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Hi collaborator! One day last week, Muggins was exploring our yard and came across a baby robin on the ground underneath the lilac bush! Muggins’s tail rose high and wagged speedily as they barked and pounced playfully toward the fluffy fledgling, who called out in fear to their parents, who then spent the next several minutes loudly scolding us. Luckily, the youngster reacted quickly and was able to flap wildly and jump through the chain link fence into safety. I quickly leashed Muggins while apologizing to the feathered parents and committing to keep Muggins on leash until the fledgling developed stronger flying skills. For the next few days, I paid closer attention to the patterns and sounds of the robins, noticing what times of day they were feeding and listening for the alarm call to know if we were close to the young. I kept Muggins on leash and tossed treats in the grass so that they could still spend time sniffing and exploring. At first I worried that Muggins would be missing out on doing dog things because they were on leash. As the week went on, I noticed that Muggins was doing a dog thing: they were sniffing! And they seemed more relaxed playing this sniffing game than when they were chasing and barking at cheeky squirrels. I also noticed that I was more relaxed and grounded when I followed this structure of listening and guiding. And, of course, the robins were more relaxed, too. Many thanks to the robins, for the reminders that: 1. There are many ways for Muggins to do dog things. 2. Boundaries are good for everyone. 3. Co-regulation means meeting everyone’s needs.
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