I found Benji on Petfinder.com, and exchanged some emails with his foster mom. He was so cute, with his little puppy face. She mentioned that he was a handful, and that he has a definite sense of what he will and won't allow. I arranged for Max and me to meet her and Benji in December. Pretty much right away I had a lot of reservations, the biggest one being that Max didn't seem interested in Benji. Right behind that, Lisa mentioned that he had nipped her a few times, and that she kept him on a short leash in the house so that she wouldn't have to put her hand near his face in order to control him. Since Benji is only five and will probably be around for the next ten years (during which I hope to have children) nipping or biting is not acceptable.
I agreed to keep him for a day, see how it went. Benji had been abandoned and then abused, so I was hopeful that he had some issues that he could work out once he felt safe and comfortable. I realized right away that Benji also has a barking problem... inside, outside, basically whenever he senses someone or something he doesn't know.
I really knew that Benji was not right for us after the first day. Between Max's disinterest (I think Benji actually stresses Max out also), the incompatibility with children, and the behavior problems, really there didn't seem to be any aspect of Benji that was right for us. But Benji was stressing Lisa out also, and she had a house full of other foster dogs too, since a local trainer had recently passed away and all of his dogs needed rehoming. I agreed to take him as a foster for a while.
I've had Benji for about six weeks now, and I have seen some improvement. He does seem to like me a lot, although I'm not sure he really sees me as being someone with the right to control him. The barking... well, he doesn't bark at everyone he sees now, it's down to about 30%. He's nipped me twice, never breaking the skin. The citronella anti-bark collar seems to work well, but it's also not working for some reason (gave up?). But it's just getting harder.
Benji wakes me up several times every night, in the middle of the night and in the early morning. Either he hears something he has to growl at, or he decides I have to wake up to snuggle with him. I'm embarrassed when he barks at people we see on walks, and it hurts my ears. Both of our hearts are racing after these incidents, his from the stress of meeting these strangers, and mine from frustration and resentment. Lately Max has started barking at strangers as well, and for me, I think this is where my patience runs out.
Benji is not a bad dog, he's a good dog that has gone through some hard things. He can't trust people to protect him, so he needs to protect himself. The fact that he just wants so much love I think proves he has a good heart. I don't know what will happen to Benji after I send him back to Lisa, and I feel terribly guilty for not having more strength to "hang in there" for him, to rehabilitate him until he can find his forever home. Aside from the patience that it takes to help an abused dog, I think that he needs more training than I can give him. I also don't want to make anything worse by being short-tempered with him or to make him feel less secure or threatened.
 |
| Benji - Puppy Face! |
 |
| Nice antlers |
