- Joined
- Nov 7, 2004
- Messages
- 6,630
I had a prior thread about a dog we adopted, Chuck. I feel this is a safe place to let loose. We adopted a dog that had been previously abandoned. We have had this dog over two months. He has made some strides in behavior, but has kind of plataued in his improvement. This is in part our fault, because we have not been walking and working with him as much since we fully fenced in our yard.
The main issue is, and I feel really crappy about it, although I can''t speak for my husband, is that I have never fully bonded with this dog. We had alot of difficulty from the beginning with this dog and I got an agreement from my husband we would revisit this in 1 month. When a month went by my husband then said that adopting is a forever thing (normally something I agree with), and that no matter what we were keeping the dog. I told him that it would be his responsibility to train the dog then, and he said yes. I had a good cry, and try to rededicate myself to rehabilitate the dog. I tried for a month, but my heart isn''t into it. And my husband hasn''t been putting any work into training.
The biggest deal though that I feel ashamed of this, I don''t feel bonded to this dog. And part of it is it doesn''t seem like this dog is emotionally attached to us. He doesn''t listen unless food is involved, and runs away when he has the chance.
My oldest daughter who is the biggest animal lover also has a negative relationship with him. I feel maybe I should have spoken up earlier, but kept trying to make it work, and the longer this goes on the worse I feel. I''m sure that there are more things we can try to rehabilitate this dog, but as I am not emotionally attached to the dog I feel no motivation to do them, and my priorities are my job and my two children.
I need to learn acceptance about this but feel angry and resentful about and it is causing me friction with my husband.
The main issue is, and I feel really crappy about it, although I can''t speak for my husband, is that I have never fully bonded with this dog. We had alot of difficulty from the beginning with this dog and I got an agreement from my husband we would revisit this in 1 month. When a month went by my husband then said that adopting is a forever thing (normally something I agree with), and that no matter what we were keeping the dog. I told him that it would be his responsibility to train the dog then, and he said yes. I had a good cry, and try to rededicate myself to rehabilitate the dog. I tried for a month, but my heart isn''t into it. And my husband hasn''t been putting any work into training.
The biggest deal though that I feel ashamed of this, I don''t feel bonded to this dog. And part of it is it doesn''t seem like this dog is emotionally attached to us. He doesn''t listen unless food is involved, and runs away when he has the chance.
My oldest daughter who is the biggest animal lover also has a negative relationship with him. I feel maybe I should have spoken up earlier, but kept trying to make it work, and the longer this goes on the worse I feel. I''m sure that there are more things we can try to rehabilitate this dog, but as I am not emotionally attached to the dog I feel no motivation to do them, and my priorities are my job and my two children.
I need to learn acceptance about this but feel angry and resentful about and it is causing me friction with my husband.