Toby in the middle

toby-in-the-middle, originally uploaded by phaird.

For the past few weeks, every time I've brought my dog, Toby, to the park, he shakes. It all started one Sunday when he could hear gun shots from a firing range off in the distance. It sounds like a hammer on wood and it's so faint, everyone I told about it didn't even notice till I said something. Today was the first day he would come to the park without fear. He always puts on a macho front but he can be a real coward sometimes.

As an adopted dog, there is always things in a dogs past that we can't plan for. This fear of the gun shots, fireworks, thunder or any other loud noise is really hard on our little guy but we do what we can to keep him comfortable until his fear passes. Then he's our happy little pooch again.