Petey's Very Sensitive Neck

I thought I should explain Petey's very sensitive neck, mentioned in Saturday's post.

The short post is he just can't stand to have any pressure on his neck. When that happens he coughs and gags like he is being choked to death, and I do mean the slightest. Case and point the car ride home, when he was resting his own head on my arm.

The main time this sensitive neck issue is a problem is when we take Petey for a walk. Petey loves to go for a walk. He knows the word 'walk' and will rush to the door to go out as if we will change our minds before we actually get out the door. Petey's definition of a walk and our definition of walk are two different things. Our definition of walk is, well...um...walking. Petey's idea is sniffing stuff very thoroughly and then peeing on it. This requires him to either lag behind as he is conducting business, or running ahead to see what else is up there. Where the humans are is rarely the place where the animal wants to be. Obviously, you can see the train wreck about to happen. Petey on the leash lagging behind or running ahead, causes more than a little pressure on his neck. Walks were a huge chore.

Being good pet owners, we got a retractable leash, with the misguided thought that this would allow Petey the freedom to roam and we could walk at a normal pace. Alas, this was not to be. Petey just ran to the limit of the leash and then began to cough and carry on as usual.

Petey is a very smart dog, as has already been established in previous posts. Some how though, he has never been able to figure out to stop once he feels the pressure on his neck. John and I laugh about it now, but strangers that see us out wonder what is going on with the little white dog gagging and carrying on as if he's about to die.

On his most recent visit to the vet, we put the short leash on Petey. That is quite necessary in that environment. We went from the car to the door of the vet, which is just a few steps since the vet is in an old house and the parking lot is what used to be the front yard. During those very few steps, we walked in to the vet with Petey in full blown coughing. The receptionist asked with great concern how long our dog had that terrible cough. He did not look up. I said that it just started when we got out of the car, about that time, he looked up and said "Ah, Petey." Petey's got a rep alright...along with a very sensitive neck.