Thursday, February 12, 2009

I think I am totally screwing up my puppy

I don't think I realized how different dogs can be to train. Molly, our new white German Shepard has been terrorizing our home. I thought I could handle any dog, because 10 years ago I had a Shepard mix puppy named Maya and she was a very good dog most of the time. I took her to puppy school and learned the basic training techniques, and she did well. So when we got Molly I figured, no problem I know how to train her. Well needless to say she has a few issues that Maya did not . She is afraid of any strangers that come into the house, and she violently protects her space from our 7 year old White Shepard, Jake. The more I try to work with her the worse she seems to get. I feel myself loosing patients and I know that can hinder the training. I wish I could be like Jake. He just ignores her even when she is millimeters away from his face, growling and snapping. (She has never bitten him). He pretends she is not even there, even as I am yelling at her to stop. Sometimes I wonder if he would just snap back at her or put her down, then she might get the message and stop.

We adopted Molly from a rescue agency about 3 months ago. She was 15 weeks old at the time. It is unusual to find puppies through a rescue, but Molly's mother had been turned into a shelter while she was pregnant and the shelter could not take care of the puppies, so the mom and her pups were rescued and placed in foster homes until they were old enough to be adopted. We decided Jake needed a new companion after Maya passed. I think Jake was just as happy to be the only pet in the house.

Molly and I have enrolled in a "good manners" training class and hope to find the source of her issues and stop this unwanted behavior. It is more work than I expected but once you make a commitment to a pet you have to stick with it. She is a part of our family now and we love her. She is very good with Jake when they are eating, or when playing out in the back yard, and when we go on walks together. But when she is laying in her spot, (her spot can be where ever she is lying down at the moment,) she gets real nasty if Jake comes walking by.

The problem did not present itself right away and it has gotten progressively worse, which is why I feel I am totally screwing up this poor dog. We will keep at it though, and I will update you all on her progress.

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