Dogs live long lives, and most folks intend to give their dogs a forever home. After all, our pets are like our children! But the fact is that millions of dogs are adopted or purchased every year, and about 40% of them wind up at shelters, dumped, given away (again), abandoned to the streets, or are euthanized. Through no fault of their own, they simply weren’t the right ft with their human or were misunderstood ! People don’t mean for things to go wrong with their dogs. All dog lovers feel the same way about this. But things do go wrong, all the time.
I’d like to start out by telling you a few stories.
Suzie Q, a Chihuahua, would often take off barking and racing after whatever caught her attention, never knowing that if she ran into the nearby street or actually tackled that big mean dog or snake, that she could be killed. And when she was caught up in the excitement of the chase, she never even acknowledged her terrifed human, Anne, desperately running after her, screaming, “Stop! Come Back!!” Suzie Q came close to dying many times, and Anne couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t come to her when there was danger!
Baby Blue, a blue heeler mixed breed, was rescued off the street. She wound up living with a couple who were having a really tough time. Sarah said she found herself hiding in her room, away from her dog, often in tears because the dog was terrorizing her. Baby Blue had taken control of the house! Adam told me he dreaded coming home at all and often would drive around after work for quite a while until he felt strong enough to enter the house.
Baby Blue was so frustrated with her humans that she didn’t know what to do. She craved their company and tried to show them how happy she was to see them all the time, but all they did was retreat from her, run away, or go hide in rooms she couldn’t get to. She was miserable and didn’t know what to do, and she spent most of her time all alone. She was a very intelligent and caring dog so she also was aware that her humans were unhappy. What a dilemma !
A miniature schnauzer named Houdini had severe anxiety during thunderstorms and, more importantly, a serious biting problem. From a young age she snapped at strangers. Her owners, Tom and Clara, worried about her attacking and hurting someone. They questioned whether they still wanted to keep her or if they should put her down. This was very distressing because they were extremely attached to her and felt she was part of their family.
Walking with Houdini had be come a nightmare. They were to the point that they dreaded taking her out at all! If she saw another person or dog, she’d go nuts, and Tom and Clara were terrified she’d get in a bad fight. They just didn’t know what to do.
I once worked with a chow dog named Sam who had become frightened and nervous all the time and refused to drink out of his water dish. He would only drink water from the bubbling fountain in the back yard, and only then if he was told to do so. He was having kidney problems and had recently undergone surgery to save his life. If he didn’t start drinking enough water, he would surely die. His owners and veterinarian felt helpless.
Chelsea brought her old dog, Zoe, to me afraid that it was time to euthanize her. Zoe was struggling to get around, having trouble eating, was lethargic and seemed depressed. Was it time to let her go? Chelsea just wasn’t sure and didn’t want to put her down unless Zoe felt she was ready to go.
Another client, Barbara, contacted me crying as she said, “My Great Pyrenees dog, Beau, just attacked my friend! He wouldn’t stop when I shouted at him; he just barreled in and bit at her! Now I am terrified that I’ll have to put him down! Why is he doing this? Doesn’t Beau know he’s not supposed to do that?”
Jane decided to rescue a young stray pit bull she named Happy. The barely one-year-old dog was frightened easily, growled at people, had no social skills, and had obviously been abused by someone. Happy was an accident primed and waiting for the right incident to trigger her defensive instincts! Jane had some smaller dogs. She didn’t understand how to train Happy or to deal with her issues but still wanted to give her a safe, loving home.
With all the frightening media exposure against pit bulls, Jane spent a lot of time worrying about what could happen. Trying to reassure herself and the dog, Jane asked Happy repeatedly if she was okay? Was she nervous? Was she scared? Was she going to attack somebody?
Their walks quickly became nightmares as Happy pulled and lunged on her leash, basically ignoring her human friend. Jane became obsessed with wondering if Happy was a good dog or, because of her breeding, she would turn out to be a bad dog who would have to be put down after she went on the kind of rampage others of her kind had become known for.
So what’s really going on when our dogs behave like this? What are they thinking? Do they understand the consequences of their actions? Do they want to die? Are they just trying to make our lives miserable? Or are we just making some of the classic and often deadly and tragic Mistakes people make with their dogs?
And that’s what we’re here to talk about today! How you can turn all that around by learning how to recognize and avoid making these serious Mistakes with your dog. This book will help you avoid some of the most common fundamental Mistakes and pitfalls that can ruin your relationship with your dog friends. If you catch them in time, it can make the difference between enjoying a long, happy, healthy life with your dog or not.
Remember that our dogs (like our children !) are greatly affected by us, their caregivers. What we do, say, think, decide and feel can rock their world - or anchor it! The better balanced you are, the less stressed they will be. The more informed we are and better prepared to include dogs in our lives, the happier we all are.
This book is designed to:
Prepare you consciously to be your dog’s best friend and a better caretaker
Teach you how to be more open to and consider your dog’s viewpoints
Explore different ways of looking at problems and their resolutions
Help assure you and your dog have a good life together
One more thing before we start. Please remember that every dog is a unique individual. That means that your job is to do some research, try different things, and do ‘due diligence’ with the ideas I will present to you until you find what works best for you and your dog! Okay, let’s go right into it. We have a lot to cover and your dog is wanting us to hurry up..