The question is....when, if ever, is it ok to give up and find your dog another home? I have been struggling with Lucy since day one....way back in the spring. Now its the end of July and we have very little progress. Actually, on some days it seems that it is worse than the beginning, but that is just my memory failing me and my wits at their end.
Lucy continues to bark at people in the hallway, elevator, out on the streets while on walks. She barks at dogs passing my and dog barks she may hear in the distance. She barks when I leave, she barks when I return. She barks when people come to visit, whether they are friends, family, cable guys or what not. We've tried everything. We started off giving her 2 meals a day by strangers on the sidewalks, we've clickered the (rare) quiet moment, we got her private training lessons early on which included a fabulously socialized pup to give her the building blocks to proper, polite dog behavior. We bring her to dog parks at least 2-3 times a week for social time. And she gets out for walks about every 3-4 hours. It's just too much now. It's every day. And more than the barking, I'm so tired of the work. It has been day in day out CONSTANT training mode for 3 whole months!!! My poor Charlie, he is been totally put to the side as we focus on Lucy. I am to the point where I give in. I just can't see a life with her in it. I feel awful everyday as this conclusion becomes more and more the reality, and not just a possibility.
Does anyone have anything to offer? More than the countless number of force free training books I have? (If it's listed on the Karen Pryor website, I've bought and read it!) Am I the worst person in the world if I can't make this relationship (with Lucy) work? Does this mean I should never adopt another animal in my life?
Anyone, please help....
