Hi Peggy How did you get into dog training? I think if I were to do this again, I would like to have a little more solid dog knowledge to work with. Floundering isn't helping this dog. It won't help other dogs. And it becomes a miserable cyclic thing.
I'm taking her to the vet again tomorrow to get her chest checked out and have the cough re-evaluated. She's still eating, drinking, and playing. It's just when she's tired of those activities, she's mellowed out some. She is still howling if put in the bathroom. But I was wondering if this was a return of the illness related malaise or just the result of putting her in an environment she is more comfortable with. Part of the problem that I'm dealing with is a lack of love on my part. It feels horrible to say that. And I've never experienced that with any animal before. Ever. She's now getting a lot more petting and tummy rubs. Something just doesn't seem to be clicking. Is that a stupid sentiment to have? Or is it true that some animals and people just don't get on. There are two schools of thought on the lack of love thing - give it time. You will develop a love for your animal. The other is to get out now before she's overly bonded and find her someone who can reciprocate. I know that when she's healthy, I will feel joy. And when I find her a home that loves her, I will feel joy. I care for her enough to want to get her healthy and into a home that will never even think the word 'shelter'. So yes - there's guilt. I took on this responsibility, therefore it's my job to sit it through and make sure I have a healthy, happy dog. So am I cutting this whole thing too short? It's only been a week. That's not a long time at all. But that doesn't feel like it's right for the dog. It feels very, very wrong to me. I know people - yes, sometimes love creeps up on you, slowly. But not always. And it almost never works if it's forced. In fact, forced love, from a human perspective, rarely leads to anything good. I've been talking to a friend of mine whose parents have experience with small breeds. They humanize their dogs to a large extent. But not excessively. But they will coddle their animals. I think the dogs rated higher on the family hierarchy than the kids actually. It is startling to look at her, cute, almost perfect and think...I do not love you. Why not? It just makes me incredibly, incredibly sad. --- In [email protected], Peggy & The Girls <phrpg5@...> wrote: > > A lot of shelter dogs don't always show an interest in people......why?.... > all that smelling is because they are trying to figure a way to get out, and > go home. You have to understand the dog psychology. They bond to people > very strongly, and when that person isn't where they are, all they can think > of is how to get back home where they felt secure and loved. Pia has > demonstrated the same behavior that my Princess did when I first got her > from the shelter. Princess wanted to be close to the door or windows. Once > on a chair by the window she smelled the air constantly and cried and > whimpered. Then she drove me nuts for the first 3 days of constantly > scratching at the door, and it wasn't because she had to do her business. > She wanted to run away and find her home. She acted the same way at the > shelter, smelling at the door and totally ignoring me. It wasn't until I sat > down and was speaking to the worker and said that "I don't think that she > was the dog for me, and I hope that her owner shows up. Well it is time for > me to go home" Just then Princess did a 360 and jumped on my lap, put her > paws on both of my shoulders and nuzzled her head next to my ear, and sat > perfectly still, as if waiting to see if I was going to pet her or yell at > her to get off. > > We were both shocked by the sudden change in her, but then after having > thought about it a couple of days later, I realized just how smart she is... > . She heard me say the word 'home' and knew that I was her ticket out of > there. The proof came, when she was crying at the living room window for > the first couple of days, and I casually said to her, "I know and understand > that you miss your home......, I didn't even get to finish and she charged > for the door jumping up and down and barking to go 'home'!!! That's when all > the pieces fitted together. I can't tell you how many times Princess tried > to escape too, and what a horror trying to walk her, she would pull > constantly and smell constantly, as if tracking to find a scent as to where > she was and how to go 'home'. I continued to use the word home whenever we > would came back from a walk and approach the door, and even when I pulled up > into the parking lot. She learned that this is now her 'home'. Also, to show > you how long it can take for a dog to really settle in....Eskies are known > for their smiles, I didn't see Princess 's first smile until 8 months after > I had her, it was then that I took a picture of her and have never stopped > taking pictures of that wonderful smile. It took a long time to see Gigi's > smile of contentment too! > > I have always referred to Princess as my little Lassie, because she > understands and figures so many things out for herself. She is a wonder with > my birds, who at the beginning wanted to kill them, now she protects them > and Gigi. In case I didn't mention it before, Princess is a mini American > Eskimo and they are a very intelligent breed, but have one draw back of > being very wary of strangers, which unfortunately can be taken as aggression > They do not do well in shelters, like the Chi's don't do well, and it > breeds havoc on their physical and mental health when in one. Princess was > deemed to be put down because of her leash aggression if the owner didn't > show up. Lucky me, a woman that works at the shelter knew of my reputation > from the pet stores for training aggressive dogs and that is the only reason > why she was allowed to be released to me for adoption. > Today she is more of a mascot in my apartment complex, because people > remember how bad she was and use to watch me train her on the grounds and > can't believe what a totally different dog she is. > > I always wonder about my dogs life before I got them, and all that they went > through, good and bad, and sometimes I wish that we could really talk to one > and other. > > So you see Autumn, their is so much more going on in their heads that we > simple humans cannot and probably will never be able to figure out. That is > why a dog needs a calm, trusting, and reassuring, loving, affectionate > person when they are taken into a new home, especially for the first couple > of weeks, no matter what breed they are. It is just that the Chi's thrive on > human affection and do not do well without it. Princess is not as > affectionate as Gigi, she would much prefer playing tug and running and > explore, but still needs to know that I will always be there for her and > those belly rubs that she ask for. They are two complete opposites in many > ways, and each has their own needs. > > I can't help wondering if all of that crying and howling isn't Pia's way of > mourning for her original owners too > Now that you have also said that she suddenly is sleeping more, if > depression hasn't set in, because she figures it is useless to cry for her > owners and/or if because of all the stress and walking, the KC hasn't > gotten worse. > > Even with my Gigi, for each month that went by, I kept learning more and > more about her. Once she got over being sick with so many issues her > personality really came out. You just don't see the real dog and know > everything about them in the site of a weeks time. It takes months before > you see who they truly are. And that is not just because they come from a > shelter, it can be because they come from any where. > > > > -------Original Message------- > > From: freddyscribbles > Date: 5/10/2011 3:29:43 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Chihuahuas] Re: Re-homing is official - Los Angeles/Antelope > Valley > > > Hi Sheila > > More than happy to answer your question! > > I have known small breed dogs and chihuahuas that were more than happy to be > on their own. They weren't clingy. They were equally happy on your lap as > they were on the floor in front of the fire. Like most dogs, they > appreciated the attention and enjoyed being on your lap or beside you. But > their comfort levels were not dependent on this nearness. They could do > without it. As I'm pretty certain I will be moving into an apartment in the > future, small size seemed more appropriate to space restrictions. And I knew > that if I had to be gone for an extended amount of time during the day, I > had a dog small enough that I could essential be litter box train it without > too much trouble. To a lesser extent, while I'm generally drawn to larger > breeds, I recognized that I'd be much more able to care for a chihuahua > financially. And I thought I'd also be able to accommodate their other needs > That's proved less true. > > This girl, when we first met, was more interested in exploring than people. > She wasn't jumping up to meet people at the kennel gate. I thought great - > low energy, independent dog that's not scrambling to be in your face or on > your lap - it was almost cat-like behavior but a bit warmer if that makes > sense. This ended up being an unfair way to assess this particular dog as > she was far sicker than I was given to believe. When I was first at the > kennel, she was described as on the mend and finishing up her medication for > kennel cough. Granted I'm returning to the vet tomorrow to have her assessed > this was definitely not the case, and she was definitely not 'on the mend'. > Although she is getting better day by day. > > To be honest - I don't hate lap dogs. But, if this makes sense, I work much > longer hours when I'm freelancing from home. That means I'm in a high backed > desk chair for most of the day. I've tried having her on my lap while I'm > working. It's impossible, and it can't be comfortable for her. If I were > working a regular 9-5 sort of job, than when I came home in the evenings, > there would be definite lap time. I don't take many breaks except to run > errands and take care of the various living things around here. It would > also be a lot easier if I had someone else living with me. > > Being a single pet parent with my current work load has proven surprisingly > difficult to manage. Especially with a dog that I haven't really figured out > how to handle. I had mistakenly thought that being at home all day would > make rehabilitating and working with a shelter dog a more reasonable task. > It's actually a lot worse. I'm constantly worrying about her. > > For now, I've said screw the money and purchased a small crate and x-pen > from Amazon. I can't keep leaving her in the hallway. It ends up being far > too stressful for both of us, and I don't know how long it will be before I > can place her. She's also started having housebreaking issues. She was using > piddle pads or going outside when she first came. Now she ignores the piddle > pads, and I can have her outside for quite a long time, bring her inside, > turn around, and have her wee on the floor. Yet another issue to work on. > > What I underestimated was how much 'lap dog' was built into the animal. To > the point that it overrides quite a lot of the 'animal' in some ways. > Hopefully that made sense? And answered your question! > cheers > Autumn > > --- In [email protected], "dasha" <dasha48@> wrote: > > > > I am not being mean when I ask this but can I ask why you got a small dog > > like a chi when they are pretty much always lap dogs? That is their nature > > and a big reason why so many get small dogs like that. If you are not a > > person that likes dogs on your lap or if you are someone that does not > like > > to cuddle with dog, a small dog seems like such an odd choice. > > > > My mother is the same way about dogs and she has a Yorkie. Luckily he is > an > > 11 pound Yorkie and has bonded with her husband who loves on the dog all > the > > time. > > > > Sheila > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > > Behalf Of freddyscribbles > > Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 2:11 AM > > To: [email protected] > > Subject: [Chihuahuas] Re-homing is official - Los Angeles/Antelope Valley > > > > Please help me find Pia a home. > > > > I have had a lot of time to think about this. This has been a bad match. I > > was hoping to find a dog-dog. And Pia was almost perfect except there's > way > > too much-lap-dog in there among other things. > > > ------------------------------------ We are now on Facebook! Join today! http://www.facebook.com/groups/chihuahuasclubYahoo! 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