Two dogs .......

[Ruth in MT]

There are two dogs living here ....... one is the Ollie the loving little dog who loves to sit with me,  follow me around, come when he is called, loves to walk, and does tricks for carrots. House trained.
Then there is "the OTHER Ollie"  who goes beserk when anybody else comes near.  A kid walking past the house. The neighbor who comes for a visit.  Mailman, paperboy, LANDLORD, a dog barking in the distance.

If it was just the two of us it would be ok ....................... but since I like friends , kids , and others .... what do I do?  I keep thinking that I should work with him.  BUT the only chance that I have to return him will be this weekend.

Will you all be upset with me if I give up?

[DeeanDave]

Not at all, Ruth.  You need to do what is best for both of you.  I support you in whatever decision you make.  You are not giving up...the match just may not be the right one.   dee

[Spanish Teckels]

Probably.  Just joking, since only you can really tell, of course, but you have the most difficult training matters with him off pat already and the extraneous part should be the easiest...i still think he is just trying to protect you from the "outside" as he still perceives it. I know two weeks puts you under extra mental pressure to "decide" .

He has learned so much with you in such a short time, I cannot help but feel the external stuff must come without too much difficulty too, you are obviously working well together and he is very willing to please you.  From an imperfect human point of view ( no hubaby ever learned all that so quickly) and bearing in mind the perfect dog also takes a good while to arrive, I would definitely keep up the good work and keep Ollie.

There are so many out there who never master all he has mastered so far and still have all he "other " traits too. Doesn't feel like the defensive/protective behaviour is beyond correction from way over here in Spain.
Love to you both, you are doing a great job.

[sollysmom]

Of course, you must do what is right for you, but I, also, feel he has come so far so fast that it shouldn't be too hard for you to go the rest of the way.  But you have to make the decision, and no one here that I know of would put any blame on you at all.

Darcel

[Dr. Beau Leaky]

Before you decide, go to www.hulu.com and queue up the four current episodes of Dog Whisperer. Now watch them as Cesar talks about the owners' need to show calm assertiveness. The episode where the girl reclaims the front door from the 180# dog? :crazyeyes: Do you envision that as you? :thinik: Do you think you can see yourself putting Ollie on a solid foundation as the bottom of the totem pole? He has to sense from you that you are in charge, that other people are not a threat. He thinks you need protecting. Can you rent a friend who can come over, knock, come in with no touch, no talk (to the dog) and no eye contact? Make him back away and calm down BEFORE you open the door.

:thumb: I think you can do this. Cesar has a sign outside his rehab center that reminds visitors about the rules: No Touch, No Talk, No Eye Contact. You can put one on the outside of your door: "Dachshund in Training - Please be patient until I open the door. Remember: No touch, no talk, no eye contact. Thanks"

Cesar does this in less than five minutes. You have until Saturday. Give it a try.

Auntie Keren

[dachsville]

It does sound like you have come so far.  All I can say is that Slinky and Boomer, my adoptees, were returned and returned from homes because Boomer also barks at everyone, whines in the car (going, but not on the way back home - don't know how he has that figured out) and Slinky has marking issues.  I know that we were these little guys' last chance.  I am not trying to make you feel bad or guilty, but it all depends on what you can live with.  I feel that the issues these boys have are totally outweighed by the love and joy they return tenfold.  Does it drive me crazy that Boomer barks at everyone?  Of course, but we work on it every day and try new things all the time.  The water bottle and the sound-thingy don't work.  We just keep taking him out on walks and when someone wants to pet the cute little Doxie and he goes off like Cujo, we now just slip the muzzle on.  It distracts him enough and he stops.  We are hoping that, in time, this will be the cure, but who knows?  Ollie needs a home where someone will just stay with it because going from home to home surely doesn't help.  Only you can decide if this is going to be his forever home.  Please don't be mad at me for this response.  I always go with the animals' needs before my own; I'm just crazy that way and don't expect everyone to feel the same way.  But if you give him back, it's not that far from Colorado for me to come up there and kick your butt.  JUST KIDDING.

[Barb]

GREAT comments already.  We are here for ya whatever you decide.

I see so much of my Toby in Ollie.  I believe also, that he goes into protection mode when anyone comes close to our house.  He has gotten better, but it has taken time.  I am not a huge social person, so it is working for me.

Hang in there woman !

[Delia and girls]

It is absolutely your decision and either way I support you. He has learned a lot with you in a short time but who knows how long it will take and even IF he will learn to be nice to others. Especially since you have a very social life. I don't know, Ruth, my priority is temperament so my opinion might be skewed. This is a long commitment so look at months and years down the road. I'm sure my importance on temperament is colored by Gretchen. Her life and our lives could have been so much more if she were different. AND ... it's not like you're dropping him off at the pound. He's going back to his breeder.

[Teresa]

I agree with Delia. Temperament means so much. Having spent the last one-two years of Molly's life with no one able to visit unless Randy was home to hold onto her and being scared that at some point she would escape out the door when someone came to it and attack them, I have sworn that the only way I will do rescue again is to be completely certain of the temperament first. It just wasn't worth the stress it put on the entire family. Part of Molly's problem was getting old and grouchy since she wasn't as bad when we first got her, but she always had some issues. She tried to attack our neighbor right after we got her (Randy said she knew we didn't like him, either!).
If you feel you can work with him, go for it. If not, feel like you have at least tried to share your home with him, and return him to the breeder. I am still curious to know if the breeder has had these problems with him, too. It bothers me if the breeder did not even warn you that he may have problems with strangers.
Of course you have the support of the board, no matter what your decision is-That is why we are here.

[papbouv]

Do what you feel is right you are there no one can see how he is around others he may turn around he may not as far as watching a TV show and magically fixing a dog sorry in real life it does not work that way.No one knows how long the trainer on any TV show really works with the dog all TV shows are edited to only show certain things in the show.A trainer could come to your home and still not tell you if this dog can be turned around 100%.You do what is best for you do not feel bad nor should you care how others feel about your decision you are the one that has to live with it. I have lived with a dog I could not trust 100% it really wears you down mentally over time.Best wishes for you and Ollie.

[auntydoxzz]

I don't think anyone here would fault you for returning him. 

That said,  it sounds like he has improved so very much in such a short time.  Is there anyway to work things out so that you somehow have longer than just this short time. Maybe it would be possible to use something like the "dachshund  underground" or whatever its called  that would have people volunteer to drive him part the way back to the breeder's.

[BonniesMom]

You do what is best for you!  If you're not comfortable with the situation, Ollie will pick up on that, making it hard for him to relax.  I know that my own physical health would not allow me to have a dog that requires a lot of training, so truly if it were me, I'd be reconsidering if there were some large training issues simply because I know I wouldn't be strong enough to handle them.  It's your decision.  I support you whatever you decide to do. 

[JetEd73]

Ummmm having fostered my fair share of dogs I'll tell you this...of the 15-16-17 dogs I've fostered there's only one dog I wouldn't want to keep as a pet.  I would say about less than half the dogs I've had were properly socialized when I got them, the rest needed work

Socialization is the key here, and that usual takes a lot longer that 2 weeks...most will tell you that it takes about 90 days to properly socialize a dog. Seems to me that's what's missing, teaching him how YOU want him to live in YOUR house.

and the other thing for you to think about...get another dog and your right back at square one...again. Especially with a puppy. The pups I fostered were funny as hell, not a day went by when I didn't laugh my butt off at them. And I was glad as can be to see them leave my house and go to new homes.

Having said all that...all dogs have their own unique personality, and his personality may not be right for you.

You should call his rescue/foster and ask for an extension.  Can you call and talk to his foster? Ask lots of questions...

As a foster I would gladly take back any dog returned to me, no questions asked. I haven't had to do that so far.

[Roberta]

has he been neutered.............as that can impact a bit...the I'm in charge. Do you think you are giving of vibes of your only here on trial that he could be picking up as something else.
But all said and done its all about what you are willing to do, and go through. Pity you do not have more time with him. But as some of the others have said maybe get a behaviourist in if possible in the time and see what they say.
Roberta

[papbouv]

On Doberman Talk they always say to check a dogs Thyroid it can cause aggression problems ? Know Ollie is not a Dobe but it might be worth looking into.