New pup *hates* crate - doesn't listen

[KYS]

Hi,

It's only a little bit over a week since you got some
wonderful advice from people on Pet Talk.
You need to have a lot of patience and not give up
so soon. Training takes time, It took me
months to deal with some problems with
Rocky. (Give your puppy and yourself a chance to
make it work.)
If you bought your puppy from a reputable breeder,
Contact the breeder and let her know you are having
problems, the breeder should be able to offer
advice.

Only you can answer whether or not
you are not financially/mentally able to give proper care
for your puppy. ,
If you are not able to provide basic good care for your puppy, you
might want to talk to the breeder and see if she
will take the puppy back and find her a new home.
For medical care, Vets will usually take payments.
What ever you decide we will not judge you,
we just want you and your puppy to be happy.

[BerberCarpet]

Originally posted by KYS
You need to have a lot of patience and not give up so soon. Training takes time, It took me months to deal with some problems with Rocky. (Give your puppy and yourself a chance to make it work.)
[/

I *feel* that way, myself.

But in the meantime, my puppy is getting more and more aggresive everyday.

We now have no interactions where she's not trying to bite me, unless I have an ice cube or I'm feeding her.

As soon as she's done eating her food or she's destroyed the cube, she's back to biting and growling at me.

The problem with giving it a chance to make it work is that I'm losing my grip on everything else in my life.

My cats are eating half of what they were before, due to stress, and are losing weight.

I've lost 8 pounds since I got her.

I've been sick for two weeks now--again, stress--and I am one of those weird people who get's sick once every 5-6 years.


I haven't had time to deal with bills or even laundry or dishes.

I am absolutly at the end of my rope.

And it's not anger--I'm not "upset" with Jaetta for "doing this to me."

I'm just stressed out because my puppy is clearly unhappy, and nothing I am doing is helping--she's getting more aggresive day by day.

And the stress is taking its toll on me.

Originally posted by KYS
If you bought your puppy from a reputable breeder,
Contact the breeder and let her know you are having
problems, the breeder should be able to offer
advice.
[/

Yeah, I've contacted them.

Thier first reaction was something aking to: "Good luck with that."

I'm still awating a third return call/email.

Originally posted by KYS
Only you can answer whether or not you are not financially/mentally able to give proper care for your puppy. If you are not able to provide basic good care for your puppy, you might want to talk to the breeder and see if she will take the puppy back and find her a new home.
[/

That is my plan--but have not heard back from the breeder in several days.

It is one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, but its the right thing to do--for Jaetta and for me.


She's not happy (obviously) and I've made myself sick with worry for her.

The fact that she makes me bleed every time I get near her is really incidental.

I'm sure an experience Sch handler could have her happy and behaving well in a matter of days--but I am just not able to.

Originally posted by KYS
What ever you decide we will not judge you,
we just want you and your puppy to be happy.

Actually, this means a lot.

Thank you.

[Karen]

Have you signed up for puppy kindergarten??? Do that ASAP, and it may help tremendously, whatever you decide.

Hang in there, maybe buy some leather gloves to protect your hands for now.

[carrie]

Crikey! I feel awful for not checking back sooner!

The one thing I advise you straight away to do is learn how to correct this pup properly. This is not a lap dog we are talking about and I fear that you may not be the handler that this pup needs.

Please do not continue to pin her down or blow in her ear - you are inviting her to bite your face in both instances and one day she will!!!!

Have you thought of contacting your local police with a view to having them test your pup for suitability?

This pup needs a working environment and a structured day with very clear cut, no exception rules.

Secondly, I understand your desire for a canine companion but feel that you greatly underestimated the time and work involved in any puppy - let alone the pup you brought home. In experienced hands she could be a dream but I don't think that you will be able to rearrange your life or approach to the dog quickly enough to turn the situation around. This pup is getting bigger every day and will soon be out of your control and a danger to you.

It is clear that you love this dog and wish to do whatever it takes and I think that the best all round would be for the dog to go to somebody with the experience and time to handle her. Please beware of returning her to a breeder that will almost certainly resell her to a pet home.

If you still feel the urge for canine company do not let this experience put you off. You clearly have a good home for the right dog with plenty of love and opportunity - why not have a break and then try fostering for a local shelter until the right one lands on the doorstep?

I do not mean to sound flippant but this pup is clearly not the right dog for you and it is damaging the chances for both of you to be happy the longer this situation continues. This does not make her a bad pup - she sounds like a honey - nor does it make you a bad owner - you sound like a honey too!

Try the police and if they are not interested they may be able to give you some ideas of where to go next......let us know how it goes and good luck, whatever you decide.

[lizbud]

WOW, I can't believe I missed this topic for so long.(and from
a fellow Indy citizen too boot). My dog Buddy was very aloof
as a pup, definately not the cuddley type at all, but the only
time I experienced the biting, attacking behavior was outside
in the yard playing.I still have the bite mark scars on my arm
to prove it. It all worked out for Bud & me, but I'm sure I
made many mistakes along the way.Best of Luck with your
beautiful pup. Liz.

[ownerof3dogs]

Just wondering how everything is?

[BerberCarpet]

Well..

I'm sad.

Today is the day I find out if the breeder will buy her back from me.


I'm going to miss her a ton, but there's a lot of reasons I cannot/should not keep her.

I'm going to have to get a second job to make my mortgage payment (and I cannot afford to get the fence I was planning to buy) and she has gotten so whiney in her crate that they "asked" me not to bring her into work anymore.


I am very very sad about all of this.

[anna_66]

Sorry to hear this, but there "will" be a dog out there that is meant just for you

[BerberCarpet]

Well, the breeder bought her back from me today--I dropped her off there this morning.

Jaetta is no longer "my" pup...

Obviously I'm full of all sorts of mixed emotions.


I had grown so fond of her in these 7 weeks, and it's going to be weird to not have her next to the bed tonight.

:(

But she'll be fine.

The breeders were really happy with her--said she was georgous, and had "perfect form" and were amazed at how self-confident she was.

I kept trying to tell them...

;)

And they just bought her form me outright--no consignment, no kenneling fee, and gave me a good chunk of her original price back.

All this was much more than I could have asked or expected.


So anyway, that's that.

I'm really gonna miss her, and hope to be able to "try again" in a couple of years, when things in the rest of my life settle down.


In the mean time, I am looking forward to browsing this board more for fun than for "help."

You all have been very good to me, and it is much appreciated.

- me


BTW: I got a whole role of good pictures on our second-to-last night together, and will post a couple, once they're developed. It is amazing how fast she grew.

[turner]

I'm so sorry you had to give Jetta up, but sounds like it was the best for you and for her! At least you could give her back to the breeder and they will find a good home for her. Most breeders won't take back the dogs or if they do, they won't give you any money back.

Again sorry to hear that you had to give her up!

[anna_66]

I'm glad you feel confident about your decision. I'm really excited to see pics of the pup we've heard so much about!

[BerberCarpet]

ONE YEAR LATER

Can you believe it?

A lot has happened since I had to give Jaetta up.

For one, my wife came back, and the last 10 months have been the best of our almost 6 years together. (!)

For two, we got a dog last month.

We opted to adopt a 1-year-old this time, rather than "risk" the puppy thing again.

We got a Lab/Shepherd mix, and named him "Trogdor."


He was rescued from "an unfit environment" and he's *awesome*.


He was already housebroken, and mostly crate trained, from his month in foster care.

We have him in a "group training" at Petsmart, and he's doing very well -- a very fast learner.

He's not a "people pleaser" per se, which makes him a little harder to train, but he's really smart, which makes him more trainable in the long run, I think?


In any case, the last word from the breeder is that Jaetta got put in a good home and is the love the her new owner's life.

Woo hoo!

[wolf_Q]

Hey, I remember this thread! Welcome back! I'm so glad things have worked out for both you and Jaetta. Congratulations on the new addition!! Trogder is so handsome!

[KYS]

Welcome back and congratulations to you/your wife and
also your new addition.
My favorite dog of all time was a GSD/Lab mix.

[BerberCarpet]

Originally posted by KYS
My favorite dog of all time was a GSD/Lab mix.

Mine too!

My brother's dog, Gwenyth is such a dog.

We were not really planning on getting a dog till spring, but I "happened" across Trogdor's listing at PetFinder.com (which will happen if you search for Shepherd/Lab in your area ).

I showed the listing to the wife, and two weeks later, I was still thinking about him, so I asked if we could go meet him.


...and when we did we couldn't pass him up.

He's wonderful.

Got another pic: