Tuesday, February 3, 2009

1999, A SAD & HEARTBREAKING YEAR FOR ME....

Yippie and I were best buds. I'm not exaggerating when I say that she and I played hard every evening for 4 hours. She would be going strong the whole time. Running around the house, jumping on me if I were laying on the couch or floor. I had to invent all means of entertainment for her. She loved to go full speed around the house and run over the top of me. She never hit my face during this whole time. She seems to be very careful around my face and has never tried to bite it. She also enjoyed leaping up on the back of the couch and running full speed over it. She chased stuffed toys tied to a string, chasing them and stalking them. She would bring whatever toy she wanted to me. She had her own toy box. I tried to teach her to put them away because she would empty it by the end of the evening. There were times when she actually did put them away.

This playtime lasted into bedtime. She was either pouncing on my feet or stomach or trying to dig me out from under the blankets. She loved to play ball and was a good retriever. I used a tennis ball. I had to go through a lot of balls because she loved to chew on them until she got them open. Thankfully, I have a good friend who plays tennis and kept me supplied.

I would lay in bed and try to wear her out by tossing the ball off the bed time and time again. There were times I'd be half asleep and still throwing the ball, wishing she would give up. She could actually throw the ball to me so I could catch it. I was sitting up in bed one time, trying to wear her out. She ran and retrieved it but when she tossed it to me it dropped between us. We both went for it at the same time. I grabbed it at the same time and she bit through my hand. My natural reaction was to hit her off of it. That was the only time I've ever hit her. She didn't mean to bite me, she was just going for the ball. She got very angry and threatened me. She stood over me with her hackles up snarling and growling. I had to lift the blankets up between us and chase her out through the garage and into her kennel. I tried over and over to appolize to her but this time she wouldn't listen. She would listen to it if I accidently stepped on her foot.

From that moment on she became very agressive to me. It broke my heart. I did everything I could to become friends with her. I asked animal experts, only one made any suggestions and that was to "starve her and feed her with my hand when she wasn't agressive." There was no way I was treating her this way. I had to cowboy up and overcome my fears of her agression. I learned how to attach her leash so we could go for walks again. I had to take a ski pole to keep her away from me to protect me. During this time she still loved my husband. He could handle her when needed. I spent many hours next to her kennel with her toys and food to try to distract her from trying to attack me. My gardens were around her kennel so I would talk to her while I worked in them. She couldn't come into the house or she would come after me. If I tied her out on her stung cable I had to take the ski pole and back away after I tied her. It took her and I a full year to become friends again. I was so thankful when she started to accept me again. We haven't had any problems since.

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