It's been six days since Griffin, our rescue-adopted poodle mix, came to live with us. He's an adorable and sweet little guy, but it's definitely been an adjustment for all of us.His foster parents dropped him off Sunday night and he sniffed all over the house, exploring. He has a clear preference for women over men and stuck to his foster mom for a while. He then quickly reattached to me over the last few days and follows me around so closely that sometimes his nose bumps into the back of my leg or he steps on the heel of my slipper as I walk.
He walks well on the leash...well, he does when he's willing to walk. We've discovered a stubborn streak in him, and the last couple of days he's seriously been digging his heels in when we try to take him for a walk. Who's heard of a dog who doesn't like to walk?! We can't figure out why, except for possibly that he's tired since he's had a lot going on these last two days (a couple of longish walks at 20-25 mins. and also meeting a lot of new people). But just because he won't walk doesn't mean he doesn't have to go--we made the mistake of letting him back inside once since he wouldn't budge and he proceed to have an accident in the house five minutes later.
Housebreaking has definitely been one of the big issues for us. I feel like the fosters weren't totally forthcoming about the fact that he isn't really housebroken at all. We suspect that he may have been puppy pad-trained in the house with his previous owners--argh.
Another issue is some slight separation anxiety, which could be a real problem. He hates being left alone and will whine and bark if we confine him and "leave" (even if we don't really leave, just pretend and are quiet around the corner). So between the SA and needing to be housebroken, we basically have to watch him constantly and it's not good for him to not be comfortable spending time by himself. Plus it's exhausting.
In case it's not obvious, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by what we've taken on. Between housebreaking, crate training, trying to deal with SA, teaching things like sit and down, and a million other little things, it's just been an overwhelming week. I truly tried to prepare for this by doing a bunch of research and reading beforehand, but it doesn't really prepare you for the reality. Yes, I know, it sounds like having a kid. In all honesty, I'm not sure we made the right decision in adopting a dog. I know I need to give it more time, but so far I'm not enjoying the experience or time with Griffin all that much, and I really should be :(
10 comments:
Hey guys, hang in there, give it a chance. When we first got Raichu, we seriously doubted our decision. We both wanted a dog but would not have adopted one except he was so cute. We didn't have a house or did any research or anything... so you're one step ahead of us. All he did was whine all day and all night. Phil was so sick of it that he was throwing pillows at him. Raichu was 13 months old when he came to us. But once they get to know you and learn your habits, everything will smooth out. And yes, owning a dog is a LOT like having a child. If it still feels overwhelming, give yourself a deadline, like say, a month before you make a final decision.
Good luck!
Thanks for the advice. We've kind of decided exactly what you said, that we'll give it maybe a month and if we're still not feeling any bond to him and just continue to feel stressed we might send him back to the rescue organization that fostered him. We just hope all our doggy parent friends don't hate us if we end up doing this.
I know that lots of other people have been interested in adopting him, which is good. I dunno, we'll see. We'll let you know how it goes.
We wouldn't hate you if you took him back! Sometimes a bond just doesn't form, or the match isn't right - you can't force it. But hopefully, it wouldn't prevent you from trying again if Griffin doesn't work out. Giving it a month sounds very reasonable. Hang in there!
Thank you sooooooo much for saying that, Gil! I can't tell you how many fanatical pet people there are online that have completely freaked me out about what a horrible person I am if I can't somehow make this work. We'll keep trying and will give you all an update. Thanks for all the words of encouragement, guys!
Just remember, you can't return a baby... though there's been times I've wanted to. ;-)
Aw poor you. I'm sorry it's been rough going. I can't give any advice bc Rocky came with Ryan and was already trained. But what the others said makes sense. And it's only been a week or so. If Griffin has been neglected in the past two years, he needs a lot more time to retrain his brain. Good luck! And I wouldn't hate you if you gave up. It's totally understandable.
Hey Karen, What Mel and Gil said is great advice. I've had to deal with Rocky for 3 months before he was house trained. And he was only a pup! Sounds like Griffin has experienced some trauma in his life, so I'm sure he will appreciate all the patience from you. Plus accidents in the house is kind of a fact of life for dog owners. When Rocky had a bladder stone, we cleaned up after him regularly. Griffin is smart and will adapt eventually. Important thing is that he feels safe; he will turn around. A month is a good adjustment period, possibly more... Plus If you give him up, Rocky will lose a playmate! And then you'll go back to wanting Rocky back for yourselves! :-)
Thanks, Ryan, for your input too. It always helps to hear about other people's experiences. We're continuing to work on it. I sort of feel stupid for not knowing it would be this hard, but I don't think I would have known if we hadn't actually tried it.
Yeah, once Griffin's hair grows out, he'll look a lot like Rocky, sans the tail.
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