Consumer Homes.

Question:

writes: <snip> >It is too bad you are at your >limit, or I would suggest getting him a puppy….  I think you are >right about not taking him to a dog show at the moment.  Do you know >anyone with a nice, calm dog that he could visit?

No one we know here has dogs (2 income families with children, no time for pets I guess).  Strange because everyone back home has dogs. The new puppy I mentioned in my post, we actually adopted him this past weekend from the animal shelter, that’s why we’re at our limit  :-)   I went thinking we’d get a tiny little lap dog (how intimidating can that be?) and since I’ve always had medium to big dogs (usually aggressive/strong willed) I was looking forward to getting a small dog (am I getting old wanting a lapdog?).  But then we got there…. and here’s this sweet little pup that was just begging to be taken home.  We pulled several (dogs and puppies) out  for walks (some just because I couldn’t stand them being caged up) but we all (hubby, myself and son) liked this one the best.  It looks just like a chocolate lab, is sweet tempered and is so pretty we keep calling him "her".   But since it’s a pretty good sized pup, at 12 weeks it’s still a little intimidating to son, but we’re doing things that are raising his confidence in himself around the dog.  The one thing we’ve noticed is that whenever son is touched by a dogs nose or tongue (wet) he freaks out.  So each morning we put on his "superman" socks, long sleeved shirt and jeans.  They are just reg clothes but since puppy can’t touch him through them they are "special".  :-) he’s only 3.5 so still believes everything mom says  ;-) We work with the pup everyday – "sit" "down" "off" "bed" and especially "no bite".  I want to make sure the dog will listen to him as well as me.  I guess it’s just going to take time because he still is scared of the pup sometimes. As for other people’s dogs, doesn’t seem as if anything has changed but it’s still really soon.  He’s always known my chow and is fine with her, even when she noses him, but that’s the ONLY dog that can do it. I guess it’s hard for me to relate because I’ve had dogs all my life and have never known anyone with a fear of dogs this bad.  When I was a child we always had at least 4 GSD at all times (dad was a breeder).  Dad always took in dogs that other people didn’t want/couldn’t keep etc until he could find homes for them so we always had dogs of all ages/breeds coming and going.  I was bitten several times as a child but only once badly (on the butt) but I never became so scared of dogs because they were so much a part of our lives.  I DID learn to not go up to strange dogs, not to run from a mean dog – refer back to butt bite and never trust any dog 100% no matter what their training.  I just want him to love dogs like I do and I’m scared that the neigbors and their dog have ruined that for him  :-( I guess I’ll just have to be patient and help him along the best I can.  We’ve been popping into PetsMart every couple days (going again today) and maybe that will help him get used to seeing strange dogs here and there (through the day not too many people have pets with them).  Although I thought he’d faint when we rounded a corner and there stood a Newfoundland (black) that licked his face.  The scream that he let out!!  Luckily the guy was understanding (as was his dog! he didn’t flinch at all!) and put the dog in sit/stay.  He is a behavorist that takes the Newf to children’s hospitals to cheer them up.  Great dog and son actually petted him before we left, from the safety of daddy’s arms  :-)   Hopefully he’ll grow out of this, especially after we move he won’t have that constant reminder everytime we open the front door.  I think it’ll be much better then, maybe it will even become a distant/forgotten memory, I sure hope so.  For now I’ll just keep popping into PetsMart  :-)  and hoping that they hurry on our house (which is already two weeks behind schedule!). Buttons PS – puppy spent his first night out of crate last night sleeping on his bed (on the floor) beside my side of the bed.  No pee, no chew  Hooray!  I was worried he would take longer before he could be out of his crate at night since he is such a chewer but he was so tired last night he laid right down!  

Response:

Thanks for all the suggestions regarding the loose dogs.  I spoke with the police chief in the new neighborhood and he says that they definitely enforce the leash laws there.  They also can and will fine anyone walking their dog (even on leash) if they don’t have some means (with them) of picking up their animals feces.  They are very strict about that and off leash dogs so I think we’ll not have a problem – other than neighbor may get ticked.  But that’s the chance they take if they want their out of control dog to run loose, we’re not going to be prisoners in our new home like we’ve had to be here. We also won’t have to deal with the hassle we’ve had at this house with neighbor’s small outdoor kennel that is right up against the fence (actually fence is one side of it) and right beside my kids play area (sandbox, gym set).  They never clean it, even last summer when I called health dept monthly they would pour mulch over the poop-covered ground and inspector would ok it.  At the new place there is a restriction of only 2 pets (cats, dogs and other pets that are permitted outside) that can be kept on any lot.  I think a limit of 3 would have been fine but 2 will work I guess.  At least I don’t have to deal with numerous dogs in a kennel next door smelling up the yard so bad I can’t even open my back door, forget ever having a party of any kind.   I’ve seen posts regarding people giving up rights and yes, it bothers me to give up my right to get another dog.  But if it also keeps me from having to deal with irresponsible pet owners then it’s a trade off I guess I have to deal with.  When you hear "nothing in life is free"  you don’t associate it with having to pay for a better life by exchanging your right to choose whether you have 2 pets or 3 or even 5 (if you can take care of that many!).    :-)  Luckily the hampster doesn’t ever go outside or we’d be over the allowed quota now! Oh, and as for the problem where we are now.  Wish I would have thought of this earlier (about 3 years ago)!  Whenever they turn their dog loose, I get my Chow and we take a "walk"  :-)   on her 26′ retractable leash and somehow they don’t seem to like it when my dog runs at them or their dog aggressively but I’m sure loving it.  They hightail it out of our yard pretty quickly!  I don’t know why I never thought of it before except that I didn’t want my girl hurt but after seeing their dog run from her (mine was on her 100′ trolley out back) I realized it was scared of her so I tested it out the next day. So, now all I have to do is get my 3 1/2 yr old son who is petrified of most dogs now to not totally freak when he sees a dog he doesn’t know.  He is even a little scared of the new pup at times although he is not scared of my chow and some of my dad’s dogs (which he only sees about once every 3 months).  The really odd thing is that the one neighbor’s attack dog is white and son seems to be the most scared of black dogs.  The neigbor beside us (stink kennel) has two dogs that are black (lab mixes) but they aren’t aggressive at all and he tells them to hush when they start their howling and barking, so I’m not sure why he seems to be the most scared of strange black dogs, although it’s not limited to them.  And he is afraid of all sizes even small pups.  As soon as their nose or tongue touches him he looks as if he’s going to pass out! Anyone ever have any luck helping a child over their fear (terror) of dogs?   I hope you can give me some suggestions, I’m a little concerned about taking him to a dog show because I don’t know how he’d react to being around that many dogs at the same time.   Thanks, Buttons

Response: