I Blame My Dog 100 Percent

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Dog sunny Day Afternoon

Dog sunny Day Afternoon (Photo credit: allert)

It’s not my fault that I fell yesterday, really. It’s HER fault. My dog, (mega-puppy) pulled me so hard that she knocked me down on the driveway to greet our neighbors across the street. Granted, I am not strong. I have Fibromyalgia and NO balance so that is my “fault.” She left me lying down on the pavement. Twice. What happened to dogs being loyal? Not this one. I tried to get up and what does she do? She yanks the leash again and down I stay with another set of bruised knees (on top of the last set.)

I didn’t have time to drop the leash, this girl is fast and strong.  Not to mention that she made me drop my Fribble! To those of you who don’t know (and I am a recent convert) a Fribble is a milkshake that Friendly’s makes from soft serve (my friend Mark said it was from ice-milk so I’m not 100 percent sure if either or both are correct.) It’s cold, thick, creamy and utterly ( those of you who really know me, I was tempted to say udderly) delicious. Lexi made me drop my coveted vanilla Fribble all over the driveway and the rest of the day went downhill after that. Thank you Lexi.

So, with bumps and bruises all over, I limped into the house with super-puppy in the hands of our neighbor and my husband helping me up and inside. It’s time for the big guns to be called. I know I have a balance issue and yes, I know I am not strong but this is getting ridiculous. My husband is threatening to call the canine police trainer and have him come out and train Lexi to behave. He was here once before and always said she was a willful pup; I hate to break her spirit but she needs to learn to behave before I break my spine. Before he comes, I am trying to train her myself, with a very short leash and many clicking sounds.

I can always go back and get another Fribble but I can’t afford to be falling anymore. I love my dog, returning her is NOT an option. (You know who you are who suggested this) She is now sleeping on my bed, keeping me company but I do need to train her so she doesn’t pull so much. I have tried every leash in the universe. Lexi, you’re a cute puppy, but I have never met a stronger, more willful puppy anywhere. Even my friends agree that you are incredibly strong for one so young. I’m hoping you will mellow and I know you will be a great dog. You are now seven months and yes, still a puppy. When exactly do you become an adult dog and calm down? For my part, I will try to do some strength building exercise slowly, I promise. We’re in this together.

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20 thoughts on “I Blame My Dog 100 Percent”

  1. What Wendy suggested is what a trainer told me too. I had forgotten. You walk in front and when Lexi starts pulling up even beside you you abruptly change direction so she always is following making you Alpha Dog. It worked REALLY well with Max! . . . until I started trying to walk in a straight line down the sidewalk . . .
    The Halti worked well too . . . until Max figured out he could make a dead stop and rub his face on the sidewalk until it slipped off . . .
    Thank goodness Max only weighs 29 pounds.

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  2. Laurie, I’ve made my sleep meds so have to keep this short. You need a Halti. It’s a harness for their head. When you pull it pulls her nose around to you, and where her nose goes, so does she. I can walk Kodi – who came untrained & weighs 120#+ when he’s wearing the Halti, with one hand, since my shoulder’s torn, and you know how sick I am.
    BEST thing out there, bar none – and we’ve tried them all thru te years!
    Feel better, Love, Ash

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  3. I feel guilty because my Tootsie is such a good dog. I swear it is the breed in her case though. Nice, Lazy, calm breed. Seriously, I have Cesar Milan’s book, and I will mail it out to you if you want. But.can Lexi read? Hope the people at Petco can guide you in the right direction for the best leash for her. Poor Laurie! Do you have a fenced yard? How about a nice strong neighborhood kid that can walk her and tire her out real good.

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    • we do have a fenced in back yard but i feel bad about that. the petco story is not a good one. don’t send me the book, I can buy it or we may have the canine police dog trainer one more time. he’s serious!!!!!!!!! one day Mo, we may have to talk on the phone to cheer each other up. Lexi almost bit the lady at the story, she just nibbled but I couldn’t blame her, the woman was awful.

        Warm wishes, Laurie https://hibernationnow.wordpress.com

      >________________________________

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  4. I’m sorry you fell. I know how that goes. Until the past few years, when I started hanging on to everything for dear life, I fell at least once a year. As for your dog’s loyalty, at least she’s trainable. Years ago, my son and I went to the post office. One the way out, I slipped and fell down the steps to the sidewalk (about eight of them), bumping down on my bottom the whole way. My son, then about 14, left me there on te ground, just kept walking and got in the car. When I got myself up and went and got in the car myself, he said in a horrified tone, “How could you?”

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  5. aww..my p.oor Laurie….plz b careful! I know all about willful pups/dogs…got 3 of my own…I always meant to train them better, but as u know, its hard to find the strength and energy to do that…therefore at the moment I have untrained dogs who I love dearly and couldnt liv without them…but they drive me nuts too and pull on the leash trying to go where they want…who bark like mad…who chase squirrels…who dig up my yard…who occassionally potty in the house…who jump on my furniture, but im too sick to train them and noone else in the house cares…ugh. Luckily 2 are under 10 lbs, so I can pick them up…if I catch them…but our black lab lucy is 80 lbs, therefore I no longer even attempt walking her…my dtr or hubs do, but they wont train her not to pull…they say shes dumb…shes not, she just is willful….anyway, I hope u get Lex trained, cuz I dont want u to get hurt anymore! and u should write a book! I would write more now, but the pain has other ideas…but I had to say I hope ur ok from the fall. xoxo
    Tam

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  6. No!! Not ECT!!! Watch Ceasar Moraliss??? The Dog Whisperer before you do that… How would you feel if every time you reacted because of ‘instinct’ you got ZAPPED??!!!!

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  7. Nice writing… I just joined this ‘subscription’ about a week ago (or so) and although I do not have your illness, I have my own, “acute depressive disorder”, Attained after my brother died… My only sibling..& co-pilot through Hell
    They may have taken my diagnosis out of the DSM 5 but.(is fibromyalgia in there?).. I can completely relate to how you feel… I sit & wonder how different the two diagnoses are.. I also sit & think, “she should write a book.” Have you ever considered writing a book??

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  8. I get it. Willful pups are not easy especially with our balance issues. Buster has done the same. I’m in the process of getting a shock collar. It’s the last resort, I’m calling it Buzzy. When he does this buzzy will go off. It’s all I can think of,

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      • I can’t believe someone suggested giving her back. I really hope that was a joke. Granted not a very good one.

        Buster pulled too…and he liked to chew through leashes. We got one made by Kong, and he could chew through it, and it was easier to get it out of his mouth because it was so thick. The only thing I did with Buster to help him from pulling was….every time he’d pull, I’d turn around and go the other way…yes we often never got out of the drive way. but it confused him. And I was in the lead. After a while we walked around the house with him barely pulling.
        And you know I have no balance, and Buster weighed about 50lbs when he was with us. He’ll end up over 100lbs.
        He was a bit willful. he’d sit every time I told him, then all of a sudden he wouldn’t for a while. Willful.
        He’d grab his leash and try to walk himself. I did find a shorter leash was much easier to handle him with.
        We miss Buster, but he was a handful. However, we were going to take him to a trainer if we had kept him, but Max said NO, in very scared terms. So Buster went to live with his brother Buddy for a while. I hope he gets a forever home soon. He really is a loving dog. But our cat is a scaredy cat, and he’s so big, I think Buster thought he was another puppy to play with.

        With Sandy, she loved to pull and sniff everything. I admit I didn’t train her as well on a leash as I should have. But we got a harness….a special kind, I’ve forgotten what it’s called, and she pulled much less with that. Plus she had a collapsing trachea so she had to wear a harness, no pulling allowed.

        I hope your bruises heal quickly. And treat yourself to another Fibble soon!

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      • so good to hear from you!!! my mother suggested we give her back and it was not a joke. enough said. I will never give her back. I did call the trainer and he suggested a remote thing. I am not sure what he means but if he means any shock thing, I would rather fall. Stay in touch, let me know how you are doing.

          Warm wishes, Laurie https://hibernationnow.wordpress.com

        >________________________________

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