Odrade,
I stand by my "rude rantings."
Whew! I was so afraid that we would never find any common ground to stand on! Thank you for your "growed up" admission. Now, let's see if this relationship can be salvagable. I would be very interested to hear about this concept of "desensitization." Your mentioning it is the first time I've ever heard about it. In fact, until you corrected me, I thought it was something you paid someone else to do. Even when I took my dog to the vet about the issues my dog is going through, she never mentioned it. She did, however, suggest the "doggy bootcamp" where the dog goes away for a couple of weeks, comes back "brand new", and then I go to reinforcement training once week for a specified amount of time, in order to reinforce the training at home. This is the $1k program I mentioned earlier. Who knows, perhaps this "desensitization" is part of that program. At any rate, she also told me that some dogs never grow out of the piddling problem my dog displays, and suggested that perhaps he is one of those dogs. Obviously my veterinarian knows more about dog behavior than I do, so when she said that, I took her word for it. I am guilty of believing her and not looking any further into it. There! Now I've made my "growed up" admission. Now, I would like to get past all the accusations, so I can learn more about "desensitizing". Perhaps by sharing this information, I wouldn't have to have the discussion I am dreading with my son after all, and I would have you to thank. I like stories with positive endings. Don't you?!
Proudasamonkey,
just make him a little brother..... whip one up and he'll be fine.....
Thanks for the levity. It was very much needed at the time, and I appreciate it. For what it is worth, this gal ain't whippin' up anymore rugrats, the one I already have keeps me very busy indeed. Thanks for the laugh, though. I needed it, and I don't want you to be sorry for saying it! Keep using that great charm of yours!
Sens,
but if you have found a home where you know the dog will be looked after thats cool...beats a shelter by far.
Despite all my dog's faults, I do love him. That is why I found a rescue organization to find him a home - because I knew that if I didn't, his chances of not being adopted out to someone who may have better success with him would steeply decline. I don't wish for the dog to go to a gas chamber - I wish for the dog to have a better environment than the one he is in now, because obviously I am not skilled with dogs with his particular needs, although the Lord above knows how hard I have tried. Thanks for the encouragement.
Odrade,
The dog is not to blame.
We are going to have to agree to disagree on this point. But please thank my "angel" for me who gave you a bit more insight into other events going on in my life, because I believe they were trying to give you a perspective on some issues which could be contributing factors into my frustration with the dog. I think it helped, so I am serious when I ask you to please thank them for me. Because I have posted about my son's disorder on the board already, I don't mind that others know about it. Generally, I prefer to be the one that makes the information public in a particular thread, however; in this instance I believe you were trying to share the insight with others while at the same time offering me an olive branch. Thank you. I will accept it.
Nilfin,
You post reminds me of the time when my younger sibling's pet got really sick and Mom took him to the vet --and came home empty-handed. There was a lot of crying until Mom said that the pet was at "the kitty farm", the place where all really old cats go to play in the catnip and enjoy their golden years. It was a long time 'til it was realized that the cat had actually been euthanized.
How sad for your younger sibling. If they felt the way I did about "Kekao" (my chow chow whom I loved so very much), I can understand the tears. You know, one day I was on the AKC website and found a video clip of a chow that looks so much like Kekao did, that I downloaded it and I still watch it every so often. I really miss him a lot. He used to "hug" me by pressing his head up against me, and he would get excited and run around in a frenzy like a puppy until he started to slow down from his illness. He was dumber than a box of rocks, but he was so loving and had such a way of making me smile - not just on my face, but in my heart - that even now, I can feel the love between us. I will never forget him. But I digress. Anyway, I like the way your mother painted a positive picture for something that is otherwise so sad. I think that it is actually better for a younger child who doesn't really understand death to hear a more positive story like your mother's to help heal the wound until they are old enough to understand. Thanks for sharing your story!
I'm sorry you have to make such a difficult decision, especially now that your boy has become attached to the doggie. Maybe you could have sent the puppy away sooner, but sometimes we humans hold on longer than we should out of hoping that things will change. I know I've been guilty of that.
Thank you also for identifying with my humanity. Yes, I hoped the dog would grow out of it. He didn't. Maybe I could have done something differently before now that could have worked, but I can't go back and change the past. The "woulda coulda shoulda" game never gets anyone anywhere.
Sorry I don't really have any helpful advice.
Au contraire. Your advice - especially the story about your mother and your younger sibiling's cat was very inspiring. Thank you for responding.
SFJ,
Thanks for your insight. I appreciate that you took the time to offer up some suggestions.
