B
Baxter Tiberius
Guest
I know EB's are neurotic. As I type this, Baxter is flipping the fk out barking like a madman at an umbrella that's drying (open) on the floor in the living room.
I guess I just need some reassurance that you guys deal with this on a daily (if not hourly) basis.
I sometimes feel like this breed is so incredibly needy, sensitive, and neurotic. Every single element of my day with Baxter is spent handling him with "kid gloves" (delicacy).
I've learned his personality so well that even basic things like dog walks are saturated with "dos" and "donts" because ... well .. its Baxter.
And if you do this .... he will get freaked out. Or if I dont do something else ... he wont go to the bathroom on his walk. Don't bring him to an area where other dogs are pottying, because he will forget he's there to potty, hyperfocus on the other dogs, and waste 40 minutes of my day trying to harass and play with the other dogs. So I must take baxter far away from others just to potty.
Its like he's a "special needs" child in so many ways. Friends and acquaintances look at me completely bewildered. Like Im being unnecessary. I just remind myself that they have no idea what its like to have one of these dogs.
I took him out last night to potty before bed. Like we always do. He wouldn't go to the bathroom because the grass was wet. It rains sometimes here. Its florida.
As a result he sh*t all over himself in his crate overnight, and also peed on himself. That pretty much sums up my experience with this breed so far. They're so neurotic that they wont do things, and as a result, you end up dealing with mass quantities of inconveniences.
Because they don't seem to put two and two together ... on pretty much anything. "If I dont go to the bathroom now, im going to have to go later. So I should go now".
When I got the umbrella out, - that was a disaster as well. I stood in the pouring rain, being bitten by mosquitos, at 11pm when I should've been in bed, watching Baxter stare in utter terror at the umbrella rather than going to the bathroom. He got himself and me completely soaked.
As I stood there for a solid half hour, other dog owners came out, pottied their dogs, and went back in, one by one. And there I stood with the most neurotic dog on earth, unable to even focus enough to go potty. Ultimately I got him to pee twice. Buy this morning there was piss all over his crate because he didn't fully go. Wet grass and an umbrella = disaster for potty time I guess?
This is pretty much how it goes on the regular. Not just with potty time but a lot of other things. Basic things that shouldn't be so incredibly difficult to do. Become this monumental task. Getting in elevators with other people. If one has a suitcase, forget it. He scrambles like bloody murder to get away from it, pulling my arm out of the socket, and making onlookers shake their heads.
At a family reunion this summer he kept crotch diving a female dog that was there so often that he got attacked at least 25 to 30 times. Family members started saying out loud "You'd think he'd be smart enough to get the point eventually?" When a little kid took his ball and ran with it, he chased after the child playfully and accidentally knocked him over. Same family members were saying "STUPID DOG!" out loud as the child screamed and cried. Its like *everything* about this breed is 500x more difficult than other dogs. Why?
I guess the neurosis is "cute" to a lot of us ... but does it ever drive you to the point of complete frustration and exhaustion? To say these guys require patience is the understatement of the century.
I've never dealt with a dog so difficult, and yet so full of love and kindness.
So stubborn that they will break every rule you teach them, and not give a crap that they've broken the rule, but then when they get scolded, suddenly they' act like the world is ending because you're not happy with them. I hope one day Baxter is able to associate "Cause and Effect". He seems to have no awareness of this concept at all..
How about you all?
I guess I just need some reassurance that you guys deal with this on a daily (if not hourly) basis.
I sometimes feel like this breed is so incredibly needy, sensitive, and neurotic. Every single element of my day with Baxter is spent handling him with "kid gloves" (delicacy).
I've learned his personality so well that even basic things like dog walks are saturated with "dos" and "donts" because ... well .. its Baxter.
And if you do this .... he will get freaked out. Or if I dont do something else ... he wont go to the bathroom on his walk. Don't bring him to an area where other dogs are pottying, because he will forget he's there to potty, hyperfocus on the other dogs, and waste 40 minutes of my day trying to harass and play with the other dogs. So I must take baxter far away from others just to potty.
Its like he's a "special needs" child in so many ways. Friends and acquaintances look at me completely bewildered. Like Im being unnecessary. I just remind myself that they have no idea what its like to have one of these dogs.
I took him out last night to potty before bed. Like we always do. He wouldn't go to the bathroom because the grass was wet. It rains sometimes here. Its florida.
As a result he sh*t all over himself in his crate overnight, and also peed on himself. That pretty much sums up my experience with this breed so far. They're so neurotic that they wont do things, and as a result, you end up dealing with mass quantities of inconveniences.
Because they don't seem to put two and two together ... on pretty much anything. "If I dont go to the bathroom now, im going to have to go later. So I should go now".
When I got the umbrella out, - that was a disaster as well. I stood in the pouring rain, being bitten by mosquitos, at 11pm when I should've been in bed, watching Baxter stare in utter terror at the umbrella rather than going to the bathroom. He got himself and me completely soaked.
As I stood there for a solid half hour, other dog owners came out, pottied their dogs, and went back in, one by one. And there I stood with the most neurotic dog on earth, unable to even focus enough to go potty. Ultimately I got him to pee twice. Buy this morning there was piss all over his crate because he didn't fully go. Wet grass and an umbrella = disaster for potty time I guess?
This is pretty much how it goes on the regular. Not just with potty time but a lot of other things. Basic things that shouldn't be so incredibly difficult to do. Become this monumental task. Getting in elevators with other people. If one has a suitcase, forget it. He scrambles like bloody murder to get away from it, pulling my arm out of the socket, and making onlookers shake their heads.
At a family reunion this summer he kept crotch diving a female dog that was there so often that he got attacked at least 25 to 30 times. Family members started saying out loud "You'd think he'd be smart enough to get the point eventually?" When a little kid took his ball and ran with it, he chased after the child playfully and accidentally knocked him over. Same family members were saying "STUPID DOG!" out loud as the child screamed and cried. Its like *everything* about this breed is 500x more difficult than other dogs. Why?
I guess the neurosis is "cute" to a lot of us ... but does it ever drive you to the point of complete frustration and exhaustion? To say these guys require patience is the understatement of the century.
I've never dealt with a dog so difficult, and yet so full of love and kindness.
So stubborn that they will break every rule you teach them, and not give a crap that they've broken the rule, but then when they get scolded, suddenly they' act like the world is ending because you're not happy with them. I hope one day Baxter is able to associate "Cause and Effect". He seems to have no awareness of this concept at all..
How about you all?