A whole new huge grassy field

The local excavations of our old sand/dirt path round the farmland have resulted in them building us a new dirt mountain range but also flattened the hedgerow round the field allowing you to walk straight onto it. Great I thought! Bella had other ideas. SHE DOESN'T LIKE GRASS. She looks most suspicious of it and I s'pose it tickles her belly but (if you can coerce her onto it at all) she walks as if she is navigating a mine field. And gets off it and back on dirt as soon as she can.

Our new 'mountains' end of my road

Giving us easy access to this huge safe level grassy space

But madam won't come onto it the easy way and comes under duress 'over the mountains'

Then keeps as far away from the grass as possible staying alongside the dirt track.

And keeps stopping every few yards to gaze at where she really wants to be!

Dogs! Huh! I thought she'd love a big flat grassy space!

Funny. Never seen a dog that hated grass...

She'd never really ever been on grassy ground until I took her to the UK and was very wary of it there and absolutely REFUSES to pee on it! Mebbe she thinks it's outdoor carpet!

No chance of me keeping my boots a bit cleaner with this nutcase!

(Maybe it just feels so different to the sand and sandy soil she is used to?)

Or maybe she's just got a screw loose. But she was not relaxed and happy AT ALL!

Oh dear! Still I bet she will eventually get used to it!

If it gets too long I won't want to go on it either .....


snakes!

My cat was like this after we adopted her. Wouldn't step a foot off the porch, obviously had been caged her entire life (despite being 9 months when we adopted her) since there is lots of grass here.

Got her to watch the other cat. Helped a little, she'd put a foot into the grass and then immediately retract it as if the grass was hot as fire.

Finally took a few plonks in the grass (and a few more jets back onto the porch) for her to get used to it. Now she loves it like all other cats. Cats are funny like that, but I've not once seen a DOG that was wary of grass.

Nigredo loves water but is too scared to swim. As soon as it gets too deep to wade in, he turns back. Have no idea how to get him to enjoy actually swimming like all other retrievers. It's like you said, perhaps he's simply got a screw loose!

Oh - and lots of snakes here but I love snakes and there are very few really dangerous ones. The rattler is the most dangerous and he is easy to avoid. We take the high grass and deep woods like there is no tomorrow. Other people usually avoid it, so we get to be alone