Weird Travels with Chloe
I never dreamed Chloe would react to our road trip from NM to TN and back the way she has. We're not back yet but should sleep in our own beds tomorrow night.
I immediately discarded any notion of kenneling her for a week, because she does NOT like being separated from me. TBH, I don't like it either. But travel has been nearly as stressful for her.
The disruption to our normal routine has simply freaked her out. She threatened to kill the McDonald's guy who brought our order to the car because the coffee was still brewing. Poor baby lies at the hotel room door, growling softly but seriously at the whisper of footfalls on the corridor carpet.
She has adamantly refused to leave the car for bathroom stops if I'm not going too.
Until today. At a rest stop, my daughter went up to the bathrooms and I opened the car door to leash Chloe and take her out. She's been panting non-stop, and coupled with the extreme heat outdoors (over 100 F the past couple of days), I contacted her vet for advice and he prescribed one of the Trazodone I have for sleeping. I gave her half of one. She panted much less and slept more.
At the rest stop, THIS time she leaped from the car like a panther, not a Corgi, and dashed off unleashed in pursuit of a tall almost-white golden retriever, who was startled at her abrupt approach and cowered behind his owner, who was equally startled. It was clear, we agreed, that Chloe didn't want to kill the poor retriever. She wanted to kiss him.
Finally I was able to grab the tab on her harness where the leash should have been clipped (the leash was on the ground by the car) and she came willingly enough. However, holding on to the four inches of harness was like walking with a four-inch cane and by the time we got back to the car my neck muscles were spasming.
I can only assume that as my daughter said, the Trazodone lowered inhibitions and released the hot jungle creature in Chloe. And yes, she was neutered before I rescued her from the pound years ago.
🤷♀️
I immediately discarded any notion of kenneling her for a week, because she does NOT like being separated from me. TBH, I don't like it either. But travel has been nearly as stressful for her.
The disruption to our normal routine has simply freaked her out. She threatened to kill the McDonald's guy who brought our order to the car because the coffee was still brewing. Poor baby lies at the hotel room door, growling softly but seriously at the whisper of footfalls on the corridor carpet.
She has adamantly refused to leave the car for bathroom stops if I'm not going too.
Until today. At a rest stop, my daughter went up to the bathrooms and I opened the car door to leash Chloe and take her out. She's been panting non-stop, and coupled with the extreme heat outdoors (over 100 F the past couple of days), I contacted her vet for advice and he prescribed one of the Trazodone I have for sleeping. I gave her half of one. She panted much less and slept more.
At the rest stop, THIS time she leaped from the car like a panther, not a Corgi, and dashed off unleashed in pursuit of a tall almost-white golden retriever, who was startled at her abrupt approach and cowered behind his owner, who was equally startled. It was clear, we agreed, that Chloe didn't want to kill the poor retriever. She wanted to kiss him.
Finally I was able to grab the tab on her harness where the leash should have been clipped (the leash was on the ground by the car) and she came willingly enough. However, holding on to the four inches of harness was like walking with a four-inch cane and by the time we got back to the car my neck muscles were spasming.
I can only assume that as my daughter said, the Trazodone lowered inhibitions and released the hot jungle creature in Chloe. And yes, she was neutered before I rescued her from the pound years ago.
🤷♀️
