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Apr. 2nd, 2009 04:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pacificpikachuThere's a pretty good chance Tilly is going to have to go back to her foster home. It's really disappointing and I'm sad about it.
She's been great with my mom and I and Hana--playing, being sweet, even going to the dog park! She hasn't been destructive in the house and she's been quite well-behaved. She's been sleeping in my room every night, giving me kisses on the face in the morning, playing with Hana and having a great time in the dog pen.
But she is dead terrified of--and tries to attack--my brother. He was away at my dad's the first two days, and now that he's come back she freaks out and barks and lunges at him and tries to bite if he comes anywhere near. Last night and today I did some work with her and Ryan to try to fix this based off advice on the internet and my knowledge of dogs in general (forming a positive association with him, and other things), and while she'll get up to the point of accepting a treat from him if he's standing still, if he starts moving or talks too much or does anything she goes at him again.
Given adequate time to work with her, I could get her to where she likes him and isn't afraid of him. But he lives in this house, too, and what are we supposed to do with her in the meantime? Just exile her to a room? That doesn't seem fair. And then there's the question of whether she would do the same with Ryan's friends, other people who drop by, and so on...
We still have to talk to her foster mom about it so nothing is for certain, but I just feel really...upset about it, I guess. I've grown quite fond of her and some part of me, as irrational as it is, feels like I've failed her and I'm a bad person if I send her back and that the group won't give us another dog. I know that's probably not true at all--they'll understand that we've treated her well and this is just her issue for whatever reason--but I can't help but feel that way anyway. Maybe she's just supposed to be with her foster mom, Erin, because Erin is quite attached to her. I don't know.
Anyway, we'll see what happens. If she has to go back to her foster home, I guess I'll just have to go hunting for a dog again immediately. I want a dog for our family that I can bond with and stay with and take for walks with Hana and take to the dog park, and so on. I feel like I can't settle down and be content with things until I have that in my life. I know it's crazy. But that's just how I feel.
I just have to remind myself that when you adopt dogs, there's generally a "trial period" of two weeks anyway. If it doesn't work out, it just...doesn't work out, and you learn from that and it's all right.
I will admit--and this is going to sound like I'm making it up but I'm not--that there was just a tiny part of me the whole time that was unsure about Tilly though I can't pinpoint why, but it was covered up by the fact that I think she's a fantastic, sweet, fun, pretty dog.
She's been great with my mom and I and Hana--playing, being sweet, even going to the dog park! She hasn't been destructive in the house and she's been quite well-behaved. She's been sleeping in my room every night, giving me kisses on the face in the morning, playing with Hana and having a great time in the dog pen.
But she is dead terrified of--and tries to attack--my brother. He was away at my dad's the first two days, and now that he's come back she freaks out and barks and lunges at him and tries to bite if he comes anywhere near. Last night and today I did some work with her and Ryan to try to fix this based off advice on the internet and my knowledge of dogs in general (forming a positive association with him, and other things), and while she'll get up to the point of accepting a treat from him if he's standing still, if he starts moving or talks too much or does anything she goes at him again.
Given adequate time to work with her, I could get her to where she likes him and isn't afraid of him. But he lives in this house, too, and what are we supposed to do with her in the meantime? Just exile her to a room? That doesn't seem fair. And then there's the question of whether she would do the same with Ryan's friends, other people who drop by, and so on...
We still have to talk to her foster mom about it so nothing is for certain, but I just feel really...upset about it, I guess. I've grown quite fond of her and some part of me, as irrational as it is, feels like I've failed her and I'm a bad person if I send her back and that the group won't give us another dog. I know that's probably not true at all--they'll understand that we've treated her well and this is just her issue for whatever reason--but I can't help but feel that way anyway. Maybe she's just supposed to be with her foster mom, Erin, because Erin is quite attached to her. I don't know.
Anyway, we'll see what happens. If she has to go back to her foster home, I guess I'll just have to go hunting for a dog again immediately. I want a dog for our family that I can bond with and stay with and take for walks with Hana and take to the dog park, and so on. I feel like I can't settle down and be content with things until I have that in my life. I know it's crazy. But that's just how I feel.
I just have to remind myself that when you adopt dogs, there's generally a "trial period" of two weeks anyway. If it doesn't work out, it just...doesn't work out, and you learn from that and it's all right.
I will admit--and this is going to sound like I'm making it up but I'm not--that there was just a tiny part of me the whole time that was unsure about Tilly though I can't pinpoint why, but it was covered up by the fact that I think she's a fantastic, sweet, fun, pretty dog.
