Jimmy is having a breakthrough!!

Aww, bless them all. Fingers crossed you can sort something out with Charlie.

I think he was a solo dog............. and never learned.

We are going to find Charlie a new home where he is an only dog. That is what he needs. At least that's what I am thinking about.... It is killing me.

last night coming home a little deer crossed the road..... I stopped on the road and snapped a pic of her eyes...... She was little. The last 9 miles on the way home from work I have to drive real slow due to tons of deer.


I hope no one is judging me about Charlie. I just don't know what to do... We have tried and tried.. He sits good. He is obedient to a point while we are around but it is just now going to work with him here. My cats and my other animals are my priority. The cats are sneaky around him and the dogs are angry around him. It is not a jealousy thing with the dogs either. Charlie wants to be boss and I have had Molly and Emma for quite a few years and they refuse to submit. Molly is top dog and outweighs Charlie by 60 lbs or so... She will end up hurting him and I don't want that. He is a little guy fighting for dominance and he does not know how to give up. He has managed to get dominance over Emma but she is angry about it I can tell. If the dogs end up ganging up on him it will have a bad end. A new home for him is the only thing I can think of.

Awww, Jenn, no one is going to judge you about Charlie. You did a wonderful thing by rescuing him and bringing him from the cold. I know the decision to find him a new home couldn't have been easy for you, but you have to think of what's best for the rest of your crew and for Charlie. He's such a sweetie and will make someone a wonderful pet.

Originally Posted by eilcon

Awww, Jenn, no one is going to judge you about Charlie.

You did a wonderful thing by rescuing him and bringing him from the cold. I know the decision to find him a new home couldn't have been easy for you, but you have to think of what's best for the rest of your crew and for Charlie. He's such a sweetie and will make someone a wonderful pet.

Click to expand...

I totally agree with Eileen. We have to think about what's best for ALL the animals. You're just fostering Charlie after having rescued him!



Laurie

Jenn,

I agree with the others there's no way I'd ever judge you for trying to find Charlie a new home.

You and Juan saved his life that day...of that I have no doubt.
If he would have been left out there to fend for himself, Charlie wouldn't be alive today....and I have no doubt about that either.

I know it breaks your heart, but you're doing the right thing...for your other dogs, for your cats and most of all for Charlie.
If you DIDN'T care about him, you'd keep him even though you know that something bad might happen if he gets into a fight with the other dogs.
It's because you DO care about him that you're willing to find him a new home.

Bless your heart!

I agree with everyone Jenn.
You have a loving heart and are doing what is best for all concerned.

Aww Jenn, no one on here will judge you for this decision, we all know how much you will have thought about this before making this, and you are doing it for Charlie's wellbeing as well as your other animals - I just wish more people were like you, and could accept that their animals needed something different to what they could offer. Good luck in finding him that home.

Thank you....... It is just driving us nuts doing this.... We care about Charlie but ultimately we love the others much more and they are suffering.....

Remember me saying he had never been around cats? He is doing well, but he just can't be trusted. At night when I sit in the living room I shut the gate to the rest of the house so he is in there with me so I have an absolute visual of him at all times. I have seen him snap too many times at my sweet little kitties. The reason Molly Emma and Muffin fit is because they totally love the cats. They groom them. Emma, bless her heart carries their toys around all the time. She has never broken one or chewed it up. She just carries them. Muffin stays in the house when we go places and spends her time in the cat enclosure with the cats. She poops out there with them and lays in the sun safe and protected with her kitty clan. Emma and Molly stay in the back yard guarding it. But Muffin guards the kitties in the enclosure. Since Charlie stays out back with the big dogs I worry big time constantly. Like I said, he cows Emma but not Molly. She is tough. I keep chewies out of the yard. I used to throw 10-12 out back for them during the time I am at work but I can't do that anymore.

But at the same time, Charlie and the big girls all sleep in the dog house together.

But it's just a matter of time. I think as he has gotten comfortable here, he is looking for his pecking order and he wants to be on top which is actually unusual for the male... Molly was here first and she has always been top dog in her yard... That is the problem.

So the animals are frusterated right now and I have to fix it for them so they can get back to their little calm life that they love.

Charlie need a house with him being the only animal. He is not a dog that needs to be around cats. The only dog he has not fought is Muffin. But I can't leave her out for long with the others because she might get int he middle of things and she is very little. So I am keeping her with the cats. She has always thought she was a cat anyway with a broken purr button....

It is just a hard hard hard thing to do..... But I know it must be done. I have even thought of the local wonderful truely no kill shelter. They have about a 90 percent adoption rate ...... They have pet fairs. But that might bother me alot because I would have to adopt Charlie back if he couldn't find a home pretty fast.......

My heart is very heavy.

Oh Jenn, I am so sorry to hear about Charlie. I know how much you love him. No one here will think bad of you. I know that you will find Charlie a good home, no matter what.

I am sending you and Charlie some hugs and prayers from Mississippi. I think you need some.



Please keep us posted on how things are going.

And who knows........... Charlie might get better. It sometimes just takes a new animal to settle in......

We are still working with him. He is so used to being crated at night that he just walks in there for me. I don't crate him until about 2:30am or so.... That's usually when I go to bed. I put him a chewey inside and he walks in the crate. The crate is huge. It is sized for a dog that weighs over 100 pounds. charlie can fully lay out flat with his legs stretched out in it. He is not cramped. Emma wakes us in the mornings at around 7am to go out and that is when Charlie goes back out. So he is not crated a long time.

And also, some is the food fight is abating. I have three pans outside now with all of them full. And I put them in separate areas of the yard.....

So these things are helping. We are NOT 100 percent on finding Charlie a home. He has many many good points. He is a fantastic watch dog. And when they are in a play mode he is great with Emma. They might just have to find their own pecking order.

We are trying... I think taking a new dog in just might have a period of adjustment.. But we are not giving up on him yet..... He is very smart and is still learning the do's and don'ts...

We will just have to see..

Jenn - you mentioned the no kill shelter in relation to Charlie. Do they have a foster program? Maybe he could officially be a "ward" of the shelter but in your home as a foster - that way you'd have more help finding an apporpriate home for him?



Rescuing is never easy, is it?

Laurie

Originally Posted by jcribbs

And who knows........... Charlie might get better. It sometimes just takes a new animal to settle in......

We are still working with him. He is so used to being crated at night that he just walks in there for me. I don't crate him until about 2:30am or so.... That's usually when I go to bed. I put him a chewey inside and he walks in the crate. The crate is huge. It is sized for a dog that weighs over 100 pounds. charlie can fully lay out flat with his legs stretched out in it. He is not cramped. Emma wakes us in the mornings at around 7am to go out and that is when Charlie goes back out. So he is not crated a long time.

And also, some is the food fight is abating. I have three pans outside now with all of them full. And I put them in separate areas of the yard.....

So these things are helping. We are NOT 100 percent on finding Charlie a home. He has many many good points. He is a fantastic watch dog. And when they are in a play mode he is great with Emma. They might just have to find their own pecking order.

We are trying... I think taking a new dog in just might have a period of adjustment.. But we are not giving up on him yet..... He is very smart and is still learning the do's and don'ts...

We will just have to see..

Click to expand...

I knew you were not gonna just give up on him Jenn. I have known all along how you feel about Charlie. Just keep on doing what you are doing.

I can't foster Charlie.......

Juan and I have discussed training him....... He is soooooooo trainable. He sits on a dime for me.. I haven't had time to work with other things but I just know he is smart smart smart......

He would be a great apartment dog. He would be a great farm/watch dog. But he would do best as an ONLY dog and an ONLY animal in a household.

As I am typing this he is sitting at my feet. I have the two big girls outside. I brought him in because they were fighting. I banged on the window and they kept it up and I said stop and they both stopped. emma ran up the steps as did Charlie but he looked so pitiful I let him in and made her stay out. They are fighting for dominance. He only does this with Emma. They all know Molly is top dog. He has had a skirmish with her but not many. She is mellow but tough as nails. And she whipped him in his place quickly without hurting him. And she has never really played with Charlie. Molly is different than the other dogs. She lays and watches things and guards her yard and sleeps by my husband's side of the bed at night. She doesn't require lots of attention. She knows her place and stays there and she takes her guarding seriously. She is not the smartest dog in the world but she is very loyal to us. charlie doesn't mess with her. He respects her and so does Emma. But Emma and Charlie have this problem...

I'll try to find a pic or two of molly and emma......



I am just not sure if me wanting to train him OR keep him is being fair. I wonder what they do when I am at work. I know how they are when I am around.......It's just worrysome but yes I do love him very much. And also just now I had to take a break and crate him. It is 3:43am. He went and "opened his crate" and got one of his chewies out. Tulip walked up and he snapped. Tulip got under my feet and I told Charlie NO. He didn't bite her but he moves fast and growls and snaps at the air. He scares them and it scares me. He is small strong dog approx 40-45 lbs.

At times like this, I think........YES I have finding him a home or taking him to the shelter before someone gets hurt. And then he sits at my feet and looks at me with those beautiful eyes.

I am so torn......

But I could not foster him. I have to keep him or NOT..... There is no in between.

He will never be a dog I can trust around my 24 cats... That is the biggest thing of all.... emma, molly and muffin are different temperments than him.

Here's Jimmy just now. He was watching me on the computer but he fell asleep. I guess I am boring. Actually this is a bigggggg compliment that he will fall asleep close to me.... I still can't touch him but he sits close by and watches me all the time.... He even follow me around sometimes but from a distance of at least 6 feet. I just leave him be....

He is so sweet....


Here is Molly Polly...... She is a 100 lb dog.. We adopted her approx 5 yrs ago. I think. This crate she is sittin in was originally for emma when I first got her but Molly took it over. She doesn not like Charlie sleeping in it. I took the door off several years ago and it became her den. With Charlie I had to put the door back on to contain him at night when I sleep. I can't leave dogs outside all night and there was no alternative. We were keeping him in our bedroom with us and he would stay on our feet but he woke us once barking/snapping at the cats. So he is crated while we sleep.


It is 4:14 in the morning and I am giong to bed. I want to get up at 9ish to move more rock before I go to work...... Yard is coming along. We are enlarging the driveway with the rocks. We have moved about 4 tons out of the front yard so far.

Awww, what a sweet picture of Jimmy and Molly has such a dear face.

I'm sending vibes that one way or the other, things work out with Charlie!

Thanks so much for the sweet pic of Jimmy, Jenn. He's such a handsome guy, and the fact that he trusts you enough to sleep in your presence and follow you around shows just how far he's come. I believe it's been a year since you adopted him!

Molly's a dollbaby too and looks like such a sweet girl.

I know your love for Charlie will lead you in making the right decision.

I adopted him March 19th of last year. I remember the day because it is my husband's b-day... And even though I still can't pet him or touch him even after a year........he has come a very very long way.

As much as he has progressed in the last year, I just wonder what this year holds for him. I do believe since he now trusts me, this will be the year of Jimmy laying on my feet.

He is due for shots this next month and I am not sure if I want to terrorize him. He is not exposed to anything..... What do you think? He is easy to worm. I just put it in canned cat food. But I worm them all every few months. But as far as shots......can he get by without an update for a while?.....If I could touch him, it would be different. But if I do it now, it will absolutely terrorize him. Everyone else is up to date on everything so like I said, he is not exposed to anything bad.

Star is different. I can give her the shots but I have trouble worming her. She can tell if I put something in her food and she absolutely rufuses to eat it. Cow is a toughie to worm too but not impossible. Jimmy is easy to worm compared the them. He chows down canned food since I occassionally give it to him as a treat.

Next payday I am getting two months worth of frontline plus for everyone. Not sure how I am going to do Jimmy. I de-ticked and de-fleaed all around the enclosure and all the front yard and the area where the enclosure is going to be and another side yard. 60,000 square feet of stuff. I might have to buy the stuff that Jimmy eats. I feel most of the control will be in the killing of the ticks and fleas in the yard. I am treating before it occurs. I am going to put d-earth in their enclosure itself as it stands now...But I want to give all at least two treatments before the bug season starts. Adn the I am hoping the secret is in keeping the little buggers gone before they can hatch.

Yesterday made a lot of progress on the cat enclosure area.... By the end of today I should have it all cleared and burned off........if I don't give out. Then I can start digging post holes. We have most of the trees cut for the posts.

We have a goal for this summer. From the back of the dog yard to a certain tree, we want to have all that cleared by fall. The dog yard and the cats will both be expanded then and have tons and tons of room.

I gave the dogs all a bath yesterday evening. They look so fresh today..... They all took a long nap in the kitchen floor afterwards.

Husband pulled his stomach mesh yesterday so he is in bed today taking pain pills. I am still pluggin away.