043 Mine

 

"Mine"

The time has come for me to seek answers in a book as I look to shape this frightened little terror puppy into a family pet if possible. There are two problems as I see it. One is indoors and one outdoors. The former is easy mostly to work around- avoid. Not ideal but early and late walks help. This problem can be looked at later. Much more important is tackling the indoor problem.

Inside the problem is simple- he is possessive and territorial. He's unpredictable. Sometimes he'll let you stroke him and sometimes he won't, he'll snap. We've removed all his toys but the little sod will always find something to guard whether it be a sock or a bit of paper. A while back the vet recommended the above book to my wife and its finally come down to me to buy and read it. So here goes. I'm not hopeful but willing to give it a bash.

I have made one strange observation with regards to his possessiveness. I think my wife and I might be reacted wrongly. We react like he has done something very bad and usually with some justification with a snarling dog snapping, sometimes ripping clothes abs scratching skin. We most certainly react. The girls though act unimpressed and it seems to defuse the situation quickly. Like water off a duck's back they act as if its nothing. For example one daughter dropped a pill on the floor and straight away the dog pounced on it but she grabbed it almost out his mouth while holding him at arm's length and despite the snarling it was over quickly with not a scratch. Maybe there is more wisdom in the children than a book. Time will tell.