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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

What is a Girl To Do?

I am agonizing over the Ike situation.  I can't stop crying.  I realize now that he wasn't a family dog...he was my dog...and I miss him more than I ever thought that I would.  I keep listening for the jingle of his tags and it is a lonely walk up the stairs to bed at night without him.  I woke Chris up around 4am to talk about this problem and to cry a little bit more.  He told me that if it was going to bother me this much, then I should just go and get him back, but that I had to make that decision, not him.  And really, I am a terrible decision maker.  It was the root of all my temper tantrums as a child - having to make a decision and the fear of making the wrong decision.  Ugh.

So we read back through parts of the dog training book.  And essentially the territorial aggression is a super big issue (like we didn't already know that), so big that we won't be able to handle it ourselves.  Which means a dog trainer...and I just don't know that we can swing that right now (you know, Christmas and a little outpatient surgery really takes its toll on the finances).  And so then, what is fair to the dog?  At this point, he is put upstairs in our bedroom anytime someone comes over, which apparently makes the aggression worse.  Awesome, right?

And so, I just don't know what to do.  Big sigh.  My Christmas Break is just not supposed to be like this.

6 comments:

sharonp said...

Go and get the dog. I saw you holding him like a baby at the jewelry boutique and I knew he was yours and you were his.

Emily said...

Just go get him. Do you want some dog training for Christmas?

Lisa said...

I say don't. Go get another dog that won't be so much work...and put the same tags on him so you still get that jingle jingle. Problem fixed. :)
P.S. Easy for me to say...I am NOT a dog person.

Valerie said...

I am a dog person, so my heart is aching for you. And we don't even know each other IRL! ;)

Some dog training is really less expensive than you would think. . .

molly said...

Oh no, this is tough. Chris is right, only you can make the call. I did not get a chance to see the charming side of Ike so I am still objective in my viewpoint. Just know that I love you & support you in your decision, whatever it may be.

If the territorial aggression is something that won't go away without training, then it seems the real decision is whether or not to go through the training. It would be an investment but if it works like it does on TV, then you could have an awesome dog. Either way, it will be work and compromise. You either have to shell out a good chunk of change and time to get the dog to behave or you have to work through the emotions of him not being a part of your family. Neither will be easy.
One thing to consider is that there is no perfect dog out there. Just like there is no perfect spouse, friend or child. They will all require work, some less than others. ; ) And sometimes the ones that require the most work are the ones that are the most rewarding.

Paula said...

Going by what you've said, it seems like Ike was making your life a living...Heck (haha). Destroying furniture, for example - and he was making it impossible for your girls to have friends over. What if the training didn't pay off? Then you're out money and still stuck with an aggressive dog. So I think you need to ask yourself which choice is most beneficial to your family as a whole. Will going to get him benefit anyone else besides you? Sometimes being selfless is the hardest choice of all.