The One With the Bad Mother
Do you ever feel like a bad mom? I have been feeling like a terrible mother lately because Muggsy's aggression is just not improving. My boss thinks he has a medical problem, so I am working on training him to go to the vet. This requires muzzle training, go-behind-a-door training and desensitization. I just feel terrible taht he hasn't seemed to be making much progress. The health problem has me very worried, so I got health insurance this weekend. I hope the poor guy's OK.
My boss suggested making a training diary, and I think I will use this as that forum. After all, Friends isn't on the air anymore and it isn't college basketball season, so there's not much more to say about those topics. I don't like my full-time job, so I won't be commenting on that, and I'm writing a book, but that's personal and not for discussion on public forum.
So here's Day One of Muggsy's training diary for May 15, 2005.
Saturday, Muggsy guarded his bone from me, the first time he had ever done such a thing. When I tried to retrieve it, he lunged, showing his teeth and growling. I did get the bone -- I couldn't let him keep it or he would learn that aggression is the solution to his problems. After all the work I've done helping him learn that he can trust me and doesn't have to try to take on leadership of the pack, I couldn't let him regress.
Ongoing training that I'm working on are hand-feeding his meals and sleeping all night confined to his crate.
Yesterday, I worked most of the day -- working two group classes and two private lessons with my boss -- so I wasn't able to observe much of Muggsy's behavior. I hand-fed him his dinner, focusing on him taking treats from me in the heel position. We also worked on proofing the down-stay. In the evening, while I was at my computer writing, Muggsy was lying in his crate, growling or barking at Chubbs every time he walked by. He would come out of the crate and be friendly with Robby and I, but he's started growling at Fenway, too, which he had never done before.
I hope he's not cracking up. My boss's dog cracked up when he was four, right around the Fourth of July. I know the likelihood of that happening to Muggsy, too, is very minimal, but I still get worried when I see him regressing like this. I hope it's a medical problem that can be fixed, though it will be a life-long management process and probably decrease the lifespan of my treasured best friend.
What's new with your baby? Are you even posting on this site anymore. :)
My boss suggested making a training diary, and I think I will use this as that forum. After all, Friends isn't on the air anymore and it isn't college basketball season, so there's not much more to say about those topics. I don't like my full-time job, so I won't be commenting on that, and I'm writing a book, but that's personal and not for discussion on public forum.
So here's Day One of Muggsy's training diary for May 15, 2005.
Saturday, Muggsy guarded his bone from me, the first time he had ever done such a thing. When I tried to retrieve it, he lunged, showing his teeth and growling. I did get the bone -- I couldn't let him keep it or he would learn that aggression is the solution to his problems. After all the work I've done helping him learn that he can trust me and doesn't have to try to take on leadership of the pack, I couldn't let him regress.
Ongoing training that I'm working on are hand-feeding his meals and sleeping all night confined to his crate.
Yesterday, I worked most of the day -- working two group classes and two private lessons with my boss -- so I wasn't able to observe much of Muggsy's behavior. I hand-fed him his dinner, focusing on him taking treats from me in the heel position. We also worked on proofing the down-stay. In the evening, while I was at my computer writing, Muggsy was lying in his crate, growling or barking at Chubbs every time he walked by. He would come out of the crate and be friendly with Robby and I, but he's started growling at Fenway, too, which he had never done before.
I hope he's not cracking up. My boss's dog cracked up when he was four, right around the Fourth of July. I know the likelihood of that happening to Muggsy, too, is very minimal, but I still get worried when I see him regressing like this. I hope it's a medical problem that can be fixed, though it will be a life-long management process and probably decrease the lifespan of my treasured best friend.
What's new with your baby? Are you even posting on this site anymore. :)
posted by Anonymous at
8:41 AM
1 Comments:
Oh crap girl, I feel like a bad mother every day. Let's see, most recently my child stomped his foot and screamed in a high-pitched, shrill, "I am so pissed off" tone because I made him go use the potty before we went somewhere. I am so unreasonable!
Motherhood is a rollercoaster ride, most of the time it's the "holy crap, I may barf" but there are those exhilerating moments when your child turns to you and says "I love you so much Mama" or your dog comes and puts his head in your lap when you're crying. These are what make that unconditional love for our children worth it! I have no doubt in my mind that you and Muggsy will work through whatever his problems are. Maybe he thinks he's being punished b/c your landlord has condemned him to the small back yard? Maybe he blames this on Chubbs and Fenway instead of himself, so he's pissed at them? I don't know, I have a fat hound and she has a very one-track mind: food or sleep. There is no complex though process going on in that dog's head! ;)
By
Monica, at 3:42 PM
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