Confused...

Uh oh... Mommy isn't too happy with me today.. We all went out to get some food for lunch (in what I thought was a stranger's car) and I got a little bored on the way so I chewed on the seat belt... When mommy found out she was very unhappy, I can tell by the look on her face (no smile and her eyes were shooting icicles at me..). I heard her call the dealership, where she got her car at the beginning of the month (it's mommy's new car.. less than a month old..), to schedule an appointment for a new seat belt install. She was on speaker phone and I heard something like two hundred something dollars? for labor and parts for one seat belt. Man, humans really treasure this seat belt thing. Anyways, I know I did something wrong, I've been on my best behavior since we got home. I even grounded myself in my make shift cave (mommy draped a heavy sheet over a folded foldable chair leaning against her desk to make a cave for me) for a while.

I was confused about mommy's car because it didn't smell like me.. and her old car is still here too, but she doesn't drive it. A guy, I call my uncle? drives it now and doesn't take me around in it. I'm sorry mommy, I don't know what got over me. I had a sudden urge to chew the seat belt, I think I was posessed because I never had that urge before.. and I'm 7 years old as of last month. I hope I don't get posessed again because mommy might get really mad at me... I know she already made a call to cancel my order of treats from her aunt because she is taking the seat belt charge out of my treats fund. =( I need to make sure I'm on my best behavior for a while so I can get back on mommy's good list.

-Mika

Shaking at Night

For the last month, I had been on vacation (without Mika). Daddy had been home with Mika and noticed that at night, he was shaking really bad. It was as if the apocolypse was coming. Daddy took Mika to the vet and they did xrays on him, ran urine tests, and blood tests. Everything came back normal. It didn't occur to us that Mika was having anxiety attacks. Everytime I've gone on vacation for a few weeks at a time, Mika was fine. He didn't shake at night, he ate just fine, and he was his happy self. For some reason, this time, he was a nervous wreck at night. I decided to bring this up to a few of my friends who have had dogs for their current life and their past gazillion lives. Many of them asked if he was cold and if he wasn't, it was probably anxiety.

When I went home for the week and a half, I did see him shake the first night I was home, then nothing. So, I decided to test out the anxiety theory by taking him on vacation with me. As of today, Mika has not shaken once after coming with me on vacation. I guess he's a mama's boy.

I'm just glad that we figured out what the shaking was. My worst nightmare was that it was a nerve problem. Now, I just need to work on him being ok with me leaving for long periods of time (which doesn't happen very often).

-Mika's mommy

Yikes!

(Mika and I are on vacation right now. Mika is doing very good right now. He's comfortable and calm. He does what he usually does when I'm home: be my second shadow.)

Yesterday, I took Mika to meet the neighbors. Bad idea. Their daughter is too young and hyper to be around dogs. Now, Mika usually doesn't get phased by a hyper kid running around and laughing and talking loudly, but something about this little girl scares him, which is a first. I've never met a (as young as 2 years old) kid, until now, that Mika did not like. Now, I need to make sure that no one in this house takes Mika out to "see" the little girl when I'm not around. There is no telling what Mika will do when he's nervous and I'm not there to read his body language to get him out of the situation on time. He hasn't snapped at her yet, but he's jumped (from being spooked) a few times and sticks to me like glue when she's around.

I took Mika and the little girl walking up and down the block (actually less than a block) for a little bit (within eyesight of the little girl's parents so they can stress less) and Mika was relaxed when he was walking, but every time the girl needed to stop, I could tell he was uncomfortable. I think he just didn't know what the little girl would do next. I cut the interaction time early with the excuse that it was getting dark and late and Mika needed to go to sleep. When I walked into the garage to the house, the little girl followed me and spooked Mika so much, when I opened the door into the house, he bolted right in. If it weren't for me being attached to the leash, he probably would have ran right into my room and hid under my desk that I made into a cave for him.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what I can say to the little girl to let her know that she needs to calm down? Or that Mika is uncomfortable around her? I've already tried asking her to calm down and to be more quiet, but it's not working. Right now, I'm just going to keep Mika away from her with the excuse that he's tired. I would really appreciate any advice on this matter since I've had no experience with a kid that Mika did not like.

-Mika's mommy