True doggedness may mean changing course, not just enduring adversity.

Letting go of control can reduce anxiety; focus on what you can realistically influence.

Thinking outside the box when stress negatively affects one's life can create new options.

What happens when being dogged isn’t enough?

For years, living in a chaotic city neighborhood, I experienced repetitive negative events while walking my dog, Beau.

The whizz of scooter riders terrified Beau, prompting him to bark and lunge. He was 80 pounds, which meant that when we saw a scooter, I was sometimes dragged partially into the street, where traffic was dense and drivers were unwilling to stop. Some scooter riders laughed and taunted or mocked Beau’s reactivity, eroding my sense of community.

Stepping out the door felt like stepping into a minefield. I began to look everywhere for signs of a scooter rider in the distance. But then, the scooter riders started coming up from behind us, unexpectedly on the sidewalk.

I pursued behavior modification training for Beau’s reactivity, but after 10 months, Beau was still as vehement in his response to scooter riders as he was prior to his training.

Our behaviorist dog trainer determined that Beau's level of exposure to his trigger was impeding his progress. Since we had to walk outside for him to do his business, there was no way to eliminate his exposure. I began to wear a large neon sign that read, “Anxious Dog, Respect My Space.” But no one respected our space, and walking outside was increasingly stressful.

To........

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