Tuesday Topics #35 - Getting Soft

I used to take Cabana to different parks and walking paths all the time, rotating through our favorite places as well as looking for new favorites. But last spring, after Cabana got a foxtail in her nose, I stopped going to so many different places. During the summer, Cabana and I walked daily to the soccer fields at King Park because the lawns there are always green and well-manicured, with no threat of foxtails. We got to know the people and dogs at King Park really well because we saw them so regularly.

Finally, we've been able to go back to our old favorite walking path, now that the foxtails are gone and the weeds have been cut back somewhat. Cabana has a great time, sniffing all the smells, roaming leash-free, running pell mell. Well, for the most part. We've gone there a few times recently, but every time, I have noticed a big change in Cabana.

Cabana seems to consider the green grassy fields of King Park her home turf, so whether there are big dogs, unfamiliar dogs, yappy dogs, she usually gives them a greet-and-sniff. Sure, she doesn't choose to play with every single dog, but at least she isn't fearful.

However, when we are NOT at King Park, Cabana's confidence around other dogs diminishes greatly. In the photo above, some dogs pass by, and Cabana skirts WAY around them to avoid them entirely. These are dogs that we have met MANY times before. They aren't mean, but granted, they are on the older side, maybe slightly curmudgeon-ish.

If we pass a dog directly in our path and Cabana can't avoid it, she pulls back her ears and allows herself to be sniffed, but very grudgingly. She doesn't bark or act aggressively, but she just acts very uncomfortable, like, "Do I really have to do this?"

A few times when I have taken Cabana to other dog parks recently, Cabana doesn't even want to get out of the car. Or she gets out but then won't play with ANY other dog, even friendly little pups who do everything they can to initiate play with her. She even refuses other Labs, which used to be a surefire favorite. She doesn't act fearful the whole time; she does roam and sniff. But it seems like she's saying, "This isn't MY park. These aren't MY friends." (This is exactly what happened at doggie daycare a couple months ago--she wouldn't play with the other dogs and just acted tentative the whole time.)

I don't know if Cabana is getting more fearful, or if it's just what dogs do as they mature. After all, she can't act like a puppy forever, when she expected every dog to be her new best friend. But as a dog that got career changed for wanting to meet and play with every dog in a 5-mile radius, it does concern me that she has become so hesitant.

Cabana has always been a bit of a soft (sensitive) dog, but is she getting too soft? Should I keep trying to take her to lots of different places again so she'll be accustomed to them, or should I just take her where she feels comfortable? After all, the dog park is supposed to be fun for her, not a chore.