Bed Head

Brenda is much better about getting out of bed than she was a few weeks ago, though she still despises it. Her hatred of getting out of bed was so severe that she growled and snapped at me with just enough force that I backed off and stayed away, leaving the daily battle to Ben.

There were a few times that I just didn’t take her for a walk because I refused to fight her over this. If she ever bit me and I was too scared to take care of her, I don’t know what would happen. By default, Ben does it. Since Brenda hates him already, we figure reinforcing that hatred is preferable than her hurting me. She is always on a muzzle when Ben handles her so there is no possibility of her hurting him. I can’t even be in the room when he gets her out of bed, though. She is so much worse when I’m around. I put the muzzle on her and leave. Otherwise, she would thrash around like a wild boar, kicking and screaming and snarling and growling. She’d move so much Ben wouldn’t be able to get the leash on.

Sometimes, if I’m successful at getting her out of the crate or her bed, get the Halti on and am holding the leash, she finds a way to backup into a corner or onto another bed and flop down. She refuses to move and even if I tug on her leash she won’t get up. I’ve dragged her across an entire room by the Halti attached around her muzzle before. Her belly mopping the floor and all four legs splayed out to the sides. There were times I’ve been too wary of her to go over to her and lift her by the collar. Lately, she’s been heeding to my prompting a little more readily, though, and if I gently lift her collar and get her on her feet she will, usually, start walking.

One time, while I was waiting for Sarah to arrive with Sophie so we could go on a big group walk, I got all the dogs bundled up in their winter parkas a few minutes ahead of time. Since I had successfully gotten Brenda ready with mild resistance on her part, I started to panic when Sarah was running late. If I just let Brenda hang out, she’d run into a corner and refuse to move. My solution was to pick her up, coat and all, and hold her in my arms as I worked at the computer and waited for Sarah’s arrival. Her belly rested flat against mine, her chin on my shoulder and her legs splayed out to the sides—her favorite position.