Jonesy's Day in Corinth

Well, I am determined to get Jonesy over his new found phobia(s).  I loaded him up for a road trip to Tractor Supply in Corinth.  I got him out of my car and walked him around on the parking lot at first.  Of course he did "number one" out of fear.  I knew then we couldn't go inside just yet.  So we walked around on the lawn and smelled the trees and other things that loomed on the horizon.  The first obsticle was the sliding glass doors that seemed to move as if by magic.  Jonesy wanted to run from them.  We got through them with all eyes on us and people smiling and saying how beautiful he is as I quickly warned them he's going through a shy phase so that they would not make a sudden movement towards him.  He dodged them and headed down the first asile we came to.  I showed him where we buy the dog food and he seemed to recognize the smells and he seemed to relax a little.  Some guy walked up and started talking to us so I warned him that Jonesy is shy.  He squatted down on Jonesy's level and asked me if he was old. I know this seems like an odd question but for people not familiar with the breed I can see such a question being asked.  The dog is large.  He has lots of wrinkles.  He's not happy and walking around kind of slow and sad. A truly old bloodhound is a rare thing to see and they are so grizzley and ugly looking that they are somehow beatuiful. If he'd ever seen an old one he would know that Jonesy with no callouses, no skin tags, no scars, a mouth full of pearly white teeth is actually a very young bloodhound.  However, I didn't try to explain I just said that he's just 10 months old.  Then I got the usual questions about the red eyes (it is the haw or third eye lid showing) and they were redder than usual probably because we drove there with the windows down.  I didn't really have adequate time to explain so I looked at his eyes and said that yes they were red but they are not usually red.   Jonesy allowed him to pet him and for us that was progress.  I thanked the guy for petting him.  We walked around the store but I could tell Jonesy was looking for a way out.  We went out a different set of glass doors to an outside area that is fenced in.  Jonesy walked the fence line still looking for a way out.  When we went back to the glass doors he caught his own reflection in the glass and he ducked down and went behind me.  I squatted down and said, "Its us Jonesy look!"  He didn't want to look.  I pretended to sniff and said to him to sniff the glass so he would know that was not another dog.  Of course he didn't need to do that he's a bloodhound but I watched him process what I was saying and I watched his nose wiggle a bit.  He just wanted to leave.  So, I opened the glass door and he took us through and back into the store.  As we were leaving the kind ladies who work there talked to him.  He didn't seem to pay them a lot of attention but we stood there for a second before going back outside and to the car.  After we loaded up he panted more than he should.  I stopped at Sonic and bought us something to eat.  He ignored the plain burger.  Then we drove home.  I left the burger in his crate when I brought the crate inside the house and I noticed he did eat it later that night as part of his supper.  He seemed no worse for the wear but no doubt this is going to take a while to get him through if I can get him through it at all.  I will be signing up for Obedience classes at Petsmart in the near future with him.  We do not have conformation classes nearby so I have to improvise.  The trainers know why I'm there and work with me on my problems.  He needs to take a road trip frequently and be rewarded for it.  He needs to be around new and strange places and meet strange friendly faces. It needs to be fun.  He does not consider it fun at all but somehow we've got to get him to change his mind.  This is so frustrating for me because prior to the show in Memphis where he did so well he did not have all these phobias. He was outgoing and happy to be and he was winning!  He is suddenly so aware of his surroundings and timid.  I decided to share because dogs are not all the same.  They go through different phases and such and nothing that serious has to happen to cause them to pick up a phobia. I think I may have simply overwhelmed him at the Memphis show with too many new experiences at once.  Daddy wasn't with us.  We spent the night in a hotel with a lady and dog Jonesy did not know.  He was passed around and walked and shown by different ladies that he didn't know.  As these things happened he began to notice all the strangers and strange dogs at the show and process it. I imagine he has got it in his head someone might take him away.  He's a baby.  He looks like an adult but he's a very big baby.  He's a very young dog and it must have overwhelmed him.  Now he's trying to process it and put it in perspective I think.  It has been years since I've had one to go through this phase.  Every so often I have to relearn a thing or two. Evidently I needed to relearn that a new young pup needs to be exposed to new experiences gradually.  Some can handle it and some cannot and need to take smaller baby steps.  Jonesy needed his Daddy and he needed most likely to go home that evening rather than spending the night in a hotel.   This afternoon I will take him to the park for a few minutes.  He is such a beautiful dog I hate that we've had this little set back.  It happens. Hopefully we will work through it.   Until next time -