Doggie Issues
After three months of working with Penny to: 1. learn her name (or at least acknowledge that we were calling her), 2. stop going potty in the house, 3. stop running off every chance she got, 4. stop chasing and/or obsessing over any cat she saw outside the house, and 5. stop dominance-humping Hank (yes, she did, and it was every bit as Euw-worthy as you think), we gave up and took her back to the shelter.
We had tried everything, including a shock collar that let us taser her when she tried to run into traffic or kill one of her feline family members. The collar worked while it was turned on, but it made everyone miserable and she reverted to bad behavior as soon as it was removed — or even turned off.
We filled out the shelter paperwork properly, warning her new people that she’s not house-trained, not food motivated (first dog I’ve ever come across who had to be forced to take a cookie), and would do best with no cats in her family. Telling the truth was good: she had a new home in about a week.
Then we walked back to the car and discovered a new wound on Hank’s face, maybe half an inch from his eye. (Note to self: we are not good terrier people and must never try to adopt one again.)
I’m perfectly happy with one dog.
Spooky Man, of course, met a woman at his latest Dr. appointment who does Shar-Pei rescue from California shelters (apparently Shar-Peis are the new Pit Bulls in California), and he is now awaiting a four-month-old puppy named Belle. She’s blond and adorable — wrinkles everywhere.
I don’t know how to get it across that I don’t really want another dog. Spooky Man seems to think it made Hank happy to have a playmate. All I saw was that it made Hank bleed. Every day.
On the other hand, I’ve never met a Shar-Pei who wasn’t an incredibly happy dog who liked everyone, so I’m sure it will turn out fine, and I’ll have an adorable wrinkly blond puppy in a few weeks (she just had her eyelids tacked, so she has to recover from the procedure before traveling).
Knock wood.
I hope it all goes well with the new puppy. It’s hard to find the perfect dog. They aren’t one size fits all. Sounds like you found a winner in Hank.