Antigeist: Cry for help.

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October 11, 2004

Cry for help.

[That's right, it's Lammy: rock and roll legend, hot pink jet-setter, lamb-about-town, confidant to the stars.]

G and I have made jokes about the need to take our dog to a doggy psychologist, but after recent events...seriously, do you have the number of one?

My dog--my 80 pound; terrify everyone away on the street due to her height and size; growl at you if you get anywhere near her food or pet her while she's napping; who has a special, supra-evil growl for noises in the hall (potential intruders) or outside on the street (ditto); mega ferocious labrador/rottweiler mix...is afraid of clean laundry.

She's terrified of it. She could care less about the pile of dirty laundry in the hamper, but the second we walk in with the bags of clean laundry she goes into this freaky victim panic that does not subside until a good half hour after each stitch of clothing has been put away. It is the most heart-wrenching, pathetic thing I (or G) have ever seen. She, huddled in the corner, shaking; eyes watering with human-like tears. Or she follows you around, swirling her sizable, quivering body around your legs so you can't walk or move, just looks up at you with a face that says "What have I done? Why must you torture me?" Last laundry day she disappeared completely, which is a feat in a tiny one bedroom NYC apartment. You can't really lose a dog the size of a person around here. I checked both rooms in the house, opened the closets, peeked behind the shower curtain; she was gone. After the laundry had been put away, she finally emerged from behind a small wicker chair we have pushed in a corner--a chair she had to defy the laws of physics to fold her girth behind.

Recently she took it one step further. I returned with the clean laundry, threw it up on the bed for folding, when she ran to the door and began to try and CLAW HER WAY OUT--literally--huge chunks of paint then wood were scraped to the floor. I shut the door to the bedroom (where the clothes lay) pet her and kissed her and let her know everything was okay, and she calmed down. I had to wait a few hours and sneak into the bedroom when she was napping before I could put anything away. I hid what I couldn't get done before she woke.

I've given many hours of thought to what in God's name could have made her afraid of clean clothes. She's never been beaten with a Downey-fresh pair of jeans. Never been smothered with a pile of towels. To my recollection, she's never had any negative contact with laundry at all, in any respect. However it's obvious she is very seriously affected by it's presence. You should see the door. It's destroyed.

Any thoughts? Furthermore, know a good doggy shrink?

Posted by Antigeist at October 11, 2004 09:33 AM

Comments

Hi antigeist. You don't know me, but I'm extraordinarily bored at work and thought I'd reply (got here from zeebahtronic).

Random thought: Animals with sensitive mucous membranes may be attuned to the smells or chemical emanations of fabric softener or detergent residue, and it could be causing a weird allergic reaction that drives her to hide to get away from them. It's a long shot, but you might want to try using a fragrance-free laundry detergent, and 1/8 cup of plain vinegar instead of fabric softener, just to see what happens (the vinegar helps get the detergent out of the fabric, which is what makes laundered fabric stiff in the first place. The hint of "eau de vinegar" dissipates after a few hours -- use just a tiny bit in the wash).

My cat is afraid of the rattle of plastic grocery bags. Always runs away when I use one. I think it's her way of telling me I should have brought my canvas tote to the store.

Posted by: Bon (friend of zeebah) at October 13, 2004 04:41 PM

Good advice.

The one wild card with my pup is that she was a rescue from a dog fight ring. When she came into my life at six months, all the blood vessels in her ears had been distroyed, she had a punctured lung, and other numerous health issues. So I have never, and will never know what horrors she suffered as a wee one.

However, I can't imagine any of them involved laundry. *s*

Posted by: antigeist at October 13, 2004 04:46 PM

My dogs are afraid of laundry BASKETS. I hope you find a solution to the problem. I have a good recipe for homemade laundry detergent if you think that is the problem.

Posted by: drublood at October 14, 2004 03:08 PM

Here's a theory: The clothes are part of her regular milieu, a vital inhabitant of her territory, say. The clothes smell like you, most of the time. Mmm, mommy and daddy smell! Mommy and daddy = alpha and beta dogs, so the laundry is clearly an extension of the alpha and beta. Groovy. Then suddenly there are these clothes that are brought right into the center of the territory that *don't smell like mommy, daddy, or doggy*. WTF? Interloper clothing!?! And mommy is paying so much attention to it. Poor doggy just slipped a level down the totem pole to some frickin' woodland-fresh-or-whatever scented newbies.

Posted by: Jessica at October 15, 2004 02:04 AM

Mmmm, I zee. Makes perfect sense.

Yet, I'm thinking it's time for the doggy prozac. In addition to the laundry phobia, she has neurotic grooming habits (like licking a spot sore), she chews her nails, and has the strange habit of growling at people menacingly WHILE she's licking their face and begging for more lovin'. (Ask Zeebah or Maud about that one.)

Posted by: anti at October 15, 2004 09:54 AM