03-23-2016, 10:47 PM
Oh sweet Ankh, I am so sorry for you and Tesla and your daughter! What an unfortunate situation! I hope that sweet girl gets a home where she can run free. I am so sorry this puppy didn't work. What intense catalyst for the two of you.... dogs!!!!! These silly beasts!!! That little one deserves a home where it doesn't even have to worry about restraining itself around cats, let her be free!!
I know just what you mean, though. Judy growls at Butters sometimes and I know it will be a long time before I can leave them alone together. This means we don't leave the house much together, because one person stays with the dogs, because we don't want to have to kennel her! She does fine in the kennel for short spurts once in a great while but we've really only used it maybe 4-5 times, 1-2 hrs at a time.
As far as helping your daughter... maybe you can explain to her that sometimes people just don't know better, and right from wrong isn't always obvious. And sometimes if they get older and no one tells them, and doing the "wrong" thing works for them for so long, it's really hard to change. It's not fair to Tesla, but all you can do is hope that someday, the trainer/breeder may learn/realize that what she is doing is the wrong thing, and learn to train her puppies with love and respect.
What a toughy.
Also, the words you are looking for, or at least that I would use... the "strangling necklace" is called a "choke chain", and I would describe the "twitch" of the leash/chain as more of a "yank", or "jerk". Anyway, still very sad, especially with such a ridiculously short leash... no one is impressed with your dog training skills, lady! Anyone can keep a beast under control like that...
My poor sweet husband has some interesting catalyst with Judy's former owner. The other evening on their walk, he ran into her (Simone). She asked if she could walk with him, and he said yes. (She has another dog - actually she has three...) Draco is the dog she was walking, he is just a puppy, a German shepherd/border collie mix. He and Judy really get rough and enjoy playing together. Anyway, Simone was very happy and excited to walk with them and asked if she could walk with them again, and my darling, sweet, generous husband said yes.
They've walked together now the past two evenings, and have a standing date to continue. When Judy comes back home, she is perfectly fine now, so it is not causing her any stress, and she's obviously very happy to see Simone and Draco each time. This has led to us getting some more interesting tidbits about Judy's former life.
Judy and Simone have lived in Colorado for just over 3 months. Simone said her aunt 'made' her move here, whatever that means. She was living with her mom and her mom's boyfriend, who may not have been the nicest guy, and apparently he raised turkeys... and Judy liked to go after the turkeys. And her mom's boyfriend shot Judy with a BB gun, repeatedly. Kile always said he could tell that a male had mistreated her, and that's some messed up stuff. Simone said that he would say "My turkeys are worth more than your dog!"... well I wouldn't say either are worth more than the other, both are valuable enough to go out of your way to protect when they are in your steward.
Since moving up here, Judy has been living outside, locked in a shed. She eventually chewed threw the siding of the shed and apparently this was the final straw for Simone's aunt. This is very sad. They still have three other dogs and apparently at least a cat... Kile says Draco is very, very bony too. They supposedly have a large male German shepherd as well, and another dog I'm not familiar with.
Hearing all this about Judy I'm mostly shocked that she's really so docile and calm being indoors most of the time... of course, this could be what she has always wanted the most. She really loves crashing out on her bed all day, or finding interesting ways to use her toys as pillows. She's polite, she's pushed her boundaries a few times (grabbed something out of the garbage, off the counter) maybe once-twice and then no more. And I mean, we aren't exceptionally tidy people, she has plenty of opportunity to cause a ruckus. But, I guess anything is better than being shot at on a regular basis...
Simone is obviously very upset about the whole situation. Moving up here to live with her aunt has been very hard. She told Kile that she also struggles with depression, which is why she is so close to Judy - Judy would bring her items, like, a t-shirt or a sock or just whatever she could find, whenever Simone was upset and crying. So she was a real comforter for her. Kile said it's obvious the dog means a LOT to her. And, that Judy enjoys being with her (and Draco) too. So he's, after a fair amount of struggle, dealing with this in the highest love I can imagine and I am so proud of him. Simone has mentioned a foster father, which hints that her life hasn't exactly been one of comfort and support. He says it feels weird being in this 'positive male role' position for a girl who could be his daughter... and he's kinda the anti-male role model for society's standards... I think it's perfect! He says she's really comfortable with him, and there has been a few times during their walks/talks that she has almost been in tears, just being able to talk about herself and her past, and her experiences with Judy. It's the super high road that he's taken, because she likely feels so extremely guilty about how she had to do Judy, and really is a simple girl who just didn't have the resources/knowledge to do better. Kile could have easily put his foot down and said "No further contact, you didn't take care of this dog well and made poor decisions" and then she would have just felt even guiltier, and worse. Instead she still gets to have a relationship with the dog. He's giving her a selfless opportunity for self-healing, and in turn he is learning to lessen his judgement on others. Not to mention - Judy has been good for him just because she gets him active every single day, and also on his walks, he talks to a lot of people and interacts with them a lot more. He has been quite reclusive in recent years, so being able to reach out and remember that people are mostly good when you do has been good for him.
Simone has never acted like she wanted to take Judy back (though she did ask Kile if she could come over and walk her alone or if Judy could come stay the night over there sometimes and he told her no for that), and I think she really understands and is grateful that we can give Judy a better life here. It seems like most of this situation is out of Simone's control - Draco is actually her cousin's dog, and her cousin pays him no attention so now she takes care of him instead, walking him daily. Lack of resources is hard to pin blame on her, because she is a very young girl who lives in the country. Anyway, sorry for the long effusive post after your very sad outcome with Tesla, I am just beyond in love with the selflessness my husband has shown in this situation, even though it has been difficult. In the same way, I know this process has been difficult for you two as well, but it is obviously ripe with interesting lessons. Your dog will arrive, in due time! It's just going to bring with it lots of transformations...
I know just what you mean, though. Judy growls at Butters sometimes and I know it will be a long time before I can leave them alone together. This means we don't leave the house much together, because one person stays with the dogs, because we don't want to have to kennel her! She does fine in the kennel for short spurts once in a great while but we've really only used it maybe 4-5 times, 1-2 hrs at a time.
As far as helping your daughter... maybe you can explain to her that sometimes people just don't know better, and right from wrong isn't always obvious. And sometimes if they get older and no one tells them, and doing the "wrong" thing works for them for so long, it's really hard to change. It's not fair to Tesla, but all you can do is hope that someday, the trainer/breeder may learn/realize that what she is doing is the wrong thing, and learn to train her puppies with love and respect.
What a toughy.
Also, the words you are looking for, or at least that I would use... the "strangling necklace" is called a "choke chain", and I would describe the "twitch" of the leash/chain as more of a "yank", or "jerk". Anyway, still very sad, especially with such a ridiculously short leash... no one is impressed with your dog training skills, lady! Anyone can keep a beast under control like that...
My poor sweet husband has some interesting catalyst with Judy's former owner. The other evening on their walk, he ran into her (Simone). She asked if she could walk with him, and he said yes. (She has another dog - actually she has three...) Draco is the dog she was walking, he is just a puppy, a German shepherd/border collie mix. He and Judy really get rough and enjoy playing together. Anyway, Simone was very happy and excited to walk with them and asked if she could walk with them again, and my darling, sweet, generous husband said yes.
They've walked together now the past two evenings, and have a standing date to continue. When Judy comes back home, she is perfectly fine now, so it is not causing her any stress, and she's obviously very happy to see Simone and Draco each time. This has led to us getting some more interesting tidbits about Judy's former life.
Judy and Simone have lived in Colorado for just over 3 months. Simone said her aunt 'made' her move here, whatever that means. She was living with her mom and her mom's boyfriend, who may not have been the nicest guy, and apparently he raised turkeys... and Judy liked to go after the turkeys. And her mom's boyfriend shot Judy with a BB gun, repeatedly. Kile always said he could tell that a male had mistreated her, and that's some messed up stuff. Simone said that he would say "My turkeys are worth more than your dog!"... well I wouldn't say either are worth more than the other, both are valuable enough to go out of your way to protect when they are in your steward.
Since moving up here, Judy has been living outside, locked in a shed. She eventually chewed threw the siding of the shed and apparently this was the final straw for Simone's aunt. This is very sad. They still have three other dogs and apparently at least a cat... Kile says Draco is very, very bony too. They supposedly have a large male German shepherd as well, and another dog I'm not familiar with.
Hearing all this about Judy I'm mostly shocked that she's really so docile and calm being indoors most of the time... of course, this could be what she has always wanted the most. She really loves crashing out on her bed all day, or finding interesting ways to use her toys as pillows. She's polite, she's pushed her boundaries a few times (grabbed something out of the garbage, off the counter) maybe once-twice and then no more. And I mean, we aren't exceptionally tidy people, she has plenty of opportunity to cause a ruckus. But, I guess anything is better than being shot at on a regular basis...
Simone is obviously very upset about the whole situation. Moving up here to live with her aunt has been very hard. She told Kile that she also struggles with depression, which is why she is so close to Judy - Judy would bring her items, like, a t-shirt or a sock or just whatever she could find, whenever Simone was upset and crying. So she was a real comforter for her. Kile said it's obvious the dog means a LOT to her. And, that Judy enjoys being with her (and Draco) too. So he's, after a fair amount of struggle, dealing with this in the highest love I can imagine and I am so proud of him. Simone has mentioned a foster father, which hints that her life hasn't exactly been one of comfort and support. He says it feels weird being in this 'positive male role' position for a girl who could be his daughter... and he's kinda the anti-male role model for society's standards... I think it's perfect! He says she's really comfortable with him, and there has been a few times during their walks/talks that she has almost been in tears, just being able to talk about herself and her past, and her experiences with Judy. It's the super high road that he's taken, because she likely feels so extremely guilty about how she had to do Judy, and really is a simple girl who just didn't have the resources/knowledge to do better. Kile could have easily put his foot down and said "No further contact, you didn't take care of this dog well and made poor decisions" and then she would have just felt even guiltier, and worse. Instead she still gets to have a relationship with the dog. He's giving her a selfless opportunity for self-healing, and in turn he is learning to lessen his judgement on others. Not to mention - Judy has been good for him just because she gets him active every single day, and also on his walks, he talks to a lot of people and interacts with them a lot more. He has been quite reclusive in recent years, so being able to reach out and remember that people are mostly good when you do has been good for him.
Simone has never acted like she wanted to take Judy back (though she did ask Kile if she could come over and walk her alone or if Judy could come stay the night over there sometimes and he told her no for that), and I think she really understands and is grateful that we can give Judy a better life here. It seems like most of this situation is out of Simone's control - Draco is actually her cousin's dog, and her cousin pays him no attention so now she takes care of him instead, walking him daily. Lack of resources is hard to pin blame on her, because she is a very young girl who lives in the country. Anyway, sorry for the long effusive post after your very sad outcome with Tesla, I am just beyond in love with the selflessness my husband has shown in this situation, even though it has been difficult. In the same way, I know this process has been difficult for you two as well, but it is obviously ripe with interesting lessons. Your dog will arrive, in due time! It's just going to bring with it lots of transformations...