Rub-A-Dub-Dub

                Bath time is always an exhilarating time.  P hasn’t had the greatest involvement with water; in fact, you could say P abhors water from a bad experience at the lake, while JD on the other hand loves it.  JM and I decided to take JD to the lake, and introduce P to the deep water when he was about a year old.  At the time, only JD had a life jacket, (since she swims so far out into bottomless waters and would not have enough energy for the journey back) and P was left to me or JM to play life guard and come to his rescue in shallower waters.  While on this trip and introduction to H₂O, P had a bit of a brush with death in a near drowning incident.  P tried to follow JD out while playing a game of fetch, but evidently, P isn’t the strongest of swimmers, actually, he couldn’t swim at all.  JM and I watched him slowly capsize like the Titanic, and struggle to keep his head above the water before picking him up, relieving him of his struggle. 

Since this traumatic episode P has had a massive anxiety attacks when it comes to bath time.  He usually has an asthma attack once he in the tub, or when the water finally reaches his little paws, or both. 

Oh no!  H₂O!!!

Even with my best attempts at comforting him, P quivers and trembles in fear the entire time I suds him up.  

Still so scared, poor P!

But the best part of bath time is when it is all over and I get to wrap him up in a towel.  He surprisingly enjoys being coddled like a baby and having me hold him in my arms; he likes it so much he typically falls asleep.  

Also, after bathing P gets extremely feisty.  So lively he does “run runs” around the house while JD chases close behind.  Watch out P, she’s going to get you!  

P doing an after bath run-run

Access Denied

                The past week I was visiting my nephews, and while there, P had discovered an outlandish hole in one of the doors there.  A hole in the wall?  Yes, a hole in the wall, but this was not a mundane or impractical hole in the wall, it was a kitty door.  

The hole next to a Diet Mist can for size comparison.

P feared the kitty door, even though the thing he relishes most was closed behind it, FOOD!  

That's pure fear in his eyes.

Determined to train him to conquer his fear, P and I spent hours just trying to get him to muster up the courage just to walk through.  Even after an hour a day, for three days, P refused to walk through the door without some sort of inspiration, T Bonz.  

      

The furtherest we got, was P feeling comfortable enough to put his head through.  Maybe on our next trip, he’ll be able to master the elusive hole.