Twinkle and the rain

We’ve had a very wet winter and I have mentioned here before that Twinkle doesn’t react well to being wet – it’s beyond normal schnauzery-dislike of it – for her, rain drops falling seem to trigger a real state of panic. I’ve had a few incidents when we’ve been out on walks where we’ve been caught in showers and she will be on hyper alert, her body language is all about anxiety and getting away from the rain, which of course means getting away….away from wherever the rain is coming from….away from me….away. It’s not been good and after the first incident, I realised it was the rain spooking her, I get her back on lead swiftly at the first feel of any rain drops, to keep her safe and close.

There could be many reasons lying behind her response and I can only guess at what memories the rain falling on her triggers; it is known that in some of the breeding places where dogs are kept in concrete pens, they are hosed down with the dogs still in them; pressure hoses are used in some, imagine how terrifying that must to dogs in close proximity.  Or, it may be that she was kept in a place exposed to the elements, so getting out of the rain may have been impossible, so she could have been soaked through to the skin regularly. Whatever the cause of her rain-aversion it is sad to see.

I have been observing her over the past few months when it has been raining within the safety of our enclosed garden when I’ve encouraged her out for a wee or potter round to get her exposed to it in controlled situations. She frantically paces, runs in tight circles, then up and down the garden trying to get back indoors as soon as she can, rapidly working herself up into a panic. The time she is out in it, is seconds…..I can’t bear to see her distress.

This morning it is raining and I knew I would keep her on lead to maintain her safety. At the start of the walk, she wasn’t too bad and the new smells of the rain soaked grass seemed to distract her. Just as I was thinking she was a lot better and maybe we would soon be letting her off lead if it rained, she started to react to the drizzle falling on her and once again, began pulling and pacing, ears flattening in fear, body hunching down lower and tighter to get away…away from the terrifying rain. I was thankful that I had her on lead still.

In many ways, Twinkle is doing very well, she is getting a lot calmer and handling her is getting easier, so long as it is on her terms…which is just fine with me. But then we have deep within her psyche a level of damage that has been inflicted on her by the puppy farmer who confined her and I know that our journey together will remain an interesting one for a very long time. I’m so thankful we have her in our life, she is making me think and research and rethink all the time….just as I like my life to be…never a dull day.