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Subject: 1 Year after adopting a "Difficult Dog"
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see'n'spotsUser is Offline
north central Florida
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06/03/2008 8:14 PM  

Today its exactly 1 Year after I adopted Kal.  What a difference a year makes!  Kal had been a 'ricochet' dog, bounced several times from owner to owner, home to home, fenced yard to fenced yard & breeder to shelter.  He was out of control, condemned for killing cats & essentially discarded in a small barren fenced yard.  Neglect had left him skin & bones, covered in fleas, w/o shots or vet care & begging for scraps of bread.  Found him via an online want ad that said in part "can deal w/difficult dog" after a long & painful search.

Today I'd describe Kal as Buff or a Hard Body, he's definitely an athlete.  His wanton destruction of screens, miniblinds, kitchen trash can & countertop discoveries exist as distant memories.  Gone are the days where he was leery of getting in the car, b/c he had no 'sea legs' & lost his balance easily, b/c of being left behind in small fenced yards for most of his life.  He runs like a cross between a Gazelle & the Energizer Bunny.  Kal's energy level would probably still be "difficult" for very many people, but he's nearly a perfect fit here.   If I could only get Kal to howl, still working on just getting him to bark on command.  Kal is virtually a constant companion who's rarely left alone for more than a few hours & goes nearly everywhere.

Today I'm happy to say I'm still see'n'spots.  I'm also still disheartened that Rescue & Humane Society refused to play any role & concluded I was unfit to adopt a dog b/c I lacked a fenced yard.   Kal's latest, after learning he could swim last week, is discovering Box turtles.

MydogiscrazyUser is Offline
Chapel Hill NC
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06/03/2008 8:19 PM  
Well congrats to you and Kal. Always nice to hear success stories of dogs who need loving owners and owners with discipline who can provide good homes for them.
Texas BelleUser is Offline
Austin, TX
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06/03/2008 10:19 PM  

Happy 1 year anniversary.  It is always nice to hear a happy ending, and I love when others find perfection (at least with the relationship  ) in a GSP.  This breed is the best IMHO.


Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)

Yellow Rose GSPs

 photo FaunaBISJan20110001cropped_resized_zps96af44b6.jpg  photo DSC_0044_cropped_zps0a25f9ff.jpg  photo DSC_0030a_zps3c822a4a.jpg  photo DSC_0016cropped_zpsab533745.jpg

"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato
carlower1User is Offline
Kansas
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06/04/2008 6:09 AM  
Congrats Spots!

LMAO I can just imagine the interaction between the box turtle and Kal. No wait I don't have to imagine... My own beast found a "moving rock" the other day and didn't know if he should grab it and toss it (his favorite outside game) bark at it, jump on it or run and hide behind me.

I also would have been declared an unfit adoption parent because of the lack of fenced yard, so I can understand how you feel. I realize where they are coming from, but there are times I think that assessing the condition and behavior of any current pets should weigh in stronger than if a fence exists or not.
tuckerUser is Offline
WAY NORTHERN MINNESOTA!
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06/04/2008 7:28 AM  
Congratulations on 1 year! Here's to many more adventures with Kal!

Alice,
Ruger,
Tucker RIP 1995-2009,
& Gunner
'To love a dog that has been discarded by another proves to that dog that love really does exist.' -Christi Cooper



KISS MY SMOKIN ACES
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pattylUser is Offline

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06/04/2008 8:59 AM  

GSP's are the best dogs around but never the easiest.  And it's never easy to turn around a dog who has been bounced from place to place and learned not to love and trust people.

It's an amazing thing you have accomplished with Kal.  No matter how much time and love you give to him; he will always give more back.  Kal knows and he will always be grateful.

mitUser is Offline
Harleysville, PA
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06/04/2008 9:12 AM  
Congratultions, Kal is one lucky dog!
see'n'spotsUser is Offline
north central Florida
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06/04/2008 4:11 PM  
Thanks for all the congrats. However "discipline" is pretty lax around here & "perfection" remains a long way off. Got a bag of stuffed toys for $1 at the flea market & gave them to Kal. He's one happy little spotted clam.

I wish I could "LMAO" over "the interaction between the box turtle and Kal" however the threat of encounters w/venomous snakes severely tempers my enthusiasm for Kal pursuing his new hobby. I have to try & restrain him before he launches headlong into cover after things & 1st check that its a harmless turtle. Then it is a bit amusing to watch a dog torment these wonderful turtles. Did you know Box turtles can often live 100 years?

Sorry, but "assessing the condition and behavior of any current pets should weigh in stronger than if a fence exists or not" wouldn't have had any effect in my case. I'd buried my only pet some time earlier, after months of hopeless vet treatment. The rigid zealots at Rescue & HS weren't interested in my long association w/dogs, vet's recommendation or extremely dog friendly home site. They'd sooner see Kal exiled in the small fenced yard I saved him from. Some of these misguided clowns actively seek to have dogs like Kal taken away b/c owners don't have a fenced yard.

Got to admit I'm still smitten by GSPs, but like quite few dogs a lot & never make any pretense about GSPs being the "best". What is personally "best" for me happens to be a "Difficult Dog" that'd been rejected. Actually Kal was pretty easy to "turn around". When I drove him away from the small fenced yard he'd been imprisoned in for 14 months, it took about 10 minutes before he stepped 1 paw, then the other, onto my thigh, then laid down, put his head across my lap & went to sleep! Kal's sense relief & hope was palpable, the "turn around" occurred before Kal even saw his new "place" when he learned how practiced I was at rubbing ears.

Getting a Lab to listen to you isn't the challenge a GSP is. I can call some of the dogs in my Dog Park, w/o knowing their names, better than their owners. For Kal its like recess & he'll often ignore me, unless I head for the gate to leave, then when I get close, all I have to do is "turn around" & Kal will be hurtling at me like a spotted torpedo. I'm more into cooperation than obedience & oddly enough, its GSP's independant nature that has me still see'n'spots.
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Forums > General > General Discussion > 1 Year after adopting a "Difficult Dog"



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