Lately I’ve been carting my little baby dog, Frida, around in a puppy pack. She really wants to go with me every time I feed my horses (or go anywhere else, for that matter) and can scoot out the door without my even seeing her. She’s fearless and loves to run around the barn and barnyard while I do my chores. She keeps a constant eye on me and never strays far, so I feel safe about taking her out on foot.
BUT, since feeding the horses involves going in with them, I’ve begun packing Frida in her pouch so she won’t get under their feet, ergo squashed. She seems very content in the pouch, happily bumping along as I walk, those big eyes taking in everything in amazement.
A few days ago I noticed that Frida seemed more timid around the horses than she had before, especially when she was in her pack. In fact one morning, when my mare Bella put her nose a little too close for comfort in order to check Frida out, Frida jumped ship like greased lightning and was on the ground in an instant.
This seemed odd to me, as she had been so curious and fearless before the pouch-riding days. So I thought I’d try to get inside her head a little and see if I could figure out what was going on. What she showed me was a great surprise — totally unexpected!
Frida showed me that her perspective on life was totally different when she was up high, looking out at things from a more-or-less human height. It made everything seem REAL big and REAL close! This was an astounding revelation for me and seemed totally backwards. One would think that a dog that weighs no more than 3 pounds and has to look waaaaaay up at people and large animals would think the world from that angle was the big one. But what do I know. Maybe it is in fact just the opposite — like looking in the wrong end of Scrooge McDuck’s gyroscope where everything looks tiny instead of magnified, therefore far away and non-threatening.
So go figure. All I know is that by carrying Frida, either in my arms or in her puppy pouch, I seem to be reducing her to a much smaller thing than she herself thinks she is. Never having had such a tiny dog before, I see how one can easily fall prey to treating them like a baby, holding them and carting them around constantly. They’re light, they’re mobile, and they seem to love it — but Beverly Hills Chihuahua folk we are not!
For our purposes, in a place where Frida must blend in with a pack of big dogs and learn to be unafraid of horses, it is clear that letting her little legs carry her most of the time is the way to go. No way do I want to stunt her spunky, brave little personality, and I want her to keep on feeling like she’s got the world by the tail.
So, while I know you love cuddling up next to my heart, Dear Frida, it’s back on the ground for you (… except when we’re in with those horsies!).
——————————————————————————————-
FOR MORE ON CHIHUAHUAS AND CHIWEENIES CHECK THESE OUT:
Recent Comments