DH wants to sell our puppy :( SOMEWHAT OF AN UPDATE PAGE 10

[FayeW]

um
you have had the puppy 6 weeks and you just found this out?
did he just say at 1st he knew how to take care of a puppy & you never discussed this?
you could have stopped a lot of stress in your life if the communication would have been there . I think with a PLAN , like a list you leave with a child babysitter things can reallly improve & al lwould be happy. make a spot on the daily sheet for the kids to let her out from her nap, then back in for some together time with them.
you should stress that puppies NEED a place to call their own , they think of crates like a den , its instinct. they need someplace to go when they want to.
I have tried leaving my 2 yr olds (dogs) out all day, but they never get a really good nap, & are grouchy. so off they get put in their crates for an afternoon nap. makes them much better companions.


good luck I am sure things will work out.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that a man who has a wife, children, a job, and goes to university is probably not an idiot. He surely could see that his wife was crating the dog at times throughout the evening.

 

[hlane]

Well we haven't had a weekend day for DH to have to take care of the puppy alone yet but we've had some good signs.
I have been wanting to sign her up for Puppy Kindergarten (dog training classes) but he kept saying we could train her on our own. She is very smart and I have taught her several things (sit, shake, roll over, she rings a bell when she needs to go outside) but I told him she needs to get out and be around other dogs & people. He wasn't really interested for some reason.
Yesterday when he came home from work he told me to go ahead & sign her up for her class I'm very excited, I think it will be great for her!

Then last night before bed he was laying in bed on his laptop checking out dog supply websites. I asked him what he was looking for, he said he thought she'd look cute in a pink harness.

By the time he turned off the laptop he had made a whole list of things she doesn't even need he wanted us to go out and buy her this weekend. I know him well enough to know that if he still planned on selling her he wouldn't continue to show so much interest in her and obviously he wouldn't continue to spend money on her.

Now just praying Sat goes smoothly.

 

[HGD24]

Great update!!! Glad to hear DH is getting more excited about the dog. Just remember that training classes are as much for training the owners as they are for the dogs, if not more so. Hopefully you and your hubby will come away from the class with alot of great knowledge and your puppy will have fun socializing with the other pups! Remember to teach your kids the techniques you learn in class too so that they can help work with the dog and have a dog that responds well to there commands.

 

[pickles521]

It does sound like he's headed in the right direction. I hope it works out for you. I can't imagine my DH getting rid of a dog without my permission. Love me, love my dog (and cat!). It's been the rule since we met and he's never broken it. He doesn't always like them, but he seems always to love them - or at least understand the lifetime commitment.

...I have been wanting to sign her up for Puppy Kindergarten (dog training classes) but he kept saying we could train her on our own. She is very smart and I have taught her several things (sit, shake, roll over, she rings a bell when she needs to go outside) but I told him she needs to get out and be around other dogs & people. ...

I quoted this part to tell you that training is a total must. We've had several dogs in our marriage. Dogs 1-4 were great dogs and we trained them ourselves. They didn't know any fancy tricks but they did what we needed them to and we loved them dearly. When we got our current dog, I demanded training. She's a mutt, but her "main" breed is known to be willful and after living with Pete - the totally laid back, never met a stranger, lovin' life black lab for 10 years - I was worried that I would struggle with the new girl.

Training - and a crate - were the absolute BEST decisions we ever made. We will never again have a dog without a crate or without some professional training. It was only a 6 week class, but it was SOOOOOOOO worth it. She's the best trained dog in the neighborhood. While her personality is such that we can't just let her out in the yard when the school kids are out playing (she's likely to spook and hide somewhere we can't find her), we can trust her to do just about anything we ask. It's pretty amusing to see a 70lb dog running at full speed after a rabbit stop on a dime. I totally credit her behavior to the training. It took some effort on our part - you can't just go to class, you have to work with them - but I can't tell you how worth it it was. I think you'll all be much happier if you take her to training. Oh - and make DH go too. Not all of the training is for the dog - some of it's for the owner too!

Enjoy your new addition - they bring a lifetime of joy!

 

[java]

We'll take her!!!!

I miss my English bulldog so very very much. He died a couple years ago at the very old age of 14(for bulldogs that's way old!) Harry was the light of my life. I miss him terribly. And if I see any English I generally end up crying and slobbering all over someone's dog!
We have 2 dogs now and dh keeps saying to just get another English, But I fear 3 dogs is over the top.

Oh love her. Bulldogs will love you so completely. Good luck and I hope it goes smoothly this weekend. Really it takes adjustment but it sounds like your dh is coming around.

Well we haven't had a weekend day for DH to have to take care of the puppy alone yet but we've had some good signs.
I have been wanting to sign her up for Puppy Kindergarten (dog training classes) but he kept saying we could train her on our own. She is very smart and I have taught her several things (sit, shake, roll over, she rings a bell when she needs to go outside) but I told him she needs to get out and be around other dogs & people. He wasn't really interested for some reason.
Yesterday when he came home from work he told me to go ahead & sign her up for her class I'm very excited, I think it will be great for her!

Then last night before bed he was laying in bed on his laptop checking out dog supply websites. I asked him what he was looking for, he said he thought she'd look cute in a pink harness.

By the time he turned off the laptop he had made a whole list of things she doesn't even need he wanted us to go out and buy her this weekend. I know him well enough to know that if he still planned on selling her he wouldn't continue to show so much interest in her and obviously he wouldn't continue to spend money on her.

Now just praying Sat goes smoothly.

 

[rowbear]

I should chime in on her husband's aversion to the crate. I hate the crates. I despise them. I know all about the "den" thing and it makes no difference to me. I did use them when they were puppies for a couple of week to house break them and I had to use them for one of my dogs that got hurt for about 10 days but I did not get dogs to spend all day in a cage. I would not want a dog in those circumstances because it is not fair to the dog that all the adults are too busy to spend time with it. Even with a few toys the dogs gets intensely bored in that crate when not sleeping.

Sleeping in the crate is one thing but just keeping it locked up because it is a nuisance would be a deal breaker for me. I would find a home for it that was better prepared to handle having a dog.

I have a fenced yard so when I can't spend time with them they can be outdoors having fun. It is one of the reasons I chose not to get a chiefly indoor pet because it doesn't fit my lifestyle. I work from home so I need peace and quiet during the day.

 

[manning]

Does anyone take this dog for a walk. This should be a must do !!!!

 

[hlane]

Does anyone take this dog for a walk. This should be a must do !!!!

Well of course, she is walked and played (a lot) with every day. Even though he hasn't been trilled with having her on the weekends, he treats her very well and takes great care of her even while I'm at work, including walks, playing fetch, ect.
But being an EBD, she can't handle more than 30 mins or so of activity at a time, she becomes hot & tired very quickly.

And as far as the crate, I am not telling him to crate her the entire time I am gone. We are using the crate as we would a play pen for an infant, to keep her safe and out stuff when we have something that needs to be done and we are unable to keep an eye on her. As I stated before, she actually likes her crate and prefers to nap there. I do not believe putting her in there here & there throughout the day is going to cause her any harm.

I hope people are not reading into things and assuming she is not being cared for properly or being treated well. Trust me, she is treated like a queen around here even by DH. In fact I probably need to watch it as she's becoming a little spoiled, lol

 

[Christine]

I couldn't read the whole thread and I am SURE this has been said many times:

Puppies are so hard. I love dogs like you wouldn't believe and, there have been quite a few times during all of my dogs' "puppyhoods" that I questioned my sanity as to why I got a puppy. I would never dream of returning a dog, but I do realize that not everyone is a devoted dog lover. The first year of a dog's life is wonderful but VERY demanding. If you can get through that very tough time (and it is like having a baby in the house), you will have many, many years of a loving, rewarding, and loyal companion. I hope you can get through this with your husband because I think the emotional payoff with this animal is going to be worth it in the end.

 

[mfd25wife]

We've taken two dogs to behavior classes and love them. It was so much more than just training. It truly bonds the person and the animal so much. If the training continues at home between classes, you will just get so close to the puppy. I would let him be the handler for most of the classes since you have already bonded more. I've even gone with my parents and one of their dogs, who was terrified of everyone due to prior abuse. She bonded with me during those classes also. She is a totally different dog after the classes and continued training. Good luck with your puppy and have fun!

 

[rowbear]

I couldn't read the whole thread and I am SURE this has been said many times:

Puppies are so hard. I love dogs like you wouldn't believe and, there have been quite a few times during all of my dogs' "puppyhoods" that I questioned my sanity as to why I got a puppy. I would never dream of returning a dog, but I do realize that not everyone is a devoted dog lover. The first year of a dog's life is wonderful but VERY demanding. If you can get through that very tough time (and it is like having a baby in the house), you will have many, many years of a loving, rewarding, and loyal companion. I hope you can get through this with your husband because I think the emotional payoff with this animal is going to be worth it in the end.

Yeah but being a devouted dog lover is also about making sure your pet has a good quality of life. It would CRUSH me to crate my dogs for extended periods of time (without medical reasons and even then it is hard) just because I was too busy to deal with them. That is not the kind of life I want them to have and thankfully they don't.

So if you had a dog and your lifestyle could not be altered to really take care of it isn't giving it up the most loving thing you can do? Dogs have such short lives you hate for them to miss out.

I am not saying the OP should give up yet but I certainly understand where her husband is coming from.

 

[java]

Does anyone take this dog for a walk. This should be a must do !!!!

Have you ever had an English Bulldog? There isn't much walking going on! Belly rub time yes. Walking nope.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I hope everything works out for you guys!!

When we adopted our current dog from a rescue over 2 years ago, my DH wanted to give her back to the rescue. She was a very shy dog, very afraid of everything and everybody especially men, and took a huge, huge amount of work due to her fear.

Now, of course, DH loves her and she loves him. I think bringing the dog to "school" will help your DH and your dog bond and hopefully he will fall in love with her. Puppies are SO MUCH WORK!

 

[Buckalew11]

Love me, love my dog (and cat!).

See? I'm not the only one.

I hope people are not reading into things and assuming she is not being cared for properly or being treated well. Trust me, she is treated like a queen around here even by DH. In fact I probably need to watch it as she's becoming a little spoiled, lol

I think the people who are actually reading the thread and comprehending the posts definitely know you all are taking care of your new puppy. There's no doubt there. Even your DH walking her every night is a wonderful thing to read.
He'll come around. He's having some sort of post-pardum depression or something.

 

[Buckalew11]

Have you ever had an English Bulldog? There isn't much walking going on! Belly rub time yes. Walking nope.

that made me

I don't have an ebd but I have a little mix of something that weighs 10 lbs. You just look at her and she rolls over for a belly rub!

 

[pickles521]

What happened over the weekend? Does he want to keep her now?

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Sounds like a normal puppy to me. We got a puppy from the shelter last December and had a rough beginning. They grow out of that stage so quickly...just give it time.

We are all in love with our sweetie now.