[nagdu] Dog problems

[minh ha]

Hi all,

I am at my wits end about an issue and I’m hoping to get some advice,
especially from those of you that have a partner who also has a guide
dog.  My boyfriend and I both have guides and our dogs are very
attached to us, meaning that they will listen to either of us when we
give them commands (out of harness, obviously.) However, O’Malley, my
boyfriend’s guide has started exhibiting some very strange behaviors
towards me lately. It’s almost like he is afraid of me. When I tell
him to come, he won’t do it; he will just sit there and thump his
tail, acknowledging the fact that he hears me, but he refuses to come.
When I go to grab him to give him a correction, he will run to his bed
and hide in the back and will not come out, no matter what I do. I’ve
tried everything--corrections, talking in a stern voice, yelling,
treats—and none of it seems to do anything. Doing obedience with
treats doesn’t work either because he knows treats are imminent so
he’ll come flawlessly. The situation is made extra frustrating when he
plays keep away with me; I will call him and he’ll get really close,
but not close enough where I can actually touch him or grab his
collar. And when I do try to grab him, he will run back to his bed
again. The other thing that is really distressing both my boyfriend
and I is that O’Malley seems to prefer his bed over any spot. If his
crate is open, he will go lay in there and not come out unless you
call him or it’s food time. Viva will try to engage him in playing and
he plays sometimes, but most of the time, he will just lay in bed and
does nothing else. One last thing, when we do manage to get him to
come out and play, he has been yelping a lot whenever I play with him.
We do play a little rough, but not any more than when my boyfriend
plays with him and he never yelps then. I’m just so frustrated at the
situation and I honestly don’t know what else to do. I love this dog
and I spoil him to death, but for some reason, he is just acting so
weird with me that it has brought me to tears more than once. If any
of you has insight into what is going on, I would really appreciate
it. I will try anything at this point.

Cheers,
Minh


-- 
"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty
recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on
their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. E. Lawrence