A Hard Lesson!

As many of you are very well aware, Ray is a very different dog now when compared to how he was in the Spring of 2013. He has been, and still is, a “work in progress”… but the results far exceed the effort and patience needed to get him this far. Below is an extract from his book “Who Said I was up for Adoption?” (click book cover link over to right and down a little, for more information!).

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Taking Ray out for his morning walk, we had just reached the front of our house when I was called over by our neighbor who wanted to talk about some driveway work that we were planning on getting done. The neighbor was sitting on his front deck, while Ray and I stopped at the bottom of the steps so we were looking up at the neighbor. As the conversation developed, the neighbor got up and walked across his deck towards me.

He then wanted me to read a piece of paper that he had but, as he was reaching down and towards me so that I could take it, Ray decided to intervene by jumping up and grabbing the neighbor’s arm. Fortunately, the damage was no more than superficial scratches, but it was very clear that for all the improvements we had seen to date, Ray could not be totally trusted when in close proximity to other people.

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All of you can probably imagine the precarious nature of an incident which involves 75lbs of dog lunging and grabbing somebody in a not too friendly manner! What went wrong? How was it resolved? Could it have been avoided? What changed as a result? Well you will have to read the book for answers to those questions!

Any dog can be challenging, regardless of its history (much like teenagers!), but with a desire to work with the dog; the incentive to get professional help as necessary, and much patience because it could be a long process…  looking at Ray now, I know it was all worth it! He is priceless!

30 thoughts on “A Hard Lesson!”

  4. Just found your blog. I’ve been itching to adopt a dog for several months now. Don’t know if I’m looking for 75lbs of mischievous mayhem that goes by Ray, but I’m looking forward to becoming a vicarious pet owner until I can move to a place thats big enough to accommodate.

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    • Hi Gabriel and welcome. I hope that, when you have the time, you will feel free to explore my Blog and join in various dialogues. I am very fortunate to have a wonderful group of Followers who really “play well” together!
      Noting your interest in sharing a future with a dog, I would ask that you give serious consideration to reading my book about Ray “Who Said I was up for Adoption?” because, while he certainly had a number of challenges, it is a fallacy to believe that all shelter dogs are potential problems. It is also a fallacy to believe that a non-shelter dog is not going to present issues. Whereas my book is clearly focused on Ray, there is much information included that could apply to pretty much any dog. Again… welcome, and enjoy!

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Ray just keeps blossoming more and more, so rewarding! .
    I agree with how you compared Ray to teenagers. Yes, there will be challenging moments of frustration, pulling out hair, etc. BUT the rewards that can come as well makes it all worth it! Even if I have to go through lots of hair dye! 🙂

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  8. None of my GSD liked people standing over me. I was always aware of that and would stand if seated, etc. so the dog would not perceive a threat. They just would go on alert and I could feel their body language that they were watching to make sure I stayed safe.

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