beware of ceiling fan

I'd like to diverge from the Bridget news in this post to talk about rottweilers. Mya's my second one, and they're a great breed--playful, loving, big, strong, smart, afraid of ceiling fans. Yep, you read right. Mya is afraid of the ceiling fan in Bridget's room.

As amusing as this is--and it was quite amusing seeing her look at it nervously, back out of the room so she could watch it, and bark at it as loudly as she could--it's getting to be a problem. Yesterday I realized she hadn't come in the back half of the house all day because of the ceiling fan. Near the end of the day, she practically ran to get to the safety of our bedroom and the crate. And this morning she refused to come out since she'd have to pass Bridget's room. It doesn't matter if the door is closed or not. I tried convincing her that she doesn't need to be afraid by dragging her in there by the collar and then giving her a treat; she snatched it and ran back to her crate. I decided to leave her in there--Bridget needed to eat--and then had to interrupt the feeding because I could hear Mya making that hole in our bedroom carpet bigger. (They're good dogs, but rottie puppies do tend to chew up everything. It's a phase they grow out of, I'm hoping soon. They also like to dig. That's a little tougher to get them to stop.) I also suspect that the ceiling fan is the reason Mya hasn't been eating--she didn't eat at all yesterday and only ate a little this morning because I shared my scrambled eggs with her.

So there it is. Another thing I have to work on training Mya on. "Ceiling fans are not scary, Mya. They will not hurt you." Of course, my job will be made even harder by the fact that Al has encouraged this irrational fear. I have caught him reaching up and pushing the blades of the fan when Mya has ventured into the room, giggling as she jumps back and runs away. Bad husband. He needs at least as much training as the dog (toilet seat, closing drawers and cupboards, etc.), but I won't get into that. I'm hoping Bridget will be easier. :)