Sammie is acting "Weird"
Re: Sammie is acting "Weird"
he did the steps fine and everything...no balking today....just went out adn on down like always...they are not steep steps...each one is not very high, so there is no added stress to his back from doing steps that are tall adn steep....
Re: Sammie is acting "Weird"
Hmmmmm - the smoking??! Didn't Sammy come from an abusive home? Do you know if the people he lived with before smoked? If they did, the smell may be bringing back bad memories. Or, do you know if he was ever in a fire?
The smoking is a sign of rebellion. If it wasn't, he'd be hiding it from you like my daughter thought she was. It was a battle royal in our house too, with the stubborn DD thinking she'd won. She quit right after my SIL died from cancer (SIL was a smoker), and thank goodness, has not started back. I feel for you and wish I had some advice, but nothing I did worked either. Maybe the counceler (sp?) can help. OR, maybe telling him even the dog is scared will have more effect than mom does - you never know. I wish you lots of luck with this one!
The smoking is a sign of rebellion. If it wasn't, he'd be hiding it from you like my daughter thought she was. It was a battle royal in our house too, with the stubborn DD thinking she'd won. She quit right after my SIL died from cancer (SIL was a smoker), and thank goodness, has not started back. I feel for you and wish I had some advice, but nothing I did worked either. Maybe the counceler (sp?) can help. OR, maybe telling him even the dog is scared will have more effect than mom does - you never know. I wish you lots of luck with this one!
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings.
Re: Sammie is acting "Weird"
I think we figured it out....
Sammie likes to go nosing around beside the garage, as well as all over the yard, as dogs tend to do...I saw an adolescent garter snake over there the other day...one of the feral cats was playing with it...I shooed the kitty away and tried to catch the snake but it slithered under an old woodstove we have there...
Yesterday when I went to let Sammie outside...my husband had opened a bag of dog food and just dropped the paper and string thing from the bag onto the vestibule floor...Sammie was scared to death of that and did a wide walk around it...I think he thought it was a snake!!
So that would explain why he is skittish in the grass now....I think he had an encounter with a snake out there...not that it would have hurt him...they are just garter snakes, and although they do bite, they are not very big snakes, so not very big mouths or bites...and no venom, of course...
I think one startled him...or he sniffed at one and it turned on him and maybe struck out...
But...I think we got the basic fear thing figured out!!
We also found out he is not fond of water...we went camping last weekend and took him along...there was a roped off swimming area and hubby took him out about knee deep for him and let Sammie loose...he high tailed it as fast as he could paddle back to shore!!
But he enjoyed walking along the wet sand at the edge of the water...
Sammie likes to go nosing around beside the garage, as well as all over the yard, as dogs tend to do...I saw an adolescent garter snake over there the other day...one of the feral cats was playing with it...I shooed the kitty away and tried to catch the snake but it slithered under an old woodstove we have there...
Yesterday when I went to let Sammie outside...my husband had opened a bag of dog food and just dropped the paper and string thing from the bag onto the vestibule floor...Sammie was scared to death of that and did a wide walk around it...I think he thought it was a snake!!
So that would explain why he is skittish in the grass now....I think he had an encounter with a snake out there...not that it would have hurt him...they are just garter snakes, and although they do bite, they are not very big snakes, so not very big mouths or bites...and no venom, of course...
I think one startled him...or he sniffed at one and it turned on him and maybe struck out...
But...I think we got the basic fear thing figured out!!
We also found out he is not fond of water...we went camping last weekend and took him along...there was a roped off swimming area and hubby took him out about knee deep for him and let Sammie loose...he high tailed it as fast as he could paddle back to shore!!
But he enjoyed walking along the wet sand at the edge of the water...
Re: Sammie is acting "Weird"
Karen....I am sorry I did not respond to your post earlier...I missed it!!
my son is being rebellious with everything these days it seems...he turned 17 and thinks he knows it all and the world owes him all...or at least WE do....WRONG!!!!
Actually, I have not seen him smoke or smelled it on him since we went camping last weekend...he smoked there, but his girlfriend and her mom and dad were both along...it was her 16th birthday and we all went camping...he promised her that for one of her birthday gifts, he would quit...after he finished the pack he had with him...so far so good...I think...
He was at his dad's this weekend, but his dad does make a big deal about it...
I have finally learned that arguing will do no good...taking them and breaking them does no good...so maybe if I ignore the nasty habit and do not feed into his feelings about WHY he is doing it...if he does not get a reaction from me...then maybe he will find the thrill is not as much fun...and the coughing is not as much fun...
my son is being rebellious with everything these days it seems...he turned 17 and thinks he knows it all and the world owes him all...or at least WE do....WRONG!!!!
Actually, I have not seen him smoke or smelled it on him since we went camping last weekend...he smoked there, but his girlfriend and her mom and dad were both along...it was her 16th birthday and we all went camping...he promised her that for one of her birthday gifts, he would quit...after he finished the pack he had with him...so far so good...I think...
He was at his dad's this weekend, but his dad does make a big deal about it...
I have finally learned that arguing will do no good...taking them and breaking them does no good...so maybe if I ignore the nasty habit and do not feed into his feelings about WHY he is doing it...if he does not get a reaction from me...then maybe he will find the thrill is not as much fun...and the coughing is not as much fun...
Re: Sammie is acting "Weird"
That's OK!Tambrey wrote:Karen....I am sorry I did not respond to your post earlier...I missed it!!
I hope your son has quit for good. So the girlfriend got results when you didn't - sounds normal to me! Whatever works!
Slithery critters, huh! Glad to hear you found out what was upsetting Sammie.
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings.