Anxious?

[Beachbum1]

Taylor has been going out in the car every day for the past year and a half.

And he has been "shopping" all the time in places like Lowe's, the pet stores, Staples, etc.

 

Last Sunday morning, Taylor, Face and I went to Petco.

Coming around a corner in the store, I believe Face may have crowded Taylor and Taylor lost his footing and his back legs splayed out.

I saw that happen once around a year ago.

 

Taylor couldn't stand up straight and was quite frightened, and I got him onto some carpeting in the entrance area and we then left.

 

Got him home around 15 minutes later, and understandably, he was nervous/anxious with the tile floors in the house.

 

Throughout the week, he has been getting a lot better walking around the house (I did add a couple of rubber backed runners but it is still 90% tile in here).

He does run around just fine in the back yard, and turns on a dime, so I don't think he hurt himself.

 

What I have noticed is that while he does want to go "out for a ride" in the morning, and other times, instead of calmly walking to the front door, he starts running away from the front door when he sees me leash up Face and try to get the leash on him (Taylor). Then when I do get the leash on him, he is wagging his tail a LOT and his ears are flat on his head.

 

He will continue with the furious tail wagging until they both hop into the back of my Tuscon and then he's fine. He'll stand there and look around and then lay down and be quiet as usual.

 

Any idea why he is getting so tail happy when we head out to the Tuscon?

Is he anxious about going someplace where he might slip again?

 

This past week we have driven to places where we have then gone on walks (outside), and he is fine, but we did go into Lowe's the middle of this past week (where he has been dozens of times), and he looked upset (ears down and not too happy to walk) so we left after a few minutes.

 

Any suggestions on what might be going on with him?

 

 

[Feisty49]

I think you've answered your own question. Short of being able to read his mind, everything points to the accident on the slippery floor in Petco. He'll get over it in time.

[GreyhoundGirl]

I know you take him on a lot of outings to Lowe's, PetSmart, etc and I would continue to do that. Stopping that just feeds the anxiety. Maybe go in for a few minutes, leave and stay a little longer each time you go. With time it will get better.

 

Molly and Mason think that if you bring treats with you when you go it will help lots! (I'm just relaying the message).

[greysmom]

Head down and a wagging tail in this instance is probably indicating some anxiousness - they are appeasement behaviors. I would do as suggested above - don't stop taking him places, but make your visits short and happy and successful. Treats will go a long way to helping him realize his fall was an isolated incident.

 

There are instances of greys never losing a memory of a trauma - a fall on a slick floor will mean never being comfortable on a slick floor again. Or it can take many months for them to get over it. Or he might be totally fine the next time you go. Just be supportive and reward him for reacting positively to his scary floor places.

[rschultz]

The first 6 months we had Lexie she never was anxious in a car, then one day we had to take her to the ER to get her foot stitched. She has been anxious in a car ever since. Hopefully Taylor will be better in time. Do you think he could be sore somewhere that you're not aware of?

Edited June 17, 2013 by rschultz