Momma2Bullies
New member
Ok. So Wilbur is special. We have no idea why he is so vastly different from Layla (they are littermates, both 2 years old now). They have been exposed to the exact same things at the same time, and yet they are so unique in their reactions! Layla is the 'brave' and 'inquisitive' one. She is fearless. She approaches anyone and anything new with curiosity and a sweet wiggle bum-bum. She gets in trouble a lot; she is h*ll-bent on escaping under our fence!
Wilbur however is different. He is a special boy. He is like my cats from yester-year: when there is a new decor item (like a basket or barstool), it needs to be run away from and then barked at for hours. Then Mommy has to touch it and demonstrate that it is in fact an inanimate object so that he will approach (Layla has, in the meantime, basically laid all over it). If there is a new magnet on the fridge, he notices immediately and freaks out. He hides, cowers, then attacks, then backs away, then runs, then attacks. For. Hours. And. Hours. Days.
Some of you know about my issues with Wilbur and Layla having some "tiffs' of late - we are working on that. But this is in a whole other category. I (yes, me... Mommy has created a monster) used to hug and soothe him, baby talk him, and tell him everything was ok with the new DVD on the kitchen counter. BIG mistake. HUGE. I see that now this was just rewarding his behaviour. So I switched and firmly NO! SIT! BAD! NO NO NO! WILBUR! NO!and so on. This only made him freak even more, and the whole episode would escalate until he was panting and exhausted and I was practically crying. (Layla is usually rolling her eyes from her spot on the couch).
Now, I have just been...ignoring....the whole thing. No matter what - fireworks, thunder, the fridge beeping because it was accidentally open a crack, someone hammering a nail in Omaha....Wilbur flips out and runs around like it is the Apocalypse. I continue doing what I am doing - and I don't react at all. I don't tell him it is ok, and I don't tell him no. I just keep on keepin' on, and usually (fake) yawn or something to show that I am totally relaxed. AND HE JUST GOES AND LAYS DOWN!!! Have I won? Is this hubris to even post about this? Am I tempting the Gods?
If I just don't react at all, does he think "oh. ok. I will stand down then'?????
Victory??!?!
Wilbur however is different. He is a special boy. He is like my cats from yester-year: when there is a new decor item (like a basket or barstool), it needs to be run away from and then barked at for hours. Then Mommy has to touch it and demonstrate that it is in fact an inanimate object so that he will approach (Layla has, in the meantime, basically laid all over it). If there is a new magnet on the fridge, he notices immediately and freaks out. He hides, cowers, then attacks, then backs away, then runs, then attacks. For. Hours. And. Hours. Days.
Some of you know about my issues with Wilbur and Layla having some "tiffs' of late - we are working on that. But this is in a whole other category. I (yes, me... Mommy has created a monster) used to hug and soothe him, baby talk him, and tell him everything was ok with the new DVD on the kitchen counter. BIG mistake. HUGE. I see that now this was just rewarding his behaviour. So I switched and firmly NO! SIT! BAD! NO NO NO! WILBUR! NO!and so on. This only made him freak even more, and the whole episode would escalate until he was panting and exhausted and I was practically crying. (Layla is usually rolling her eyes from her spot on the couch).
Now, I have just been...ignoring....the whole thing. No matter what - fireworks, thunder, the fridge beeping because it was accidentally open a crack, someone hammering a nail in Omaha....Wilbur flips out and runs around like it is the Apocalypse. I continue doing what I am doing - and I don't react at all. I don't tell him it is ok, and I don't tell him no. I just keep on keepin' on, and usually (fake) yawn or something to show that I am totally relaxed. AND HE JUST GOES AND LAYS DOWN!!! Have I won? Is this hubris to even post about this? Am I tempting the Gods?
If I just don't react at all, does he think "oh. ok. I will stand down then'?????
Victory??!?!