am thrilled because diesel finally drank from the doggy drinking fountain and rolled around in the mud. I mean he was filthy. I know you must think I'm crazy for getting excited over this, but it's a milestone for us. You see, I am convinced he is a bit confused of who he is. He absolutely hates water. Loathes it. He is scared of it. I tried giving him water once out of a water bottle and he was freaking out. Turning his head away from the bottle, trying to pull away from me. I thought it was just the action of pouring the water out but he hates getting in any kind of puddle or a bath. I know some dogs do, but he is allegedly part lab and part pointer. Side note: I say allegedly because we adopted him from our local humane society. they said he was abandoned so they didn't know much about him. Other than that he was approximately two and a mixed breed. End of side note.
Hello doggy. You have webbed feet for crying out loud. So now I believe there is some hope here. I have dreams of all of us frolicking on the shore side. swimming in the ocean. But none of this will happen until he gets over his fear. Anxiety. Whatever it is. I think it will eventually happen if A. we keep introducing him to more situations involving water and B. if it is on his own terms. I believe something traumatic happened with him and water. Hopefully I can help him through it. Anyway, we all left the dog park when Diesel touched his nose to the latch on the gate. This is his way of letting us know he is ready to go home. My boyfriend dried him off with a towel and warned Diesel he is getting a bath today.
We stopped by a local donut shop here called Nicolas which is fantastic by the way. We grabbed a dozen assorted donuts to bring back with us. So the doggy will hang out on the patio to watch the squirrels (oh boy his fave!) while we eat our donuts and then we will give him a bath. Which as you now know is his other fave because it involves water. Can you hear the sarcasm in that last statement? If you have any suggestions about how to help Diesel get over his fear of water please feel free to comment.
