SilverCatofBast

Got a call on MOTHERS DAY!
Called back asap the next day since I couldn’t get reception int he boonies with my fam, but the manager who does those wasn’t there. The other manager left a note for him that I called back.

Really, though, while I think the singing an all is better than McDonalds, my actual goal is first job.
Crossing fingers

Max is still not fully housetrained. We have a designated indoor spot covered with towels, and since he only goes #2 outdoors when he is at a new park and training him further would mean removing the towels – thus endangering the apartment security deposit -, we like the current situation. When we got him, he was six months old, had been shot with a shotgun, beaten, and was under-weight. He is now pushing the upper-limit on weight, has always loved kid in the parks, but hates stranger who are grown, especially men, those wearing hats, and any strangers that walk up swinging something.
I’m working on those, but it’s not all bad. I walk late at night and early in the morning in a bad neighborhood, and anything he sees someone when it’s dark, he growls and BACKS INTO ME. Mom was walking him once when a hoodlum with a big knife strapped to his ankle ran up and kept trying to grab Max – who barked like mad and almost bit the guy. Only time he has ever gone for the bite. He has never bitten anyone, for that matter. Not even in the bath – and to begin with he thought we were drowning him. He actually swung round once, trying to dodge the sprayer (not on a hard setting!) and hit the faucet hard enough his forehead bled for an hour!
Still – not aggressive, or even worried unless you are a stranger AND wear a baseball cap, or sunglasses, or a poofy winter coat, or carry a bat, or have scary hair… ;)

To co-exist with another species, you need to think things out.
I have had at least one dog since before I was born, and at least one cat since second grade. I’m the best in the family for dog walking and cat grooming and any behavior problems are usually reported to me.
Two reasons why – I am stubborn. Not grin-and-bear-it, more rhymes-with-witch-and-bear-it, and that makes it a bit more difficult for me when I’m bathing the cats, as I have to concentrate on calming them. Many times, though, it helps me – like when my dog (then unwell) made the worst mess ever.
I’d gotten out of bed and immediately walked him over an hour, with plenty of chances to do his business, which he did not take. I was making cereal after giving up and putting him in his crate when I smelled something and heard barking.
He barked for a clean up crew because he had peed and poo’ed in a crate that was the right size for him and thus had just enough room to turn around, but no room for poo. I had to coax him out, wash him all over (including bum, because he had trouble with his food), and wash his crate.
Same happened later that day. Once the next day. Many times, actually, that whole month. I never yelled, or made him more fearful, though. I also never left him in his own mess because I was tired, and hungry, and aching from having twisted an ankle chasing him (during the first six weeks with a ‘problem rescue’ – do not invite anyone over who thinks “be careful with the door” means bring pizza in the front door and leave a clear shot in between you and the doorframe –doofus should have kept the pizza box in front of him, and kept his legs where they could block the no-where-near-small-dog!)
The other reason the dogs and cats are my responsibility is that I think about the problems. A lot. Max is afraid of some things, and we usually only find out by exposing him. When he barks, I look where he’s looking, and think about how to tell him it’s okay. The other day a girl in the park, who Max knows, had her hair in a weird way. African-American, with pigtail holders on either side of her head – it looked like two poofy balls.
Max freaked, and was barking, backing into me (good thing – most fearful dogs DRAG you away – Max stays between me and anything he worries about, which includes hoodlums after dark). I looked, told her that caps and such scare Max, and maybe her hair had him worried, because he was looking right at it when he barked. She used one hand to hold the hair back, and then approached Max, while I held him still. He calmed down, after a bit of petting, she let go of her hair, and he ignored it. You HAVE to determine the root of the problem before you can address it.
Step-Grandpa is another good example. Max was very afraid of him, and more afraid when he talked. Max would get close, and consider letting S-G pet him, then the latter would talk (kindly) and Max would jump away and bark in a fearful tone, looking right at the guy. He also freaked anytime he smelled S-G’s breath. Turns out, S-G had just left dialysis, and came down with a staph infection later that week. Either one could smell scary, so we hope to re-introduce them once he feels better – if it’s the dialysis, treats and visiting on a non-dialysis day may help.
If you go for a rescue dog, which is good, be prepared to puzzle until your puzzlers are sore. ;)
Also, evaluate your ability. No one inexperienced with dogs should get ‘problem dogs’. It is possible for a person who is perfectly well meaning to screw up a previously ‘perfect’ dog –don’t take one that needs something you don’t know how to give. You could compound their problems. Instead, ask for the ones given up for problems not their own – I once had a dog given up by a couple who were adopting a seriously allergic toddler. That dog would ‘potty’ the second you said the word – seriously, Mom took us all aside and told us “Don’t say ‘potty’ indoors!” Those given up for medical problems, like diabetes, or stray puppies that are young enough to not be feral are also good for beginners. When I visit the shelters, I leave the ‘perfect’ dogs and cats for people not stubborn enough to put up with the ‘problems’. You leave the ‘problems’ in the shelter till me or mine get them, and you help us enormously by making sure the shelter has plenty of money and space to care for them till I’ve got enough of a house to get more.