I love dogs. They are wonderful pets that seem to hold nothing but love for their owners. Throughout my years, I’ve had dogs, and they’ve all been good and gentle, at least to me. I’ve never been afraid of a dog either. My twin brother Jim was bitten by one when he was a boy, and since then, he’s always been nervous around strange dogs, an act in itself that causes a dog to bite.
I’ve always established a good relationship with the dogs we’ve had. For some reason, that ended with our current pet Snoop, a Jack Russell Terrier. As I’ve said before, Snoop was a birthday present the year before my son Dallas left for college. He was sure I needed someone or something to help me through the adjustment period of not having a “buddy” to hang out with. My objection fell on deaf ears.
Snoop came to us as a pup, and he was a lovable creature. Best of all, the dog was crate-trained already, so we lost little sleep with his whining and crying in a new surrounding. Snoop came to our house at the end of May, and in November of the same year, I had back surgery. That dog was by my side during the entire recovery period. His need for daily exercise helped me to walk as the doctor had instructed. At 2:00 p.m. every day, I sat down in my recliner. Next I placed a pillow on my stomach where the doctors had made an incision. Then I picked Snoop up and gingerly placed him on that pillow. For the next two hours, he and I slept. Snoop woke up when I did, and he stayed beside me as if he were protecting me from all evil.
Somewhere along the line, the circuits in his brain must have shorted. For the past few months, Snoop’s behavior has been hostile. He growls when I pet him, and he rarely ever sits with me. I’ve tried to discipline him in the way the “the dog whisperer” instructs, but all that has happened is that Snoop has become even more skittish and aggressive toward me.
I’m the one who took this canine to obedience classes for two different sessions. We worked on those commands, and Snoop became quite good at obeying those them. Even when he is growling and bearing his teeth, he will sit and lie down on command. I also am the one over the years who’s taken this pup for his walks through the neighborhood. I’m the one who usually feeds him and gets his water. I arise in the middle of the night to let him out to do his business. What do I get for all the trouble? The dog has nipped at me and actually broken the skin a couple of times. More recently, he bit my finger and put a nasty gash on either side of the digit.No, I didn’t kill him, although I wanted to fling him across the room.
Some of the problem is that he has become my wife’s dog. She has had a couple of illnesses, and during that time Snoop has watched over her just as he did me. However, now I think he assumes Amy is his, and he protects her from me. He lies on her lap and rarely snarls at her. I keep telling Amy that she needs to be the one who breaks the dog’s aggressive actions toward me. I don’t think my wife is buying my explanation for the dog’s behavior.
So, what am I to do? The things I’ve seen the dog whisperer, Cesar Millan, do haven’t worked. I’ve tried to contact him, but the man is so popular that reaching him is impossible. I can’t find anyone in the area who uses the practices of Millan either. I hope that someone who reads this can come to our rescue. Otherwise, life is going to be a war at my house.
I’m not about to beat the dog for his behavior. I know that will only worsen the situation. I want my old buddy back but don’t know how to make that happen. Neither one of us is getting any younger; Snoop’s life expectancy is shorter than mine. I’ve got to find a way to snap him back to his old self. At the end of May Snoop and I will have even more time together, and I’d like to think that we can get along and guide each other into our older years.
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