December 17, 2020

White Dog smiled. "Celebrate the little things, you always say momma, give Roman a treat for his huge effort."

Roman has trouble understanding that Bella's unpredictable jerky movements are the result of a dementia electrical storm and not a personal attack on his person. We are always VERY cautious when Bella is particularly manic to keep the two at a distance and to explain to each what needs to be done to avoid confrontation. Thankfully, Bella is small enough to be quickly scooped into arms at those times a physical separation is needed.

Our Boy has oodles of physical and PTSD challenges but he is smart and does process information well. On his own he has evolved strategies that work for him to avoid being triggered by his happy but not always present sister.

He goes UP. 

He heads outside. Bella no longer can figure out the dog door so the outdoors is a safety zone.

Roman heads for the safety of the gated kitchen.

He turns his back and closes his eyes so Bela becomes "invisible" to him.

And for the most guaranteed "safety" from Bella's onslaught of love, Roman comes close and lies at momma's feet.

"The point is," White Dog explained as I handed out bites of liver sausage (with an extra to my very good boy), "Roman  has learned to react in ways other than attacking the poor girl like he once used to. It is progress, momma! Bravo, Roman!"