Dog Blog Poll Results: What is Lilly Looking At?

Aw… I love this photo of her. 🙂

Hi Roxanne, I just wanted to say thanks for the blog. I came across it a few months ago via HSBV and admit that I spent a lot of time thinking “Thank God I don’t have to deal with anything like that.” We adopted a puppy (Omar) in February, took him to puppy socialization and puppy kindergarten every week, car rides, trips to the store, everything we could think of to make sure he was well-socialized and friendly.

Then, despite everything, over the past few weeks he’s started getting more and more afraid of things. At the end of last week it came to a head with him running away from a park when a little girl tried to chase him. Over the weekend things have just gotten worse, with him growling at a stranger we passed on our hike and completely losing it – barking and growling like crazy – when a friend came over to our apartment.

I’m so stressed out I can’t eat or sleep, which is probably just making things worse since I’m sure Omar can sense that something is wrong. Two weeks ago I thought I had the perfect puppy, and now I don’t know if he just had a few bad days or if things are going to keep getting worse…or how much worse. I’m trying not to overreact, but I’m extremely sensitive because my sister has a fear-aggressive dog that has bitten multiple people.

Anyway – thanks for sharing your experiences. It helps to see what you’ve managed to deal with – and it reminds me to put my own problems in perspective.