Don't Look at Her

This spring, when Emme started licking her feet constantly, the vet said it was probably an allergy to pollen. We have been giving her a half tablet of an antihistamine and have been washing her feet when she comes in from walking on dew covered grass in the early morning and late at night. Of course we have a system: I fill a little bowl with oatmeal shampoo and warm water and Ken holds Emme. I cut a kitchen sponge in quarters and use the little sponges to wash off the tops and bottoms of Emme's paws. While I am washing off her paws and later drying them, Emme will not look at me. She sits absolutely quietly in Ken's arms, but she turns her head to the side and looks away. It is so obvious that she is trying not to look at me. What is this about? After I have washed off all four paws, then I change the water and rinse off her paws. She still looks away. She has to turn her head all the way to the side to avoid looking at my face. She is very intentional about this. When all her paws are rinsed off with clear water, I take a towel and dry them off. She still does not look at me. Only when I say "All done" does she look at me as she is getting ready to jump down from Ken's arms. She doesn't seem to mind having her feet washed, but part of her system is not looking at me. Oh, well.