Giant Snow Blob

So today's post isn't really about training, more just a glimpse into what life is like with my crazy dog.

On this morning's warm winter walk we came across a big ball of snow in the grass. It looked like some kids had started to make a snowman and then gave up after one ball. It was about 2 feet across. We were maybe 10 feet away from the ball when Juneau started acting very strangely. Then when Lucy stopped to pee in front of the ball, I realized it was actually the snowball Juneau was reacting too.

I petted her and tried to get her to walk closer to it, but she was terrified. At first she tried to protect me from it and was growling and barking under her breath. (It think the barking with the mouth closed is a mastiff thing.) Then she decided we were too close, "screw mommy!" and she hid behind me instead.

Normally I would make her go up and see the object isn't scary. That's how I have dealt with fear of traffic cones, trash cans, an abandoned water heater with balloons tied to it, etc. Let her sniff it and see that is doesn't move and maybe put a treat on it. But for some reason the snowball was worse than those things. Unfortunately  it will probably be gone by the time I get home (or at least much smaller) so I may not get my training exercise out of it.

I guess I'll be building big snowballs next time it snows  . . .