When Trusting Seems Hard

 

Al and I have enjoyed the companionship of our dog, TJ, for the past twelve years in spite of the fact that his antics, along with his sidekick Teddy, pushed Al to the point of threatening to put a sign out in front of the house: “Dogs for sale!”

 Since Teddy’s death a few years ago, TJ has calmed down and is no longer the same rambunctious dog that we adopted from a pet rescue home in 2012.  Whereas he and Teddy used to drag me along during our walks, these days he is content to walk by my side.

Living with TJ as a housemate has helped Al and me understand his body language and his need for routines:

Wake up around 7:00 and eat. Go out in the backyard. Then back to bed and sleep until noon.

Try to get a treat or finish anything left over in the dog dish. Time for a nap. Clean as much of the body that can be reached by tongue and roll around on carpet to scratch back.

4:00 p.m. Dinnertime. Wait at the kitchen door until its ready. Then snooze a little until the sound of the leash can be heard. Time for a walk?  “Let’s go!”

 9:00 p.m. bedtime. Outside once more, then a brushing and quick once over with doggie wipes. Stand and point to pillow until it is positioned in front of the recliner. Snuggle up under cover and drift off to sleep.

He has trained us well! I’m not sure who taught him how to tell time though! He also understands and obeys most of our commands. We can now trust him to do what we ask him to do, except for occasionally breaking the rule of staying out of the kitchen!

Although TJ isn’t a particularly affectionate dog, he shows his love by sitting beside me, pressing his body against my legs for a good rub between the ears or back scratch, and races happily around the yard in circles whenever we return home after being away for a few hours.

There are some things that seem to scare him: thunder & lightning, the basement, and the back gate. The trick to calming him down during a storm is simply putting one of Al’s old t-shirts on him. It is just tight enough to keep him from pacing around the house and seems to give him the sense of comfort he needs so that he can lie back down and go to sleep.

Now the basement is another story, my fault really. One day I decided to try to give both dogs a bath downstairs, using a hose connected to the laundry tub and standing them over the drain in the cement floor.

Teddy didn’t mind; however, TJ was panic-stricken. I finally dragged him down the stairs and forced him to have a bath. Since that time, there is no way he will even stick his nose in the door leading to the basement.

Recently, I had the idea to take TJ out the gate connecting our yard with the yard of the neighbor behind us. It would give us a new route for our daily walks. With our neighbor’s permission, I led him on leash in the direction of that gate, but didn’t get far.

He put on the brakes, spun around and pulled in the opposite direction. I tried everything, even enticing him with treats. But he refused, certain that we had to go out through the gate on the driveway for our walk and couldn’t understand how there might be another way!

Finally, we went out the front gate and walked around the block to the neighbor’s backyard.  After investigating the gate between our yards thoroughly, he let me lead him through to our side. We walked through it several times until he seemed comfortable going that way.  

TJ just needed to trust me—a lesson that I also need to learn as I follow the Lord each day. Trusting in Him, relying on Him, leaning on Him, committing myself fully to His care and following His lead…are all necessary in my journey through life. He will never let me down. Nor will He you!

“Trust in the Lord with your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil…” Proverbs 3:5-7 NIV