Moose

Moose Read Free

Book: Moose Read Free
Author: Ellen Miles
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Charles.”
    Charles felt his face grow hot, and knew he wasblushing. It was very flattering that a frightened dog like Moose would feel safe with him. And it was an even bigger compliment for Aunt Amanda to want him along on this special weekend. “Wow,” he said. “Can I, Mom? Can I go?”
    Mom looked at Dad. He nodded, and they both smiled. “Sure,” she said, turning back to Charles. “I think Moose needs you. I guess that means you and Lizzie
both
have some packing to do tonight.”
    “I’m just wondering,” Dad asked Aunt Amanda, “why would a dog become so fearful to begin with?”
    “It’s hard to say,” said Aunt Amanda. “Some dogs have a bad experience as puppies, and it sticks with them. For example, one dog I knew was kicked by a big man when she was a little puppy, so she was afraid of large men from then on. Other scaredy-dogs were never socializedenough. That may be the case with Moose. After the Brewers adopted him, they spent a lot of time at their country house, so he didn’t meet many other dogs or people. They finally started to take him to obedience classes, and that’s been great for him. But since he didn’t have a variety of experiences when he was younger, every new thing scares him.”
    “So how can you teach him not to be scared?” asked Lizzie.
    “Dog trainers have lots of different methods,” said Aunt Amanda. “I think the best way is probably desensitization.”
    “De-
what
?” asked Charles.
    “I know, it’s a big word,” said Aunt Amanda. “Basically, it just means helping the dog become less sensitive to scary things by introducing them slowly and carefully, a little bit at a time.”
    Charles was interested. “Like how?”
    “Okay,” said Aunt Amanda. “Let’s say Mooseis afraid of . . .” She looked around the room. “Squeaky toys,” she said, spotting Buddy’s favorite toy, Mr. Duck. “Which he is, probably because they make a sudden noise that surprises him.”
    She went over and picked up Mr. Duck. “Some trainers believe in a technique called ‘flooding,’ “ she said. “They think that you should expose the dog to whatever scares him until he just gets used to it. They would take Mr. Duck right up close to Moose and make the toy squeak over and over.”
    “That’s mean.” Charles put his arm around Moose. Moose sighed and settled in closer to Charles, leaning his full, heavy weight against him. “I would never do that to a dog.”
    “Neither would I,” said Aunt Amanda. “What I would do is first try to get Moose used to having Mr. Duck around. I would leave Mr. Duck where Moose could see him, and if Moosehappened to go over on his own to check out the toy I would praise him and give him treats, so he would be rewarded for being curious and brave.”
    “And then?” asked Lizzie. “What about the squeaky part?”
    “Noises can be very scary for dogs,” said Aunt Amanda. “Remember, their hearing is even better than ours, so even a small noise can sound loud. I would start by taking Mr. Duck far away before I made him squeak.” She carried Mr. Duck over to the fireplace and gave him a tiny squeeze.
    A small squeak came out, and Moose’s ears perked but he did not get up to run away. “Good boy.” Charles stroked the big dog’s cheek. It was like petting a horse’s jaw.
    “That’s exactly right, Charles. Reward him for being brave,” said Aunt Amanda. “Then, overtime, I would slowly bring Mr. Duck closer and closer, making him squeak and giving Moose pats and treats if he did not run away. I might also try to distract Moose with some other activity, like having him do a trick for me. Finally, hopefully, Moose would be able to have Mr. Duck squeak right there next to him.”
    “Wow,” said Lizzie. “That’s a lot of work.”
    Aunt Amanda nodded. “It sure is. And it takes a lot of time. But if we can get him started, I think the Brewers would be happy to keep working with him. They’ve really enjoyed getting into

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