Garbage truck curveball
Yesterday morning, Gretel and I went for our bike ride and for the first time encountered a garbage truck.
Big and noisy, I guess it’s a lot different from the cars and trucks we normally see on our rides.
We were on our way down the hill, and the truck was on its way up the hill, in retrospect I wish I’d handled it a little better, because Gretel was clearly freightened by the thing. I kept moving, and she tried to stay back, but with me in motion, she’s learned that she’s gotta keep moving too. If I could do it over again, I suppose I’d try going much slower, and have some treats on hand.
Part of me is glad that she wants to be far away from the truck, but another part of me wish she wasn’t afraid.
I suppose the experts would probably call it “flooding”, when forcing the dog to confront things that they’re afraid of. That’s not at all what I want to do.
I wonder if I should look for another opportunity to desensitize her to the truck (perhaps gain some redemption), or if it would be better to avoid close proximity to truck(s) at all cost, knowing that fear of big heavy things can be a good thing… Hmmm…. Stay tuned!