I have long thought that having a smaller dog would be easier to manage than a larger dog, and in some respects it is. If I need to Coco can be held in my arms, away from danger or temptation. But smaller dogs are prone to anxiety and stress. Leaving Coco in a car can stress her out a lot. As she is stressed, so am I.
I had to concede that my wife was correct. The trip worked out fine, but there was an increase in needs to contend with. There were our needs, Coco's needs, and the needs of those in the other rooms of the motel, when Coco gave in to her barking addiction. It ended up being a lot of extra work which detracted from the vacation. It still was a fun time, but there was a bit of additional worry that drained some of our energy.
And in the end, when Coco got home she appeared very happy. With Coco there was no reflection over the weekend. She simply was along for the ride. She was completely unaware of the energy drain. When we were in the car or she was walking on a leash she was happy. If we put her in the car by herself, she got stressed. She would go again in a heartbeat, just like she will bark at EVERY doorbell ringing.
When you care about someone or something, you increase the load of the responsibility. If the someone or something is less able to care for themselves, responsibility goes up for the ones in charge of meeting needs and safety.
If it gives something back, the load feels lighter. If there is little given back, it can weigh you down.
2 comments:
It's amazing to me that people can sometimes do this, it's not always our furry friends...
The good thing about furry friends is that you can lock them in the car, whereas you can't always do that with our people, because they know how to unlock the car doors.
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