#mostboringvideoever

[shoomieman]

#Exciting night over here! #Shoomie is fighting off sleep (and not succeeding). 🐶💤 #mostboringvideoever #pekelife (at Russian House of Love)

[jdanielmiles]

What My Dog Is Afraid Of

Today, I had to carry my dog back up to our condo ‘cuz a this thing.

We were walking towards this whirring machine. I felt a tugging on the leash and looked down just in time to see Baxter pull himself out of his collar. 

He cowered back spastically. He jumped to the left. He jumped to the right. He let out a yelp of a bark. 

Then, he took off as fast as he could in the other direction.

I scooped him up and calmly told him it was OK. I spent the elevator ride trying to explain it to him.

If you’d like a better idea of what this machine sounded like, check out the video I took. You’ll notice it’s not even that loud.

Machine: https://youtu.be/OJ5Cfkhe5YE  

Baxter is terrified of flashlights. So, we love when maintenance men come in. They turn on their flashlights and Baxter runs circles around them, barking and trying to bite the beams of light.

He hates any reflective metal, because it shines light (not unlike a flashlight). Like when you pull out the tin foil, he goes nuts until you put it away. A tin food or water bowl is his worst enemy. Imagine trying to go for a bite to eat or to take a sip of water and BAM, there is the thing you fear most, which for Baxter, is light. 

Some days, it is probably the cat that he fears most. Like when she is feeling particularly playful trying to bite his feet and tear out his jugular. Or the one time she hid in a box and popped out right as Baxter started sniffing it. I mean, they are good friends and I love them both, but the cat is definitely scary sometimes...

Apparently, he is also afraid of dehumidifiers…

Recently, Baxter started barking at his food bowl. It has been there since we moved in (about six months ago). He would also get really anxious about going outside. He would be running and pulling so hard against his leash, he was choking himself. It sounded like he couldn't breathe. 

It was like he couldn't wait to get outside, then he couldn't wait to get back up. Despite not eating or pooping when we went, he wanted to go outside a lot more often. 

Now, Baxter is 10 years old and this is uncharacteristic of him. 

I finally got the bright idea to try moving his food elsewhere. As soon as I set it down, he ate bowl after bowl of food as if he hadn't eaten for weeks. 

That’s when I realized what had been happening. The words “hadn't eaten for weeks” ringing through my head. Baxter had, for some reason, decided he didn't like where his food was anymore, so he quit eating. He starved himself, surviving only (or mostly, at least) on treats- the snack he gets after going potty outside. He did this for about two weeks.

We took a leisurely walk down the stairs to go outside and we enjoyed a slow, normal walk back upstairs.

We put his food back and he started going in and eating there again as if nothing had ever happened. 

I guess the scary thing is gone…

Good grief.