I think this morning was the last straw for me. Sadly, I’ve decided that when my lovable, twelve year old, high strung, indoor manageable only but sweet dog Etta passes away, I think I will not get another one after her.
Being a dog owner has become such a chore and such a source of stress in my life. I have come to hate even having to walk her outdoors when I think that there might be other people walking their dogs at the same time because as soon as my dog spots another dog, even from across the street, the first thing she does is start whimpering and tries to make a mad dash to go see them.
From the first moment Etta sees the other dog, she is in a crazed state of mind. No one exists at that point except her and the other dog. Contrary to what others might think, this is not normal dog behavior. It’s neurotic. She does not hear me when I tell her to stop and she does not seem to feel the restraint of her collar around her neck when I am holding her back with the leash. She has done this since the time that I first got her and every single day since then I try something new to see if I can get her to stop.
Most recently I have been calmly putting my foot out in front of her to block her path and to show her that there is a boundary that she should not cross. It does seem to distract her for a bit and get her to look up at me which is what I want but that’s only a beginning.
However, Etta doesn’t pay attention to me for very long because now I have to be distracted from her to try and explain to the other dog owner that we have encountered and wants our two dogs to meet that it’s not okay for our dogs to meet until my dog calms down and behaves the way I want for her to behave. I tell them that I do not want to reward her for behaving badly and to which they now look at me like I have two heads and there is something wrong with the way I’m treating her.
I am so disgusted with the ignorance and lack of consideration of others these days who can not seem to understand that the behavior that they see as so sweet, cute and adorable in my dog is actually bad behavior for a well adjusted normal dog and I am tired of trying to convince them to the contrary.
When did it ever become like this? I would never dream of trying to force my attentions on someone else’s dog or totally disregard what they were asking of me in regards to their dog. Why is what I ask of people in regards to my dog treated with such disrespect for me and disregard for what is best for my dog? Neurosis is not cute and when you have to deal with it every single day, it’s work!
At one point I wanted to give Etta away because I started to feel overwhelmed by her neurosis and was tired of dealing with it. Fortunately for me, the person did not want her to live with them.
My Etta is here to stay. I’ve made a commitment to her and she will have a home with me for the rest of her life neurosis and all, I love her and I will not give up trying to teach her a different way to behave when she meets another dog……or another dog owner. One day at a time.
Thank you for reading.
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