07/29/2026
This is how Winter walked around for about a week after I brought her home. 😞
Ears off to the sides, head down. Not interested in playing or eating much.
But now, she’s comfortable. Her ears are always up. Her appetite 🥘 is back. She’s playful, both on her own, & with Grace.
Her confidence is growing, & that was evident today.
Her last 2 homes 🏡 were in the country. It was peaceful.
For now, we live in the city 🏙️ . And more specifically, in a busy apartment complex. There are many cars 🚗 & trucks (personal & commercial).
Puppies 🐶 have 2 fear stages.
The 1st, happening between the ages of 8 weeks to 11 weeks. This is when I think some things may have happened to cause Grace’s fears before I adopted her.
The 2nd is between the ages of 6-14 months (18 months for large breeds, like Winter).
She is right in the middle of her 2nd fear stage. The only thing she seems to be afraid of (so far), are cars & traffic.
So today on our walk, I saw an opportunity.
We walk down the parking lot to an area of grass for them to use. On our way down, there was a work van 🚐 , just parked & running.
So, we walked past it a few times, getting closer & closer.
Then we stood in front of it. Getting closer & closer.
That’s when I put the kibble on the bumper, not knowing if that was going too far.
To my delight, she CALMLY took it. I praised her, & we went on our way.
Later on, we were walking on the main road. We were almost hime, & our apartment sits at a stop sign. Many people roll through.
Well, not only did someone roll through the stop sign, he sped up pretty quick towards us, which made his engine roar.
I thought, “Uh oh,” but kept walking.
Winter just kept walking FORWARD! She didn’t flinch. She didn’t try to run away. She stayed focused on where we were going.
I was so happy for her. I want her to overcome her fear of cars, just like I want Grace to overcome her fear of loud noises.
Go Winter!!
