WonderDog stays.I agonized over it, and everyone I know is telling me I am crazy, but I think it is the right decision. I spent a long time in prayer over this two nights ago [I was literally sick thinking of taking her back to the shelter]. I asked God to please let me wake up knowing without a doubt whether I should keep her and keep working on her biting, or whether I should take her back to the shelter. I woke up yesterday knowing I could not and would not take her back to the shelter. [Subsequently I found out that the shelter where we got her has about a 60% kill ratio - so that confirmed my decision].
In the meantime, I have been researching like crazy, talking with anyone who knows anything about dogs, and looking for any info that might help me teach WonderDog not to bite. I had some really good advice from one of the ladies at the Atlanta Dog Squad [a Lab rescue organization]. She sent me to this website for help with the "leave it" Command, another "leave it" site, a site with help for growling dogs and, most helpful of all, a site to help cure puppy mouthing/biting - which, of course, is our biggest problem.
I also did more research on behavior typical for shelter dogs and I found that the unpredictable growling is pretty typical. In a shelter situation, dogs HAVE to fight for dominance and they have to be aggressive. Shelter dogs have a period of "transition" where they are learning to know you and TRUST you and where they are learning that they won't be abused in their new home. I think this is exactly what happened with WonderDog, because we haven't had any more growling at all in almost 2 weeks. She knows she's loved now and can trust us to treat her well.
I also found this neat book on Amazon Second-Hand Dog: How to Turn Yours into a First-Rate Pet. I ordered it and hope it will be helpful as well.
And, most helpful of all, Wonderdog has not been biting as much. Yesterday she didn't bite anyone all day long. [Sounds silly I know, but that was a big deal for her]. Today she bit a couple of times, but nothing major...so she's slowing down at the very least.
Having her around has been amazingly good for our family though, even with the biting issues. The children ADORE her. They spend a whole lot of time playing with her, and in turn she adores them. She follows them around and just loves them so much. I am enjoying her too - I enjoy our training sessions and I just enjoy seeing her with the kids. I also enjoy my one on one time with her in the evenings when the children go to bed.
It is also neat to see what she brings out in the children. My 5yo son feeds her every morning and every night - just because he wants to, not because I asked him to. He loves caring for her and he has been extremely responsible about feeding her. [I am watching closely of course, to make sure she's fed appropriately, but he's doing a great job]. The 5yo and the 4yo both spend a lot of time working with her on her commands too, and she obeys them most of the time. The 8yo is helping me teach WonderDog to "heel". Even the 2yo works with her frequently - and she can get WonderDog to "sit" and "wait" for a treat. She can also put her in her crate, which is not good - some times I find WonderDog locked in her crate at random intervals and I have to set her free!
She provides so much joy and amusement, she's worth the effort I'm putting in to help her get over her biting issue.
3 comments:
I'm really happy to read this. I was hoping you'd find a way to work things out. I don't think you're crazy at all.
Thank you so much for saying this! You brought tears to my eyes actually - I needed a little bit of affirmation. :) I think in the long run I'm going to be so happy we kept her!
Kelly
:( Well, now I'm really sorry to read your most recent post. I still think you were right to give the dog every chance and try to work it out. I'm so sorry she's flipped out.
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