Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Kinda sad
MH and I have wanted a dog for soooo long and we got two cats because we thought we weren't allowed to have pets. (We own a condo and we thought that cats would be easier to hide than a dog.)
Anyway, we have now been here since June and we have seen people with dogs and we re-read the condo docs and realized we were wrong. SO we looked all week and found a Mastiff in 'foster care.' He has severe separation anxiety but since I am home doing my schoolwork online, I thought I would be able to help him and get him crate trained by September when I have to do a 'live' semester.
So, we got the dog yesterday and right after his owners left, he started barring his teeth and growling at me. However, he is perfectly fine with MH. MH had to work from home today because I can not get near him to take him for a walk and I am a bit afraid.
He obviously can't be staying home from work all the time and since I would need to be doing extensive training with him, his dislike of me is not going to work out. So, we are driving him home to CT tonight.
<Sorry this is so long.> We are planning on adopting another dog (a lab, maybe?) but it is just discouraging and I am feeling a bit out of sorts about it.
Thanks for listening, ladies! :-)
Re: Kinda sad
SA is not generally an issue for the first time dog owner. It requires intense amounts of training, behavior modification, conditioning, and at times when most severe, medication.
Don't get hung up on breeds and find a dog with the most suitable temperament for your lifestyle and personalities. There are 4-6 million dogs killed in shelters every year, trust me, there is one out there for you.
I'm sorry to hear that. We got our dog, Buster, from Patriot Lab Rescue in NH and had a really good experience. So if you are looking for a lab/lab mix you should consider them.
Good luck
Facebook
The part she's not telling anyone is that she was advised against this from the beginning... from numerous people. Numerous times.
http://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/32554059.aspx
and
http://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/32695597.aspx
I hate to say it, but we told you so.
Could you please stop trying to screw up these animals even more?? You wanted a small dog and then this beautiful Mastiff became available and all you thought about was "ooh, i want a dog." Stop, please.
And if you're going to ask for advice and then completely ignore us, please don't waste our time asking in the first place. The girls who gave you advice know A LOT about rescuing dogs and the problems they can have and the special care they need.
Exactly.
Unfortunately, I've seen her run over here a couple of times when she wants to rant about things she's already been warned against, or informed were bad ideas, on other boards. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't stand by this time and watch her just shuffle through shelter dog after shelter dog and try to pull the sympathy card...
Facebook
This really is not meant to come across as an attack.
I hope you do some more research before you get your next dog. Remember you said you didn't want a lab because of their activitiy level?
I know you were excited about this and have good intentions, but a dog is not an impulse buy. This dog has now had to go through going to another home and being rejected.
If you do decide to adopt another dog, most agencies will allow you to visit the dog first at the shelter or foster home. You should also find out if they have cats. You may want to find a smaller dog as well.
I
Whoa I missed that.
But holy crappola adorable pittie!
I did *not* say I wanted a small dog, I said I wanted a lazy dog.
And, the dog's problems that I encountered this weekend have nothing to do with the SA at all. It obviously just doesn't like me. It was growling and barring its teeth? Yup, totally sounds like SA to me. Not.
And, when we visited the CT foster home and when it was here with me while its foster parents were still here, it was totally fine - letting me pet it and all. Its problems did not start until after they left.
And, it is not a shelter dog - a couple owns this dog and just can't afford its day care anymore.
You said it had severe SA in your orignal post. THAT is where my comment came from.
If the couple owns the dog and can't afford it anymore, it's an owner rehome, it is NOT a "rescue" situation that you claim it to be. Know the lingo so you don't appear as a dumbass when you post about things. Do not underestimate the amount of rescue moms on this forum (all across the boards).
An owner rehome isn't the same. A shelter and rescue will temperament test to ensure the dog is safe to go to a home. An owner rehome does not usually have the tools to do that, unless they hire a behaviorist to do it.
Also, of course the dog growled and bared his teeth. He has no idea who the hell you are and why he is in your house. He's scared, lonely, confused as hell as to why his mom and dad aren't there anymore. Top that off with the fact that this is a dog with known anxiety and you've got a dog who was stressed the fvck out.
ANY dog you get is going to need an adjustment period. Granted, a TRUE shelter/rescue will likely not growl and bare his teeth at you, but she will need some time to adjust.
Also, you DID say in one of your OPs on the Sept board that you wanted a small dog. You also DID say you did not want a lab. So perhaps it is you, my dear, who needs to read more carefully.
Yes, I understand it is a rehome however the couple was working with a behaviorist and this dog, while yes suffering from SA, had never shown any of these behaviors.
Yes, I understand it was scared and in its adjustment period but it did not act that way at all towards MH. And, we had to make a fast decision. I could not get near enough to the dog to put its leash on - hence not being able to take the dog for its walks while MH is at work. He already stayed at home on Monday and an emergency came up in the office - hence not being able to stay home on Tuesday.
So, faced with the possibility of being alone with this huge dog who does NOT like me and whom I can not walk all day on Tuesday without MH, we had to take the dog back.
Re: wanting a small dog, in my post on the 09 board, I said I wanted a small dog BECAUSE I had no space in my condo for a very energetic dog to run around. If everyone there knew so much about dogs that I didn't know, they should've said that dog size =/= energy level, instead of pouncing on me for it later when I realized my error.
The bull mastiff in question had the lowest energy level I have ever seen in a dog and that is why it was a perfect choice. And, yes, labs in general have very energy however the few that MH are considering are said to have very low energy levels.
I did a ton of research on the dog's breed and got tons of information from the foster parents and nothing at all indicated this streak of aggressiveness. That means......that part was NOT my fault.
The fast decision and only giving the dog two days of adjustment was explained earlier and it was actually MH who said we have to get this dog back because I absolutely can not stay home tomorrow and I do not want you going near this dog. Again.......NOT my fault.
Seriously, I want to know, what else could I have done in this situation that would have been better? Because I keep thinking and re-thinking it and I can not come up with ANYTHING.
I am going to say this in the nicest way I possibly can.
I don't think you are ready to take on the responsibility of a dog.
Why?
Try reading everything over again from the start - your first post on the other board, all the way down to this one. Maybe you will start to see it from everyone else's perpsective after going over it all again.
This. Please.
Christar - I second, third, fourth and fifth that.
It can be hard to take bluntly given advice, even when its good advice from knowledgeable nesties, so I'll give you that.
The only thing I have to offer is that even if you were able to get a lazy dog, you can *never* underestimate a dog's energy level. When we got Lucy, she was described as the low-key dog who liked to watch while others played. And for the first couple days after we brought her home she was pretty quiet and mild-mannered but once she adjusted and felt comfortable she was much more energetic.
I hope you're able to make a responsible decision that you're happy with!
One thing that is good to know is that you can't really generalize dogs by breeds. There are mellow dogs of every breed and very high energy dogs of every breed. Border collies are suppossed to be insanely high energy, but my most recent foster was a total couch potato.And regardless of energy level, you need to be prepared for it to change throughout the year, months, weeks, seasons. Every dog I have had (I foster) goes BSC when the seasons change. If we have a 20 degree temp drop, my normally placid dog needs 4 hours of running all of a sudden.
Every dog, like every person, needs exercise.
A dog isn't an impulse buy- or something to pick up on a whim, is what some people are trying to tell you.