Burglars, Clowns, Monsters, Witches and Rabid Squirrels: But My Puppy Has Tremendous Issues with Pumpkins

I seem to have unleashed terror in my home, a fear I didn't intend and that has caused total angst in my canine partner. I purchased a few pumpkins at Big Y on Sunday and placed them on the steps of my front porch. Glamis, the wonder dog, who spends a vast amount of her life on the front windowsill, doesn't like looking out onto the street to see these unexpected prowlers.

She barks. Hair stands up, she growls, she paces, and she barks some more.

I tried to take her outside so she could sniff the orange gourds but she will have nothing to do with them. She pulls away on her leash as if they are going to kill her (or at least make her a pumpkin pie).

Glamis has had other incidences where anything out of the ordinary totally throws her universe off balance. Items placed at the end of driveways for trash pick-ups, for instance, can cause her to lock her legs in place, refusing to move forward on our morning walks. She stands paralyzed and I have to really console her so that she will risk steps to walk past the unexpected.

Last night when I was taking a shower, I heard her going ballistic downstairs and I thought maybe someone was at the door. Hope. It was the Great Pumpkin caper, Charlie Brown, and for some reason she thinks these holiday decorations are the devil incarnate.

I'm keeping them, though, hoping she'll get used to them and realize they are simply a gimmick to make our home feel the joy of Autumn. I suppose if she continues to be neurotic about them, I'll have to act. I don't want to cause an anxiety that does her in. That would simply be cruel.