Jess vs d'machine

I have a 90 lb female German Shepherd named Jessie. Usually, when it's time for bed, I tell her we're going to bed and she follows me around during my routine of brushing my teeth, etc - then climbs into her crate when I climb into bed.

Only, now 'there's this monster thing with a snake coming out of it that is trying to suffocate MOM!!' . . . so last night she stood for 45 minutes beside my bed nosing the hose and scrunching her eyebrows together with that worried look she gets when she knows she's going to the vet. I finally told her to go 'lie down' and she went, but then came right back to check on me again. . .then with a bit more stern, she finally got into her crate to sleep.

I introduced her to the 'monster' and the hose this morning to let her know that . . . well. . ."Huff's part of the family, now." **sigh**

But now she won't let me out of her sight - and she got that worried look again when I put the water container back into the humidifier late this afternoon.

I never ever in my life thought I'd ask this. . .but . . . did any of you have to help your pet adjust? What were some of the things you did?

Cute story! I can't give you any tips but I do know that "worried" look Jessie has. We had a German Shepard for 15yrs and she always had that look whenever someone she didn't know got too close or when a storm was brewing. We miss her to this day.

quietmorning wrote:I never ever in my life thought I'd ask this. . .but . . . did any of you have to help your pet adjust? What were some of the things you did?

I had to help my dog Ralph adjust to the machine. A couple things I did that seemed to help the most were-- Sometimes during the day when I had things to do in the bedroom, I turned the machine on and left it running as I went about my business. That seemed to help Ralph realize that the machine being on wasn't something to be concerned about. It also gave him a chance to sniff at the machine while it was on.

I usually took the hose and mask off when I was running it for Ralph because I had visions of him chewing those up. I did let him sniff those separately, under very close supervision.

I also put the mask on and ran the machine a few times during the day while coaxing Ralph over to where I was. I would then sit with him, petting him, brushing him, whatever to get him in a nice calm and relaxed state of mind.

He was pretty skittish about the machine at first, but the above seemed to help. What helped the most, though, was time. My guess is that it will be the same with your pup.

Deborah

That's funny. I can just see the look on her face. I had a dog who used to look at me with a "why are you mad at me?" look when my back was bothering me and I couldn't move around easily.

"But MOM!!! Didn't you see the movie 'Aliens?'"

She'll probably get used to it pretty quickly. Does she have a favorite doggie treat or toy. Maybe you can put the mask on and play with her or feed her while wearing it.

Don't force it on her too much, though. Maybe put it down somewhere and let her approach and sniff it at her own pace. You should probably be extra careful that it's not laying out somewhere she can get hold of it and chew on it.

My cat (see gorgeous pic at left) got even bigger eyes and jumped off the bed and took off to the other side of the house the first night. The next morning, I had him visit the machine and mask. It took a few nights before he ventured into the room and stayed at the foot of the bed. Eventually, he adjusted to it all.... now, he comes up and sticks his face in the air coming out the mask vent. If I roll over onto my back in the morning, he comes over and sniffs and stays next to me. They adjust.... and get used to things once they know you are still going to be ok and feed them

DoriC wrote:Cute story! I can't give you any tips but I do know that "worried" look Jessie has. We had a German Shepard for 15yrs and she always had that look whenever someone she didn't know got too close or when a storm was brewing. We miss her to this day.

Yes, Jess is quite expressive that about her.

My husband is a cat lover - not much on dogs, he bought her for me before we got married - and he's been slowly changing over to being a dog lover.

Paper_Nanny wrote:

quietmorning wrote:I never ever in my life thought I'd ask this. . .but . . . did any of you have to help your pet adjust? What were some of the things you did?

I had to help my dog Ralph adjust to the machine. A couple things I did that seemed to help the most were-- Sometimes during the day when I had things to do in the bedroom, I turned the machine on and left it running as I went about my business. That seemed to help Ralph realize that the machine being on wasn't something to be concerned about. It also gave him a chance to sniff at the machine while it was on.

I usually took the hose and mask off when I was running it for Ralph because I had visions of him chewing those up. I did let him sniff those separately, under very close supervision.

I also put the mask on and ran the machine a few times during the day while coaxing Ralph over to where I was. I would then sit with him, petting him, brushing him, whatever to get him in a nice calm and relaxed state of mind.

He was pretty skittish about the machine at first, but the above seemed to help. What helped the most, though, was time. My guess is that it will be the same with your pup.

Deborah

Thanks, Deborah!! I'll try this!

archangle wrote:That's funny. I can just see the look on her face. I had a dog who used to look at me with a "why are you mad at me?" look when my back was bothering me and I couldn't move around easily.

"But MOM!!! Didn't you see the movie 'Aliens?'"

She'll probably get used to it pretty quickly. Does she have a favorite doggie treat or toy. Maybe you can put the mask on and play with her or feed her while wearing it.

Don't force it on her too much, though. Maybe put it down somewhere and let her approach and sniff it at her own pace. You should probably be extra careful that it's not laying out somewhere she can get hold of it and chew on it.

Jess is REALLY good at not chewing anything that doesn't belong to her. She's very well trained, but if I'm not careful, she'll decide that this is her JOB to stay awake all night keeping an eye on Mom and that thing on her face. (I'm pretty sure she's seen Aliens when I wasn't looking.)

I like the idea of putting the mask on and playing with her with it. Last night I kissed her good night with it on. . .heh. . .and she slurped me right up the front of the hose. So, I need to be careful of that the next time.

Emilia wrote:My cat (see gorgeous pic at left) got even bigger eyes and jumped off the bed and took off to the other side of the house the first night. The next morning, I had him visit the machine and mask. It took a few nights before he ventured into the room and stayed at the foot of the bed. Eventually, he adjusted to it all.... now, he comes up and sticks his face in the air coming out the mask vent. If I roll over onto my back in the morning, he comes over and sniffs and stays next to me. They adjust.... and get used to things once they know you are still going to be ok and feed them

**laughing** Your kittah looks like our Rhodie. Our cats usually aren't in the bedroom, so I haven't had to worry about Petra too much (our scared-ee cat) - Rhodie is so stoic that you could hit him in head with a two by four and he'd just look at you with this "Now why'd you go and do that for?" look. (I adore Rhodie)

I love furbabies.

The first night that "Angel" the cat came into the bedroom she stopped dead still and stared at the hose/mask. When it didn't move, she cautiously approached it and, leaning backward as far as she could, gingerly reached out a paw and tapped it a few times. When it still didn't move, she got closer and sniffed it. Wish I had it on video. You could see what she was thinking. She's an indoor-outdoor cat and has certainly encountered snakes here in the hills of southern California.

Later that night, she came into the bedroom, hopped onto the bed and stood still for probably 3 minutes, looking at that thing on my face. Then I felt a soft tap-tap of her paw on the mask. I reached out and petted her for a few minutes, and she relaxed, reassured that everything was OK. Now, she doesn't pay the hose or mask a bit of attention.

quietmorning wrote: Jess is REALLY good at not chewing anything that doesn't belong to her.

Mine is REALLY good at not chewing on anything she can't reach.

Be careful, dogs tend to treat their owner's clothing items a little more friendly than other items. It sort of falls into a different mental category. Your mask and hose may fall into the clothing category in her mind after a while.