Lysette Melendez, 16, tweeted a photo of her dog, Benji, snuggled in her shower caddy on Tuesday and got more attention than she ever expected, with more than 21,000 retweets as of Friday morning.
He kept following me & I had to shower so I let him stay in the bathroom then he cried because he couldnt see me so pic.twitter.com/3HslkIPlwI
— lol (@LysetteMelendez) June 9, 2015“I knew my puppy was cute, but holy crap,” the California teen told BuzzFed.
Benji does look adorable, but dog trainer and behavior consultant Heather Gutshall told The Huffington Post that she has some concerns about the setup.
Gutshall, a certified professional dog trainer who owns a dog-sitting and -training company, noted that in a wet environment like a shower, someone could easily slip and injure the pup.
Melendez has not replied to a request for comment from HuffPost, but told BuzzFeed she thinks worries about Benji’s safety are unfounded.
“I laid a rag down so his feet didn’t fall,” the teen said.
If a dog simply likes coming into the bathroom or shower, there's no problem letting your pet join you, Gutshall said. But if Benji truly becomes upset when Melendez goes into the shower, she added, bringing him in with her is not the best way to help him cope in the long run.
“If a dog is wanting to come in because it’s too anxious being alone, you’re not giving the dog the skills it needs to learn to be okay on its own,” Gutshall said.
One technique to make a dog feel comfortable on its own is to give the dog a treat or toy it likes, then leave it alone for a short period of time, coming back before it has the chance to get distressed. An owner can then gradually increase the length of the time they are away until the dog becomes OK with longer periods solo, Gutshall said.
She added that in cases of diagnosable separation anxiety, which typically involve a dog becoming so anxious that it starts harming itself, an owner should seek professional advice.
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/12/dog-in-shower_n_7562028.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news&ir=Weird+News and provided by entertainment-movie-news.com
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