Out, damned Spot.
I'll get myself a dog, I said. It'll help with my sense of isolation; I'll be less lonely, and maybe get out of the house more often.
But not this dog.
He barks at other dogs, Mexican men, cars, cats, and any time he can't see me. He ruined my day today by barking so terribly I had to leave my christmas plans and come all the way back home from Yelapa. He cannot be trusted to not jump at people or other dogs or cats, and he tries to dominate everyone in sight.
I did not do this; he came this way.
I wanted a dog that would be mellow, quiet, good with other people and dogs, maybe even good with cats. This dog isn't even good with shadows, and he barks incessantly at the ocean every time I've taken him to the beach. I don't get out, or meet people, or see anyone because every walk is spent trying to avoid other people and other dogs.
Two weeks he's been here. I cleaned him up and fed him well and was consistent and fair to him. He learned that he's not to get tangled up in my feet, not to run ahead of me; but he still pulls at the leash, will not wait, does not sit or stay.... dammit, I quit. These thing would be less of a problem if he weren't such a damn noisy dog. Oh, and he's started biting. Not mean bites, but dominance bites, and they're getting more frequent. I have no idea what I could be doing to encourage this; I've done everything I can to stop it, including and especially making it clear that he's not the dominant one, I am. Maybe that's the problem; he thinks this is a contest.
Well, fine. He can go be dominant at the pound.
I will wait a lot longer before committing again, maybe try to get one in the States whose behavior is already known. Or maybe a puppy, I don't know. Don't really want a puppy, but down here, the best way to get the behaviors I want might just have to be from the beginning.
And now I'm really fucking depressed.
Also, my building ran out of gas two days ago and nobody's filled the tank, so there has been no hot water and no cooking facilities. and of course, for christmas, every restaurant that's still open is having a pre-set dinner of meat with meat sauce.
Sigh.
But not this dog.
He barks at other dogs, Mexican men, cars, cats, and any time he can't see me. He ruined my day today by barking so terribly I had to leave my christmas plans and come all the way back home from Yelapa. He cannot be trusted to not jump at people or other dogs or cats, and he tries to dominate everyone in sight.
I did not do this; he came this way.
I wanted a dog that would be mellow, quiet, good with other people and dogs, maybe even good with cats. This dog isn't even good with shadows, and he barks incessantly at the ocean every time I've taken him to the beach. I don't get out, or meet people, or see anyone because every walk is spent trying to avoid other people and other dogs.
Two weeks he's been here. I cleaned him up and fed him well and was consistent and fair to him. He learned that he's not to get tangled up in my feet, not to run ahead of me; but he still pulls at the leash, will not wait, does not sit or stay.... dammit, I quit. These thing would be less of a problem if he weren't such a damn noisy dog. Oh, and he's started biting. Not mean bites, but dominance bites, and they're getting more frequent. I have no idea what I could be doing to encourage this; I've done everything I can to stop it, including and especially making it clear that he's not the dominant one, I am. Maybe that's the problem; he thinks this is a contest.
Well, fine. He can go be dominant at the pound.
I will wait a lot longer before committing again, maybe try to get one in the States whose behavior is already known. Or maybe a puppy, I don't know. Don't really want a puppy, but down here, the best way to get the behaviors I want might just have to be from the beginning.
And now I'm really fucking depressed.
Also, my building ran out of gas two days ago and nobody's filled the tank, so there has been no hot water and no cooking facilities. and of course, for christmas, every restaurant that's still open is having a pre-set dinner of meat with meat sauce.
Sigh.