Man's Best Friend

As I mentioned before we have had some obstacles in the past year, some being in the past 5 weeks. Our little dog Rex, who turned 5 on St.Patrick's day has brought so much joy into our lives. Having said that though, he has been some would say DIFFICULT when it comes to training.

Rex has had a mind of his own the day he was born. Greg got him for my birthday and I will never forget the day I picked him up at DFW airport, such a cute little furry ball. Needless to say we have had our issues with him and his training. He went to Puppy Kindergarten, in which the teacher told me she didn't know how to help me. Awesome, right? Then we finally bit the bullet and took him to Man's Best Friend, where he boarded for two weeks. He definitely came back so much better. He could walk on his leash without biting it or pulling. And he knew commands by hand signals. Don't let me fool you though, he still jumps on people, barks at the doorbell, and wasn't the best with kids.

Yes, you read that last sentence correctly... He has never been good with kids. Knowing that, I started playing babies crying on my phone, and working with a fake baby doll. He hated the fake baby doll, I mean would lunge at it in my arms. Greg and I did a lot of research on how to introduce Rex to the baby and thought surely this little man who sleeps on my pillow every night will love this baby just as much as we do. WRONG! 

As soon as we brought Bear home, Rex was not a fan. Greg did the whole bring a blanket home with Bear's smell, and we brought Rex out of the house to meet him for the first time. Didn't matter. We ended up having to keep Rex's leash on him at all time and if Bear was out feeding Rex was in his crate. We knew that this was not fair to us or more importantly Rex. He was used to being out and with us when we were home. 

We debated what to do. There were days when we had enough of Rex's behavior and would discuss about calling the Welsh Terrier Rescue group. We knew that if he couldn't adjust to the baby, we would have to give him up. Bear was number one, and I would not to do anything to jeopardize him. I spent many days crying about this decision and praying about it. We had found a training place near us, called Canine Academy. This training facility took the dog for six weeks. They  took the dogs out to a farm, and retrained them. Rex would learn how to feel safe, because the trainer said he was acting out in fear.

We had come to a fork in the road on what to do. I did not want to be that family who gave up their dog. I am an animal lover, and this little guy had been my companion for the past five years, and we spent the past two years just the two of us while Greg was in Toronto. But, like I said before I love Bear more than Rex, and if Rex couldn't adjust then I had come to the conclusion that he would have to go.

So, we did an orientation at the Academy, this place as you can imagine is not cheap at all! Rex by far is the most expensive dog. Greg and I decided to just bite the bullet and do the training. That way even though there wasn't a guarantee he would be better,we would know that we tried everything in our power to make it work.

He left last week and like I said will be there for at least six weeks, maybe even longer if he isn't adapting as quickly. The owner of Canine Academy is great, she said that even if he can't adjust to the baby, that with this training he will be a great dog for a family who has older kids. The academy would even help place him in a great home, should it come to that. I just pray Rex will come back better, and can stay in our home. We know that it's not just Rex, it's Greg and I working with him. I also know that I have to be able to trust him, and if I can't trust Rex, then it may not work out. I tear up just thinking about that.

I have had great support from our family and friends, as they know how much this little guy means to me. I also know that when I was in second grade, I adopted a 5 year old long hair dachshund whose family couldn't keep him because they were newly married and had too many dogs. I adored Freddy, so I  know that if Rex can't adapt that some little girl or boy will fall in love with him and can give him a good home.

I pray for Rex that this training works, and I miss him dearly around the house. I especially miss my pillow buddy at night!

JNK