Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Patience

So it has come to this...

I am worn out every night, my blood pressure has gone through the roof and I am at my wits end.

Oliver...

He still is the cutest little doggie, but there is this streak... I have written about it in earlier posts. He doesn't like to be alone, EVER! So he whines and barks. He has nearly taken off a finger or two if I get too close while he is eating. He was trained not to go up to the second floor, but now he will not stay down if I am up. If I put him behind the gate, he carries on for what seems like hours (I am sure it is only 15 or 20 min. but it seems like hours). He is still having accidents on the floors and carpet. He jumps up on people when they stop in. Blah, blah, blah...

Kevin has said if these things don't improve soon, he's gone. (The dog, not Kevin)

I finally called the trainer I spent hundreds of dollars on when Oliver was only 11 weeks old. We talked for a while and this is what she said...Oliver is a very dominant dog (which she suspected way back when) and these behaviors will not go away on their own, they will only worsen.

So now I have a dilemma, spend more money or give the little monster away.

Karen was great and knows that money is tight for us, so she made a few suggestions and even volunteered to work free of charge for one afternoon. I am thanking God she had pity on me and is willing to help me out.

We are planning on taking the little guy with us for our Christmas trip to visit our daughters and they have three dogs between them. So there will be four dogs together for a week. I need to see an improvement with Oliver in the next two weeks.

Oh, by the way, there will be seven kids running around as well...

I guess I need to get my blood pressure medication refilled, have my checkbook ready and start praying for patience.

What is the old saying...never pray for patience? Hummm...

5 comments:

Cindy said...

I knew there was a reason I didn't have pets. lol! Seriously, I hope it gets worked out so you can keep Oliver because I can tell you do love him. I know God cares about every detail of our lives, even pet training, so I'll be praying for Him to work this out.

Life with Linda said...

I am so NOT a pet person...(we have goldfish) but please tell me about the CHILDREN!!!!

Becky said...

I know its hard when you have dog issues. Espically when you love the monster to peices. We had a cocker spaniel, I wanted one forever and my husband bought him for me. He was good for many years then all the sudden as he aged he would mess on the floor, rip up carpet is he accidentally got locked in a room. I had to make a decision. It was the hardest thing, it tore me up. We gave him up to a cocker spaniel reserve. Where they would let him live out his days. So Gina my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Dee said...

Hi, I have my computer back. Thank God for the tiny blessings. Thank you for stopping by my blog and for the prayer support. I feel much better. I am bewildered by what is happening to our country.I don't know if we will ever have the security we had before in our lives, but i do know God is with us, and that our prayers for each other are very important and will bring us serenity. On my blog today i have a some interesting information on Psalm 118.8. It helped me get back on track. Dee

Dee said...

Hi Gina, I did take my eye's of God and its very painful. The good news he never left me. The house in the pictures is the back of my daughters house. i live next door to her. Good luck with little Oliver. I do hope things work out for both of you. Dee