u/Helpful-Vegetable921

I moved to a walkable town so I could be less car dependent. I have been shocked by how rude drivers are.

There’s this one cross walk that has a lit sign indicating when you can cross. I have been honked at and cut off numerous times by drivers making a right hand turn even though I have the right of way.

Then today, I approached a four way stop in town. There was a van *already* stopped at the intersection before I approached. I looked at them and waited a moment assuming they would go first, and the driver waved me on. I waved back, said thank you, and continue to cross with my dog. Halfway through the intersection, the van crossed behind me and yells “goddamn move you slow bitch!” Like you were there first and I waited for you to go!!

What is wrong with people!? Does this happen to other people?

My dog (9 yr old toy poodle) is generally a big chiller, but does have some initial separation anxiety when I move. She whines and barks at the door (now confined to my bedroom with closed blinds and a furbo pet monitor).

For context, we came from a country town to a city apartment because I’m going back to school. So in addition to the drastic change of being in an apartment vs cottage, we walk outside, and instead of bucolic rolling hills, it’s cars and people and buildings.

There are no off leash dog trails in the area. We love to trail run so that has been a bummer. I think thats a contributing factor too — a 4 mile walk is not the same as a 4 mile trail run. I can’t wear her out on a leashed stroll.

She’s had dog BFFs, but she doesn’t like random dogs, so dog parks can be a toss up. I’ve looked into doggy daycares in the area but I wonder if that would be a lot for her too.

I established a vet within a few days of arrival. My dog had a trazodone prescription for air travel, and I met with the vet to discuss using it as a mild sedative during this transitionary period. They approved that. I was giving half the prescribed dose of trazodone and she still ended up showing signs of serotonin syndrome, so I stopped.

I contacted the vet to meet with a trainer because of the trazodone issue. The vet is on vacation for the next 4 days so I’m hoping to find some advice on here in the interim. Right now I only leave her alone on my runs, and half of that time is spent talking to her over Furbo so she doesn’t bark. My concern at this point is now I’m spending all day with her when that was never our normal. I’m blessed to not have to work before classes start in August so I have some time to figure this out.

Thanks for the help.