Happy New DAY!

Or maybe NOT... :*(

It's a new year and a new mixing bottle. After the feedback to Zoe, this is the new concoction we are using for the mixing bottle

Vine - Allows animal to be determined not domineering

Walnut - Helps the animal ease into its new surroundings or situation

Water Violet - Produces a compassionable and sociable animal

Mimulus - Animals become more confident and courageous, can enjoy life without fear

As you all know, we can never hope to know exactly what's going on in those heads of theirs - not unless you are Dr DoLittle. I am not. - so it's still pretty much a "trial-and-error" experiment for us in the current stage of things with the Flowers (although we all try to make it as informed a "trial-and-error" experiment as possible) but still, you just never know.

But what I DO KNOW is, whatever he is thinking now, it's aint' good! :(

So bad that I actually have to stop using  the mixing bottle ONLY 2 days after we started it.

I don't know if it's the lack of Impatiens in the new concoction or maybe it's the added confidence from Mimulus, but the situation we have on hand now is really not pretty! On a really bad day, it feels to me that we've gone one full circle and come smacked right back to square 1! (Or maybe square minus 1!)

For the last 2 weeks or so, due to the holidays, we were kinda out of a routine. Don't get me wrong, I didn't lock him at home and forget about him. We still do our 3 walks a day diligently. (sometimes even 4 or 5!) The only difference is that, it's just not always at the same time, on the same routes, that's all. And believe me, Mr Tristan ain't a fan of NEW things.

I've noticed that he seemed to find find comfort and calmness in the sureness of a routine. New things stress him out. B.I.G.T.I.M.E. New dogs stress him. New venues stress him. New routine stress him. You name it. Pretty much ANYTHING new stresses him. Is it because he's so insecure that his mind just goes into overdrive at anything that's just not his norm?

I guess I'll never know.

One thing I DO know is, the lack of structured existance for this boy has returned me the all too familiar stress ball who lunges at 90% of men, park vehicles, bicycles AGAIN!

I have NO intellectual explanation whatsoever for this sudden regress.

My only best guess is that the lack of a schedule during the long holidays have made him jittery all over again! It might actually be true considering since we started our regular routine again the last 3 days, he seemed to have gotten better as the day goes by. Everyday, he lunges alittle bit less. Everyday he seems to find his footing back alittle more. But still, that's just so disheartening! It's like a chronic disease that wouldn't go away! :(

Ok, so now you've heard the really bleak part. If you are still reading, there IS one silver lining. Believe it or not.

The new concoction seemed to have improve his inter-canine relational skills. I'm not sure if it's the Mimulus working its magic here, afterall it's supposed to make him more "confident and courageous" but last week, we went for our weekly swim and I took the chance and allowed an offleash MALE Retriever to come right up to his face (Before you stone me, this Retriever is friendly and I knew that beforehand) That said, I reckon I wasn't prepared for the guy to plaster his face to him for 20secs - even though Tristan kept trying to walk away from him! - So urm, I might have push it alittle too far there. Anyhow, by that time, Tristan was so way above his threshold that basically all you can see is just the whites of his eyes and I knew he was going to snap at him anytime soon if the guy wouldn't leave him alone.

Nothing dramatc happened. Thank God. But from how he reacted, it affirmed to me that his reactivity to dogs might really be a byproduct of Fear. If that's the case, Mimulus might actually be helping him with that. Oh. did I mention too that he can pretty much ignore dogs during our walks these days? Though he's all nutty over anything else that moves?

*Double Sigh*

Now, all I need is to someone to tell me how to make him love life the way he loves swimming?