The aggression and other behaviour levels were too much for the average owner to bear, and the rescues didn’t have good backup
TBH in my less charitable moments I have wondered about this. I don't think it's in any way malice or deliberate misleading on their part... I think they're simply a small charity of dog-lovers trying their best.
But they did keep emphasising he'd been returned 'through absolutely nothing he'd done' which, given I've lived with him for three weeks now, I find hard to believe (obviously his challenging behaviour isn't his 'fault' but you know what I mean). I suspect the previous owners made up benign excuses about work shifts etc. in order to swiftly return him without anyone trying to talk them into trying to manage his behaviour. Which tbf, especially the ones with kids, I completely understand, even though it's unfortunately led to him become more traumatised as a result.
But anyway, we are where we are. I've barely heard from the rescue so I'm not counting on them and pressing on with my own trainer (and you lovely lot).
We're not going to the enclosed field today - his whole personality in the last 48 hours seems to have been replaced with boiling white-hot rage-spiders so I'm keeping him as quiet as possible and doing his snuffle ball (SUPERB invention!) over and over and over as he seems to find it quite soothing. I've also bitten the bullet and ordered him an extortionate Tearrable, the big one that looks like a COVID molecule. He's currently tangled up in a patch of sunlight fast asleep while I catch up with some work. Looks like he has about 8 legs.
I was awake in the night thinking about the jumping-and-biting thing...
Taking the emotion out of it and looking purely at his body-language, and what triggers it, I really feel as if what's happened is he's become very attached to me (because I'm the one who is here all day) and when he's overstimulated/in zoomies he wants to play with me as if I'm one of his fellow street dogs. When you look at how he approaches you, where he jumps, how he moves his body, it's the same thing he does with my friends' dogs when he want to play.
Had a good chat with trainer last night and described the behaviour in detail... we're coming up with a proper management plan next week but we've already got some good temporary ones that work with the layout of our garden that mean I can remove myself pretty much instantly when he starts. I've also triumphantly remembered an old leather jacket I owned years ago that is very thick and covered in metal zips. So if I temporarily wear that in the garden and stay near the back door, if he does a shark attack I can calmly and silently walk indoors and shut the door on him til he's calm without any damage to my skin. Result! He is a very, very quick learner so hopefully, like the lead biting, this will be a flash-in-the-pan behaviour that he will get bored of quickly when it's not fun for him. And if it comes back at least we can go straight into managing it without the flailing and squealing that makes him think it's a jolly good romp. Trainer is still of the opinion that with his age and background this behaviour isn't particularly worrysome (in the sense that, obviously it's unpleasant, but he doesn't think it's especially unusual or indicative of aggression/him being a 'bad dog' in the future). And as he's said a couple of times, if Pod were a Dachshund these impulses would be annoying rather than alarming - but because of Pod's size it's essential we treat this swiftly.
Alsoso, I keep reminding myself we've had him THREE WEEKS. The longest he's been in any home, but barely. And in the last few days we've thrown so much at him: car, trainer coming here, puppy classes, vets, other visitors (the diary fuck-up I mentioned up-thread).
Yet in that time he's slept through the night, indicated to pee at night and gone straight back to sleep, slept and cuddled on the couch with us, learned loads of new commands in English, learned a new name, started loose lead walking beautifully (sometimes!), met so many new dogs, delivery drivers, so many new sounds outside (rescue was very rural) of children shouting, workmen, dogs barking, cars and people going by, neighbourhood cat smells, not to mention dishwasher, washing machine noises and the creak and cracks of the house... and just... EVERYTHING. In three tiny weeks. So yesterday, yes, I thought "why in the fucking fuck am I trying this hard for an animal that jumps and barks and makes holes in my clothes" but look at everything else he's done. The bad is like 5% of the time, and the rest of the time he's growing into his new home so beautifully and learning and adapting.
Had dinner our with DF last night, talked a lot about Nanna, and the right to die etc. I'm not exactly sad she's died because she was in a ghastly way but I do feel terribly sorry that she had to go through all that and was miserable for so long. Towards the end she got quite obsessed and upset by why her daughter (my DM) had died aged 60 while she was still here at 98.
I've just read all that back and I sound quite calm. I'm not really. But I did unearth an unopened pack of betablockers upstairs this morning so I've had one of those and feel a bit less turbulent.
Hang in there with me, Podsquad, you're keeping me sane. x