Not So Polite Introductions

[Shalista]

So every time bax sees the new dog he looses his flipping mind. he SCREAMS. ive never heard a sound like this coming out from him before. we tried doing introductions and thankfully the new dog had the presence of mind to just turn tail and walk away because bax was all but frothing he was flinging himself on the end of the leash CHIRPING and totally ignoring me and my treats and anything but this dog.

unfortunately no introduction is not possible because my sister has decided to potty train this one and frequently comes downstairs with it and takes it outside to wee. bax runs frantically to all the windows and stalks it crying and barking until its brought back upstairs.

to be honest? I'm of the opinion that he doesn't even think its a dog. i legit think he wants to eat this puppy. thoughts?

[JudyN]

It probably doesn't matter whether he thinks she's a dog or not. It might not even matter if he wants to eat her or not (I have no idea whether J thinks our cat, who he loves, is the same sort of creature as the cats he sees on walks, who he very much does not love). The upshot is that you need to avoid any situation where you're likely to find out the hard way. The usual advice of keeping him at a distance at which he's comfortable and where he'll take treats applies, but how you're going to manage that in your situation I have no idea

[Shalista]

good news! i have a job interview! *fingers crossed*

so hopefully this situation wont matter soon!

[Erica]

Crossing my fingers for you!

[JudyN]

Finger and toes!

[Shalista]

Had the interview today. ill know by next wednesday if i got the job

[Shalista]

trying to take deep breaths and be happy with the dog i have and not some ideal dog i dont.

that being said..... at my place of POTENTIAL future employment they just bring their dogs in to work. the dogs wander around the gym and interact with the residents. the residents might take the dog out for a walk as part of their therapy and even if a resident doesnt want therapy that day they might coem down anyway to hang out with the dogs and we can squeeze soem therapy in 'since they're here anyway'.

I'm just so broken hearted right now that bax will never fit in with that life style or community. he's made such wonderful great big leaps and bounds, and i thought id come to terms with the fact that he just doesn't have the temperament to be a therapy dog and that hed be MISERABLE in that kind of environment...... but it still breaks my heart that he cant have that.

[JudyN]

Hey, if Bax wasn't like he is, you might be putting him in that environment without having a clue whether he was really enjoying it or not. It's a lot to expect a dog to be handled by random people and most people just don't see when their dog would really rather be left in peace. It's like wanting to see your dog play with other dogs - it's lovely for the owners to watch but unrealistic to expect your dog to enjoy it. It's like me expecting OH to enjoy a trip to IKEA Bax isn't missing out on anything, just as OH insn't missing out by not going to IKEA.

It's a case of acceptance of the dog we have and recognising that a lot of what we hoped for is about our feelings and not theirs. I was upset that Jasper's personality meant I couldn't show or race him because he looked the part and had the speed. But he couldn't care less about all those rosettes he's missing out on, the glory would have been just mine.

So yeah, have regrets - we owners who have an 'awkward' dog know how different our experience is to that of owners of 'normal' dogs. But also celebrate the journey you've been on because it has deepened your understanding of him, and dog behaviour, so much.

[Nettle]

My dogs have no issues and they would be bitterly unhappy in that environment, Shalista. Quite likely some of the dogs already there aren't all that cool with it.