Paws and Reflect

Paws and Reflect

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Haley's Journal

Dog Reactivity

Four years since: What my first foster dog taught me
Big realizations and tiny seeds planted by our first foster dog in 2022, a bully-breed mix on medically mandated crate rest
 • Haley Young
My sensitive dog's first two weeks as a campground host
An introvert and her shy blue heeler decide to volunteer at a busy state park. The punchline? They love it.
 • Haley Young
My dog and I will never be "cured" of our reactivity
All these years of progress later, sometimes I still grieve the things that aren't easy with such a sensitive creature.
 • Haley Young
Seven years writing the story of Scout Finch
Happy gotcha day to the dog I got in my 20s—the one who's moved into four apartments, one house, and now a converted van by my side.
 • Haley Young
An example of my "reactive" dog pattern mapping unpleasant encounters
Once in a while, we can’t avoid the chaos—and then those experiences stack atop one another, threatening all our confidence just a bit. This pattern…
 • Haley Young
I don't want the vet to "win over" my dog
Poking-and-prodding betrayal is worse coming from a potential friend.
 • Haley Young
Is off-leash dog drama really worth physical assault?!
Come one, come all: Heated off-leash dog incidents are happening again
 • Haley Young
It’s (still) isolating to love a sensitive dog
But I am capable of crossing any imaginary line my least-productive thought spirals draw.
 • Haley Young
In fact, I think I might wave hello
On off-leash dogs and shouting at strangers and trying to make things better, not worse
 • Haley Young
My weirdo dog likes neighborhood walks now?
Reflections on preferences and fulfillment opportunities changing over time
 • Haley Young
Dogs need more than love
Well, depending on how we define "love".
 • Haley Young
Thank you for not treating my cattle dog like a retriever
“She doesn’t require an ounce of management when people don’t expect her to be a Labrador” — summing up Scout’s ability to happily coexist with…
 • Haley Young
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