Fear

During this summer, we discovered one more of Stella's fears, and this time a bit more serious: Hot Air Balloons! We see them quite often from where we live - four, five, six balloons that take off close to where we live, and quite often they pass right over our house. Sometimes we wonder if Stella's eyes are totally well, but she can spot a hot air balloon at any distance. And she HATES them!

At first we found it a little bit cute - our dog was defending our yard, but slowly we understood that she is genuinely afraid of them. She ran away two time while walking with Jurgita, luckily in places where the chance of getting hit by a car was pretty small.

One of our lessons coincided with a balloon "take off", so our dog teacher took us there. Stella knew immediately that she was in for trouble, the first thing she reacts to is the sound of the fans and the burners, and she so! wanted to get away from there. We sat down 50 meters away, tried to pay no attention to the balloons. Maja - as usual - really did not pay ANY attention to the ballons :)

Stella was definitely scared and was really shaking all over, but she kept her pose; she was lying down, watching the balloons fill and take off. She didn't growl, didn't bark, didn't try to run away. If I have ever seen a dog facing it's fears, it was then. Even the dog trainer found it impressive - she was scared, but she is so mentally strong.

Did it help? No. Probably - for some reason - she will always be afraid of balloons, but maybe it will be easier for her to face them, and hopefully we can make her not run from us if a balloon flies over us.

It is funny, though, to see the difference between Maja and Stella. Stella is not afraid of any dog, but some other things might make her a bit nervous. Maja can sometimes be a bit scared by charging dogs, but things?? Balloons? Which balloons? :)