A Life and Corgi Update
Hello ladies and gents! It's been quite a while since I've been on here. I just wanted to give everyone an update on what has been going on and why I've been missing for what seems like forever. For starters, my husband came home from deployment back in July so I was wrapped up for two months, enjoying his company before he went back to work. I also started working two jobs so they have been keeping me quite busy. But as of recently, we've have become swamped with a ton of things. We are once again planning on moving before Christmas hits. We're trying to plan to be moved into a house by the first week of December. How well that will work out, I have no idea, but we're hoping it'll happen. So while packing, planning, and house hunting has been keeping us busy...so has work for the both of us. On the bright side of things, Dodger has been pretty content and he loves playing with our rescue kitten, Kisa! Although, I think he's currently convincing her that she's a dog instead of a cat. She's been playing fetch with us and thinks that Dodger's BarkBoxes are also for her. We'll see what happens. On a not so great note, Dodger has become afraid of bandanas and I think he's suffering from PTSD. How he could become afraid of bandanas, I have no clue, but he's not amused when I put them on him and he runs away whenever I try to put on on him. I have an idea on how to fix that, but we'll see what happens. Oh, the PTSD thing? Yeah, let me explain. Back in June, I think it was, someone had broken into our apartment and I found Dodger in the bathroom with his crate flipped upside down in the bathtub. Of course he was in the crate because it was suppose to be his bedtime, but the jerk must have thrown his crate into the bathtub. And naturally the people of the leasing office and the police weren't of any help either. So I'm pretty sure the little guy is traumatized from the whole situation. He's gotten a bit better, I'll admit. He goes back into his crate more often now when we ask him to, but occasionally he gets very hesitant and skeptical of going into it -- even with treats being offered. And he doesn't freak out about random people as often anymore either. Although, occasionally he'll just go ballistic when there's someone strange or new who's approaching us or gets a little too close for comfort in his eyes. He's still sweet with family friends and with people he's been exposed to, but he gets very upset when new people come around. He's gotten a bit better with the bathtub. He's not afraid of it as much as what he was, but it's a very slow process for him. He hardly follows me into the bathroom anymore because he gets so scared of it. Not to mention he keeps a lot closer to me and tries to hide behind my legs if he gets terrified of something, but he's getting better. Its just a very slow recovery for him. In other news, when we move into our first home we're going to be looking at adopting another dog. Which is very exciting for us and for Dodger. He loves having doggy friends, but all the dogs in our apartment building are all dog aggressive. So he doesn't get to play with anyone and his only friend he had ended up moving back in June. Hopefully Dodger will enjoy having a new furry sister as much as we'll be enjoying a new furry face in our home. I think that about covers everything for the most part. I hope all my corgi loving friends are all doing wonderful and here's to hoping for brighter things in the future!
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Comment by Autumn and Jonathan on October 20, 2014 at 3:24pm
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The way my husband and I have noticed it, Dodger has good days and bad days when it comes to the PTSD he's dealing with. As for living on base, base isn't any better to be honest. The base my husband goes to, there have been quite a few break-ins and robberies. As for the whole getting another dog, Dodger has always thrived in the company of other dogs. We're not going to rush into getting another dog though. We're going to be taking our time and slow make the preparations for another dog. This will allow us to feel prepared and be ready while also allowing Dodger to have time to make more progression, as well, before we bring in another furry member. Plus, Dodger and Kisa have the final say on whether or not another furry member will be coming into the family. But Dodger is very reliant on the whole idea of pack training. If he's not training with another dog then he's uninterested and wanders off after the cat. I have been considering agility training (even if it's just for fun), but as I've said, Dodger relies A LOT on pack training. And we have talked to our vet (for anyone who may be wondering), they have told us to just keep working with him and reassuring him. Our vet has also reassured us that for the amount of time that has passed since the incident and how Dodger has been making little steps and making progress to getting through this, it's a good sign and it means he's working to overcome things.
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Comment by Bev Levy on October 16, 2014 at 8:31pm
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Awww poor Dodger! That must have been very scary but I am really glad he is ok. Agility, just for fun, is a great confidence builder and so are training classes with a positive trainer.
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Comment by Holly on October 16, 2014 at 4:01pm
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I am so sorry to hear all of this. I am happy your husband is home again, but none of you deserve this. I wonder how they treat service dogs with PTSD after they return from battles. Symptoms are the same in pets I believe. It sounds like with your tender care Dodger is doing well, considering. Normally additional changes can be unsettling but in your case I hope being in a new home will help Dodger and the rest of you feel safer! I think it will. I certainly hope so! I'm grateful for all the sacrifices you and your family make for the rest of us to feel safe.
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Comment by Vicky Hay on October 16, 2014 at 2:38pm
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OMG! Can you not live in base housing? That is just terrible...sounds like the lovely apartment complexes that drive down property values in my aging middle-class neighborhood. The 'hood itself is pretty nice, but the neighboring tenements house an interesting variety of predators and creeps. Including one that killed a cop and did his best to take out a couple of others.
I'm so sorry you and your little dog had to go through such a dreadful experience!
It might be good to talk to a vet or a dog behaviorist about how to calm Dodger's nerves and try to get him over the terror he must have suffered. Come to think of it...you might want to do that before getting another dog, which will represent a major adjustment for him and could add to his stress.
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Thanks everyone for the comments. Yes, we've been very, very busy. Dodger is slowly recovering, but he's very traumatized from the entire situation. We're hoping that once we move and get settled in a house that he'll start to relax more. As for the whole break in, it's not that we live in a neighborhood that's bad (we live in an apartment complex building), it's just that the majority of the neighbors are drug addicts and there's kids running loose vandalizing anything and everything. And no one has done anything and the police won't do anything either. A lot of plates, bowls, and other dishes were broken during the break in and papers were flung everywhere, but the worse was Dodger having to go through that terrible experience. After that, he's changed A LOT. He's not the sweet corgi that he use to be. He's more fearful, gets spooked a lot easier now, and he clings to me constantly. My husband and I are very hopeful that the upcoming changes will also be good for him. But we'll see what happens. We're looking at going to a rescue a friend recommended to us and she if Dodger connects with any of the dogs there. So hopefully good vibes will come our way and things will progress to more happier path.
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Comment by Linda on October 15, 2014 at 11:24pm
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You have been very busy! We are planning to move in a couple of years and I am in a panic about that already. And please thank your husband and a thank you to you also...you had to deal with him being gone.
So wonderful that Dodger is bringing up that kitten right! We have a cat who is our honorary corgi. She is a cat haters cat....she truly thinks she is a dog and will always be in the midst of whatever the dogs are doing.
I am so grateful that Dodger wasn't physically harmed but what an emotional trauma for him...and you. I'm sure with your continued love and positive encouragement he will continue to improve. I don't live in the best of neighborhoods...it use to be when we moved here...and that is something I fear. That they will hurt the dogs and the cats. Everything else can be replaced but they can't.
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Welcome home and a big Thank You to DH. I hope he's doing well and is not deployed again anytime soon.
Moving before Christmas, eh? LOL! Once i figured out that my mother packed and moved house on average of once every 18 months during the 31 years she and my father were married. Think of it as an art form...
Gosh, you describe one of my recurring nightmares. There's nothing worth stealing in my house. The only thing of any value is the dogs. And I live near two bad neighborhoods, one of them the center of a meth gang's territory. It scares me no end that the burglar might steal the dogs or deliberately harm them, as your jerk obviously did. Lordie!
Good luck with the move and the planned new doggy!
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Comment by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on October 15, 2014 at 4:20pm
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You definatley sound busy, but busy is good. So sorry about the break in, how horrifying for you and Jonathan. Glad to hear that he is slowly recovering from the traumatic experience and that you and your husband were able to spend time together!! The only thing I can think of is maybe see if you could put kibble on top of the bandanna? Maybe if he will eat off of it, eventually after hes used to that you could just hold it in your hand and reward him with some kibble for positive behaviors and then eventually back on your head? I am no expert by any means, but maybe that would work? How cute that the kitty wants to be more dog like. Lance and Tucker both are/were more kitty like and they don't even have a kitty lol Good luck with your move and hopefully you can introduce Dodger to his sister at the breeders before coming home and see how they do there first. Thanks for the update and good luck with everything!!
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