Another Man's Opinion

November 19th, 2012

I had another stressful day.  I had to redirect him all day.  One fit after another.  About 3:00 PM I was dragging a hose around trying to get a little watering done.  Drake was on a leash in the front yard, when a friend of mine and her husband drove up.  We chatted for a few minutes and then I told them to join me in the back yard and we would have some tea on patio.  As we chatted  kept Drake in my lap.  For about thirty minutes he was quiet and very good.  Eventually he got bored and started to squirm and bark.  The husband, George, asked me why I didn't let him down.  I explained that he had been acting out and barking all day.  Due to me wanted to continue our conversation, I didn't want the barking or for me to have to jump up to redirect him.  He said, "Just let him go and see what he does".  So of course he did.  Within two minutes he was by the goats pen, spinning and barking.


To my surprise, George said that he was just playing.  That his tail was wagging and that barking was all he really had to define his self as a dog besides his nose.  The wife, Becky. thought that I was too aware of what the neighbors might think.  I admitted that I was concerned about the barking, but that ultimately I cared more about Drake and if I didn't think he was stressed I wouldn't react.  George said that the bark was just a bark and Becky agreed. 

As I continued or conversation, Drake begin to dig and pull at a clematis vine that I had for six years.  When I started to get up, George said to just let him have fun.  That he was probably having the best time that he had ever had.  I did not have a direct view of the plant, could only hear the barking.  I did look over occasionally and all of a sudden I saw Drake running across the yard with the entire plant in his mouth.  I stated that I could not let him do this to my yard and we all laughed.  That left shortly and tried to replant, with Drake of the leash of course.

I felt sick to my stomach.  Was George right, was I making a big deal out of play.  April said that I was the weak link.  Machelle that I should just love him the way that he is.  Debi admitted that their was problems, but she had Chewy (another blind/deaf double dapple) since he was 5 weeks old and he was as big of a mess as Drake was.  So is this what's up.  I was so over my head and all of these opinions only confused me.  I had tried so hard.  Been so patient.  Read, ate, breathed Drake for three months.  This was my very first feeling that I could not keep Drake.  Through every other frustration and bad feeling I have had, I was just frustrated with how slowly this was going.  This time, I was sick in a sad way.