Poor baby!Â
My friend Desi got a new cocker mix--her name is Booty cause she has a big butt--a few weeks ago at the shelter who has some similar fear issues-- belts, shoes, and particularly the newspaper. What Desi's been doing is trying to turn the things Booty yelps and cowers at into toy objects--sitting on the floor playing tug with one of the kids or her husband with a belt, playing tag or catch out in the yard with shoes, spreading newspaper all over the floor, then sitting down in the middle of a sea of it and petting her and loving her up, and playing with her.
The newspaper plan has been spectacularly successful; Booty's even starting to learn to 'get' sections of it all rolled up. The playing with the other things is helping with them too--she doesn't want to touch a belt or a shoe herself, but she doesn't cry and cower or run away anymore when someone picks one up either.Â