Thank you! Good parallel. I had to keep myself from crying or hyperventilating because I knew she needed me to be calm and keep calling her name. The same can be said for us in our country. 😘
Whew! I was really worried about Mazie as I was reading! Did she find her way home by herself?
My fear responses differ with various situations, but more often I tend to freeze in one place when I'm fearful. I also agree with Denise that the unknown can be frightening.
Thanks, Diana. Yes, amazingly, she found her way home. That doesn't surprise me too much - it's a straight shot, even if she did go over to the bike path, which I expected b/c that is much quieter than the main road. But... wow.
Interesting - freezing in place. I think that is true of Tom as well. So the "flight" part never kicks in, just the fright. Ugh.
Thanks! Me too! Amazingly, she made it home herself. Well, the bike path is one block over and that's where I found her, but on our street, having just turned the corner. Whew!
Ah! I never thought of an AirTag. That's a great idea! We had another small dog that ran away all the time b/c he chased anything that moved. He'd come home 5 or 8 hrs later covered in burrs and muddy (oy!). Wish we had had an AirTag for him! Mazie has great collars w/ our numbers on them but she so's skittish that no one can get close to her.
(I recognized some of the places in one of your photos!)
I had a little rescue Chug who sometimes went into flight mode but fortunately, her short little legs didn’t take her far or fast, especially in winter. I always wondered what fears and traumas she experienced earlier in her life, but it made me feel more protective of her and seek out ways to calm her little heart.
My current dog, Dougie Sue, the Aussie mini, has great confidence, which translates into aggression. Everything I own belongs to her, in her thinking, and nobody is allowed to mess with her stuff. I am seeing a major change in her behavior, because she goes with me everywhere and is learning that most people are pretty nice and like to give her treats. I go to the car wash and her head is wedged between the window frame and my left shoulder because the nice man gives her a treat. If she smells coffee, she is back on my left shoulder again to get her pupacino. And today at our local dump, one of the dump masters gave her TWO treats. Dump guy = nice man. Nice man won’t take stuff.
Gradually she is becoming less possessive of her car, her yard, and all of her other stuff as she discovers sharing. Good dogs get yummy treats, so who’s a good dog? Dougie Sue is a good dog.
Dougie Sue is indeed a good dog! Thanks for this - hearing about her made me smile. Yup, I can totally picture her moving btwn your shoulder and the window. lol
I wonder if all dogs feel protective of their yards, cars, etc. Anywhere they are enclosed (of sorts). Some more than others, but maybe it's in their DNA?
Working dogs, like my little Aussie, definitely have a protective instinct and a herding instinct. Also, when I call her, she runs low and very fast. When we play frisbee, she bounds like a deer. I’ve watched videos of them bounding across a band of sheep, from one sheep back to another, so that behavior is built in too.
I've been doing a lot of research on physicality and trauma lately, and this idea that humans go into fight or flight like animals is 100% supported by ALL the research. In fact, we have some extra responses: there's also freeze or fawn.
Sweet Maisie actually illustrates how trauma reactions, when not fully processed, can capture us. People can spend decades in a "freeze" response, unable to fully feel their bodies. Our brains register something nonthreatening--like a car door slamming--as threatening, sending us right back into our trauma mode. Our bodies and brains work together to do what worked in the past, falling into the same response. It can take years of work to convince our subconscious and body that we're safe.
I have no idea how that all applies to puppers, but I hope Maisie will be able to feel safe when she's triggered someday!
Thank you, Rebecca! I appreciate this explanation. This "freeze" response is exactly what Diana mentioned in her response (and I added is what my husband does as well). VERY interesting. Freeze or fawn is not something we are readily taught - only fight or flight.
Physicality and trauma - I appreciate your research on this. As a massage therapist for many years, I worked primarily with survivors of trauma and the connection to the body, how that trauma is held in the body, is deep.
I’m really glad she’s ok, it must have been traumatic for both her and you. I liked this post a lot because it really makes you pause and think about what drives people to run away from things. I didn't realize it as much before as I do now but self reflection is so important.
There’s usually a lot behind our choices, and finding the core reasons can be quite difficult - at least it is for me. But once you identify those motivations, it can feel freeing. You realize you might have run away because dealing with the situation was unpleasant or scary. From there, you can decide if that was the right choice or figure out how to handle it better next time without actually avoiding the issue.
You are so right - understanding our reactions, maybe especially when they don't feel like a choice, is soooo important. It's the only way we can begin to create the life we want, vs. the life we were given. How we react is key to everything. And yeah, looking at that stuff is not only difficult (learning how to productively unpack our behavior) but can also be scary. It's a lot easier to just blame someone or something else for our discomfort (or problems/ situation/ behavior), right? And a lot of folks do that. But then their lives never improve. :/
Very true. It is scary till you understand there are actually ways to do it without compromising oneself. Took me a long time to even figure that out conceptually. Some people also don't want to change and I think it's because they haven't tried other ways to do it or know the value of alternative approaches.
Maize mamma, what was going through head. We love them so much and try to protect them from everything we can think of that would make them do things like that, but they have their own fears that we cannot understand. Baxter is afraid of flies. He is okay if they are near him on the window but if they fly around forget it, he is in the bedroom. He also doesn't like loud noises or sudden movements, why he has never been yelled at. He has only had one home, and I realize that he has been through a lot, but he knows that he is loved and safe. I am so glad that Maize is safe, and sound and it is also great to know that she knows her way home. She knows it is her safe place and where she is loved and taken care of. Give her a big hug for me and then tell Tom that he needs to give you a big hug also, because the two of you need it. Love you.
awww thank you, Mary! She's beside me now and I just gave her a long belly rub and told her Aunt Mary loves her :) That's so interesting about Baxter not liking loud noises. Sounds like epigenetics - the science around how we inherit trauma genetically and through the womb. Mazie can't stand any kind of noise or chaos (as you know). What about Blessing? That little girl is lucky to be alive! Any lingering trauma for her?
Blessing does not have any issues except needing to smell her food before she decides it's good enough to eat. She doesn't take any crap from her brother or anyone or anything else. She is a strong girl.
Oh my gosh, Jan! So glad Maize is home, safe and sound!
Thank you, Joan. Me too!!!
So glad little Mazie is home and safe. Oh, your heart must have been in overdrive with fear for her.
Sometimes the worst fear is from what we don’t know. I’m sure we can all relate with what’s going on in our country and the world we live in today.
Snuggles and love to all. Feeling safe in the arms that love you is what quashes fear. 🩷
Thank you! Good parallel. I had to keep myself from crying or hyperventilating because I knew she needed me to be calm and keep calling her name. The same can be said for us in our country. 😘
PTL I am so glad she’s ok!
And I run away from home every year! 😆
Thank you.
Are you running from home or towards home? 😉
A little bit of both!
Oh my gosh! My sweet, sweet Maize!!!
I am so glad you are OK girl what were you thinking?
Exactly!!! What WAS she thinking? But then she probably wasn’t. Fight or flight got activated and off she went!
Omg, I was terrified 🤦🏻♀️
Oh goodness! My heart sank! I speed read your post and breathed when I read she was back! My heart is still thudding!! So glad she is back home safe.
Thank you, Rohini.
Whew! I was really worried about Mazie as I was reading! Did she find her way home by herself?
My fear responses differ with various situations, but more often I tend to freeze in one place when I'm fearful. I also agree with Denise that the unknown can be frightening.
So glad sweet Mazie is home!!
Thanks, Diana. Yes, amazingly, she found her way home. That doesn't surprise me too much - it's a straight shot, even if she did go over to the bike path, which I expected b/c that is much quieter than the main road. But... wow.
Interesting - freezing in place. I think that is true of Tom as well. So the "flight" part never kicks in, just the fright. Ugh.
I’m so glad she’s home❤️ did you guys find her or did she make it home on her own. So happy she’s safe with you again.
Thanks! Me too! Amazingly, she made it home herself. Well, the bike path is one block over and that's where I found her, but on our street, having just turned the corner. Whew!
I have a super-scared rescue dog. I hope we never face this sort of catastrophe but he wears an AirTag.
Ah! I never thought of an AirTag. That's a great idea! We had another small dog that ran away all the time b/c he chased anything that moved. He'd come home 5 or 8 hrs later covered in burrs and muddy (oy!). Wish we had had an AirTag for him! Mazie has great collars w/ our numbers on them but she so's skittish that no one can get close to her.
You can get special AirTag holders that slip right onto the dog’s collar and keep the AirTag snug in place.
btw, Rescue dogs are the best. sure, they have issues (don't we all?) but they are always always so grateful!
(I recognized some of the places in one of your photos!)
I had a little rescue Chug who sometimes went into flight mode but fortunately, her short little legs didn’t take her far or fast, especially in winter. I always wondered what fears and traumas she experienced earlier in her life, but it made me feel more protective of her and seek out ways to calm her little heart.
My current dog, Dougie Sue, the Aussie mini, has great confidence, which translates into aggression. Everything I own belongs to her, in her thinking, and nobody is allowed to mess with her stuff. I am seeing a major change in her behavior, because she goes with me everywhere and is learning that most people are pretty nice and like to give her treats. I go to the car wash and her head is wedged between the window frame and my left shoulder because the nice man gives her a treat. If she smells coffee, she is back on my left shoulder again to get her pupacino. And today at our local dump, one of the dump masters gave her TWO treats. Dump guy = nice man. Nice man won’t take stuff.
Gradually she is becoming less possessive of her car, her yard, and all of her other stuff as she discovers sharing. Good dogs get yummy treats, so who’s a good dog? Dougie Sue is a good dog.
Dougie Sue is indeed a good dog! Thanks for this - hearing about her made me smile. Yup, I can totally picture her moving btwn your shoulder and the window. lol
I wonder if all dogs feel protective of their yards, cars, etc. Anywhere they are enclosed (of sorts). Some more than others, but maybe it's in their DNA?
Working dogs, like my little Aussie, definitely have a protective instinct and a herding instinct. Also, when I call her, she runs low and very fast. When we play frisbee, she bounds like a deer. I’ve watched videos of them bounding across a band of sheep, from one sheep back to another, so that behavior is built in too.
I wonder how much instinct we humans operate on?
Maybe a little too much animal instinct. Would be helpful if folks used their brains a little more 😉
On the other hand . . .
What a sweet and lucky baby!
I've been doing a lot of research on physicality and trauma lately, and this idea that humans go into fight or flight like animals is 100% supported by ALL the research. In fact, we have some extra responses: there's also freeze or fawn.
Sweet Maisie actually illustrates how trauma reactions, when not fully processed, can capture us. People can spend decades in a "freeze" response, unable to fully feel their bodies. Our brains register something nonthreatening--like a car door slamming--as threatening, sending us right back into our trauma mode. Our bodies and brains work together to do what worked in the past, falling into the same response. It can take years of work to convince our subconscious and body that we're safe.
I have no idea how that all applies to puppers, but I hope Maisie will be able to feel safe when she's triggered someday!
Thank you, Rebecca! I appreciate this explanation. This "freeze" response is exactly what Diana mentioned in her response (and I added is what my husband does as well). VERY interesting. Freeze or fawn is not something we are readily taught - only fight or flight.
Physicality and trauma - I appreciate your research on this. As a massage therapist for many years, I worked primarily with survivors of trauma and the connection to the body, how that trauma is held in the body, is deep.
Thanks for writing!
How terrifying for all of you. I’m so thankful you got her back unharmed!💜
me too!! Thank you!
Running frantically from safety towards danger really feels like the definition of Anxiety. Oof.
(So glad she made it home!!!)
I'm relieved there was a happy ending. I can take a breath now!
sorry to cause you anxiety!
I’m really glad she’s ok, it must have been traumatic for both her and you. I liked this post a lot because it really makes you pause and think about what drives people to run away from things. I didn't realize it as much before as I do now but self reflection is so important.
There’s usually a lot behind our choices, and finding the core reasons can be quite difficult - at least it is for me. But once you identify those motivations, it can feel freeing. You realize you might have run away because dealing with the situation was unpleasant or scary. From there, you can decide if that was the right choice or figure out how to handle it better next time without actually avoiding the issue.
And loved the photos - so cute!
Thank you - I agree, she's a pretty cute pup! :)
You are so right - understanding our reactions, maybe especially when they don't feel like a choice, is soooo important. It's the only way we can begin to create the life we want, vs. the life we were given. How we react is key to everything. And yeah, looking at that stuff is not only difficult (learning how to productively unpack our behavior) but can also be scary. It's a lot easier to just blame someone or something else for our discomfort (or problems/ situation/ behavior), right? And a lot of folks do that. But then their lives never improve. :/
Very true. It is scary till you understand there are actually ways to do it without compromising oneself. Took me a long time to even figure that out conceptually. Some people also don't want to change and I think it's because they haven't tried other ways to do it or know the value of alternative approaches.
True true true!
Maize mamma, what was going through head. We love them so much and try to protect them from everything we can think of that would make them do things like that, but they have their own fears that we cannot understand. Baxter is afraid of flies. He is okay if they are near him on the window but if they fly around forget it, he is in the bedroom. He also doesn't like loud noises or sudden movements, why he has never been yelled at. He has only had one home, and I realize that he has been through a lot, but he knows that he is loved and safe. I am so glad that Maize is safe, and sound and it is also great to know that she knows her way home. She knows it is her safe place and where she is loved and taken care of. Give her a big hug for me and then tell Tom that he needs to give you a big hug also, because the two of you need it. Love you.
awww thank you, Mary! She's beside me now and I just gave her a long belly rub and told her Aunt Mary loves her :) That's so interesting about Baxter not liking loud noises. Sounds like epigenetics - the science around how we inherit trauma genetically and through the womb. Mazie can't stand any kind of noise or chaos (as you know). What about Blessing? That little girl is lucky to be alive! Any lingering trauma for her?
Blessing does not have any issues except needing to smell her food before she decides it's good enough to eat. She doesn't take any crap from her brother or anyone or anything else. She is a strong girl.
Wow! You go little girl!! 💪 honestly kinda amazing though considering her birth!