Canine Companions

Although I truly am a dog lover...we have not had the best of luck with pets over the years. Last night, Jadee and I watched Marley and Me and nearly the entire time I felt like I could relate on some level.

For those of you who have never met our dog Sampson, we have a chocolate-colored Cocker Spaniel. He is a very sweet and affectionate dog with "many" issues. At a very early age, he was diagnosed with Anxiety and Colitis. It took a very long time, a lot of patience, and a lot of help from others to potty train him because of this. Let me just say that his anxiety is induced by separation (among other things) and his colitis is induced by anxiety, and so every single time we left the house...we came home to a dog covered in his stool. Yes, every time. We tried crate training him to contain the mess, but it became a disgusting job of cleaning him and cleaning his crate. Once he got the medical diagnoses and put on a prescription diet, it got a little easier since he only needed to "go" about 3 times a day instead of 6-8 times. After about a year, however, we needed a break and Sampson went to live with Jadee's parents for awhile when our house was on the market. We knew he wouldn't be able to handle the stress of having strangers walk through our house for showings.

Well, after 3 years and a couple of breaks from Sampson (thank goodness for Jadee's parents), we have him figured out for the most part. His colitis is under control and he no longer needs a prescription diet, however, I would never leave him alone in the house without being in the laundry room. We are actually the ones who are trained for the most part, as we have to monitor his bathroom breaks and literally tell him to go poo or he won't. This is something we have just had to accept because if we don't tell him and monitor him, he will wander outside for a LONG time and still eventually poo in the house. Although his separation anxiety is not nearly as bad as it was, he still has many anxiety related issues. Hmmm, let's see...

• He is scared to death of the washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, wind, rain, thunder, and anything else that makes any kind of noise...because of this he will bark and bark without the use of a bark collar.
• He has figured it out that he can whine loud enough to be annoying, but quiet enough that he won't get zapped by his bark collar...therefore, the bark collar is almost useless except it keeps our neighbors from complaining.
  
• He follows "me" everywhere (even to the bathroom) and if he loses me in the house somehow, I will usually find a treat on the floor.
• He will hump friends, and our kids, if given the opportunity...and yes, he is fixed.
• He will not get out of your face if allowed on the furniture.
• He will bulldoze our kids to the ground by running between their feet if they happen to be in the right place at the wrong time...such is often the case when the doorbell rings.
• He does not like to be outside, therefore, he will run window to window until we let him in...because of this, we put him on a leash far enough from the house that he can't run through the door every time it opens. Since he can't bark, he paces the entire time to alleviate his stress so we usually end up going outside often to untangle him from trees, bushes, the patio furniture, etc.
• He has to go straight to the groomer or through the pet wash after being boarded because his colitis makes a comeback whenever we leave him behind for a weekend without his presence.
• He demands a lot of "my" time...this last issue is a real duzie for our family, but mostly me. Although Sampson tolerates the kids, he doesn't really want to spend time with them. He just wants "me."

After watching Marley and Me, I can't help but ask the question, "When is enough, enough?" The whole time I watched that movie, I kept thinking...GET RID OF HIM!!! Then I look at how much work we have put into Sampson and how much the kids do love him, even if he doesn't return their love, and I understand. At the same time, I am exhausted of him and his needs, I am annoyed with him more than I am pleased with him, and I am wondering how in the world I am going to keep this up with a new baby in the house. It would be so much easier if he actually liked the kids. Imagine this...a few days ago, the kids tried to take him for a walk (what dog doesn't love a walk?) but because he could see me he kept turning around and running towards me, which resulted in the kids getting tangled up and falling on the concrete because they couldn't control him.

Like Marley, maybe Sampson will be a bit more normal in about 10 years.