twotogo, funny that you mention the dog whisperer. I'm a big fan. He's the reason it occurred to me that a second dog would help (Ringo is her pack). I've ben trying to watch Calley's body language and haven't really figured anything out yet. Most of the time recently when she locks up, there is no one around, no vehicles, no movement, nothing. That makes it hard to be proactive or divert her attention. We'll get four steps from the front door, not even halfway to the sidewalk, and she just freezes and tries to pull backward. It happens in a second without any warning that I can discern. spedigrees, interesting suggestion about buying a skateboard. A friend has a razor scooter that I could borrow. I wonder if that's a close enough substitution to help. I guess it's worth a try. handymac, when she balks and won't walk, if I took her to the front porch and just sat outside with her until she calmed without letting her inside, do you think that would help? I understand what you are saying about letting her inside being a comfort/reward that I should avoid. Yesterday I took a bag of treats and worked on Ringo's sits and downs when she froze up. I got her to move a few steps forward 3 or 4 times by offering her a treat after he got his. We still didn't get very far, but it was progress. Thanks for the suggestions and support. I keep you posted, and if you think of other suggestions, I'm happy to hear them.

You can go out to West Marin. Spend the time hanging out on the beach with your pup. You can camp out at Olema Campground or check out the inns in the area. Since Point Reyes is a national seashore, not much is allowed out there. Here is a listing of beaches available to you. Dogs must be on a leash at all times; the leash must be no longer than 6 feet. All trails within the park are closed to dogs - with the exception of Kehoe Beach trail and designated trails in the neighboring Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Dogs are allowed on the following beaches: Kehoe Beach - north of the Kehoe Beach trail Limantour Beach - southeast of the parking lot to the beach adjacent to Coast Camp Point Reyes/Great Beach - from the North Beach parking lot to the south Palomarin Beach - no longer open to pets Due to threatened snowy plover habitat, dogs are not allowed on the beach south of the trail at Kehoe Beach or on the beach to the north of the North Beach parking lot. During the elephant seal pupping and mating season (December through April), dogs and humans are not allowed on the beach south of the South Beach parking lot. Dogs are allowed in the Bear Valley Visitor Center parking lot and picnic area. Pets are not permitted in public buildings, on public transportation vehicles, or in locations designated as a swimming beach, or within any structure or area closed to the possession of pets by the superintendent. This prohibition does not apply to guide dogs accompanying visually impaired persons or hearing ear dogs accompanying hearing-impaired persons. Leaving a pet unattended and tied to an object is prohibited. = PER OFFICIAL WEB SITE I think Point Reyes Station has a small parade on the fourth, but there are a number of places to stay just south and just north of Point Reyes Station, where you can avoid the noises. There are plenty of places to walk your dog outside of Point Reyes Proper, hiking at Roys Redwoods in the San Geronimo Valley, hanging out at the top of mount Tam and taking advantage of the sights from the top of the mountain, there are a number of good hikes you can take your dog on while on Mt Tam, or stop at the Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station and take a picnic up the mountain with you, a nice blanket and a place to view the world go by would be nice (be prepared to check yourselves and your dog for ticks). You can take your pup to Muir Beach and there are some good places in the Marin Headlands (I would avoid being that close to the bridge on the fourth) China Camp historic State park is a good place to spend the day though your dog is not welcome to get out of the car in the park it is a good place to check out and whittle away some time (stay away from the North end, this is where the Civic Center is and Im certain during the fair - the area will be full of kids with poppers etc.) If you stayed at Pt Reyes you could drive up the coast to Ft Ross, dogs need to be on leash, Bodega Bay Drive out to the Bodega head for some good beaches out of the wind. There are enough trails and open space areas in Marin to take your pup that even a couple of days away just before and a day or so after the fourth, and you might get away with not running into fireworks. You can park near Tacaloma and use the multi use path which goes into Samuel P Taylor Park. a couple miles worth of level hiking next to papremill creek. Woodacre has a fourth of july pancake breakfast the fire department puts on and a small parade so I would avoid that area until after noon. Five Brooks has some good trails, horse poop laden if your dog is into that. You could head over to Concord and hang out around Mt Diablo tho that area is a little bit on the too hot side for me. Staying on the west side of Marin and Sonoma Counties, would be your best bet, you might be able to rent some sit on top kayaks at Tomales Bay ( one single, one double) and take the pup for a nice cruise of Tomales bay from the water...There are so many places in Marin you can take your dog without issue. Mill Valley has a dog park, Corte Madera, has one, Terra Linda @ Mcinnis Park - near a golf course where you can walk out to the bay on a huge levee system. ***This might be a little too close to the fair for your furbaby. Go get yourself Doing the Bay Area with your pooch, there is a California one as well. It will give you places you can eat and stay over with your dog, the information is great to have and I have take my dog to many of them. If you want a place a little farther away - go to Sequoia National Forest or Yosemite National Park - you wll be less likely to run into the fireworks crowd. I know Lake Tahoe has a fireworks show and it can get very congested up there at this time of year. Still further away is Mono Lake and Bodie. Not quite a days drive. Check with the Chamber of commerce of Bridgeport, Mono and Lee Vining to see about fireworks. I live in Marin and I have to dose my dog with rescue remedy or take him for a nice drive over to the Nicascio reservoir area, up and over Lucas Valley Road. I usually get a campsite at Samuel P Taylor State Park, but this year I waited too long and got a later reservation...I think the closest place for you all without crossing the bridge would be Fort Funston or Edgewood County park (I dont think dogs are allowed there) and I know of Mori point, down by Pacifica. But your access to areas without people lighting off illegals on the penninsula would be more limited, mabe Moss Landing, Elkhorn Slough?? Good luck with whatever you decide.

Lots of interesting stories! Blfenton, you have a gift--and so do some others here. My dictionary defines "paranormal" as events "that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding." I would say most religions fit right into that definition. In Christianity, for example, the virgin birth, the event celebrated at Easter, the miracles attributed to the saints--all these things certainly exceed the scope of normal scientific understanding. They are taken on faith. As for the "science is fact" argument, Sylvia made the excellent point that science doesn't have all the facts yet. She mentioned bacteria, and I immediately thought of Ignaz Semmelweis. Before Dr. Semmelweis discovered that hand-washing could reduce the number of women dying in his hospital from childbed fever, doctors were going from bed to bed, examining patients and transferring germs from one to another, killing many of them. The medical community reacted to Semmelweis' research with anger and derision. His findings weren't accepted until many years after his death. That's how science is sometimes. Alice and Snidely, do you really think we know everything at this point? I can state that I believe in reincarnation--not because I find the idea comforting (would you want to be born in Liberia right now? Syria?), but because "there is considerable historical and clinical evidence that reincarnation is a reality." That quote is from Brian Weiss, MD, educated at Columbia University and the Yale University School of Medicine, where he was the chief resident in psychiatry. I've been reading about reincarnation since I was a teenager. In India, where the concept is accepted, there have been many documented cases of very young children remembering their past lives and recent past families. Often they have been reunited with them. Nicole, your sister experienced automatic writing. The well-known journalist Adela Rogers St. Johns discovered that her son could communicate with her in this manner after he was killed in a war. Her book about it is entitled No Good-Byes. And remember Albert Payson Terhune, who wrote the "Lad of Sunnybank" stories? After he died he contacted his wife through automatic writing. She wrote a lovely little book about it called Across the Line. I have had many dream visits from those who have passed on. Dream visits are easily differentiated from regular dreams in which the deceased appear. Two of the visits were from pets. In one, Holly came to me to say goodbye when she died during the night. I was in Florida, and she was home in Pennsylvania. She appeared unexpectedly in my dream, and I was startled to see her. I knew as soon as I woke up that she must have died. She had. The other concerned my collie-shepherd, Caroline. Thanks to a hunter who shouldn't have been on my property in the first place, Caroline lived for years with three legs. She was a big dog, and eventually arthritis set in big time. Our vet tried several kinds of meds. One night she appeared in a dream, running through a silvery brook on four legs, splashing happily. She said to me, "I have come through the fire. My days of suffering are over." In the morning I discovered she had died. So when I tell grieving pet owners I have no doubt they will see their beloved animals again, I mean it. For those of you who believe in things that are really only imaginary, do your kids a favor and don't pass on those feelings to them. Snidely, you go too far when you start dictating to us what we should or shouldn't tell our children. Our children. Not yours.

I have had nervous dogs way back but it taught me the importance of desensitizing them early on. This was my current dog's first 4th of July. It's been sounding like a war zone every night for the past 2 weeks around here. She showed a bit of curiosity at the strange noises but lost interest after sniffing the air and coming to me for reassurance that all was well. When we got her I immediately started taking her everywhere dogs could be allowed. I don't let my dogs' feet touch ground until they are fully vaccinated but I took her everywhere I could to expose her to loud noises, children at play, motorcycles, trains everything that might spook a dog. When she was ready to hit the ground I increased her exposure to all sorts of people, environments and things. Because of this she is highly socialized and steady. At just under a year old she shows the steady nature needed to be a great protection dog as well. For those trying things like thunder shirts they will seldom work if the first time they are put on is once the noise has begun. The trick is to introduce the dog to the shirt when it is NOT stressed. They have to learn to connect the shirt with pleasant things. Put the shirt on, give lots of praise, treats etc. Just like any training it is conditioning. The shirt is not magical. It's a tool. Of course the time could also be spent simply doing desensitize training instead but many like the shirts. If the owner believes something works the owner is calmer. Calm owner = calmer dog.