She was out in the yard barking crazily at a wild animal outside of our fence. All of a sudden, she whimpered and fell over onto her side, eyes and mouth still open. That was the end for my dear, sweet, wild girl that I’ll miss with all my heart.
She was a runner and had significant leash reactivity since I adopted her from a neighbor 7 years ago. We had always been working on positive reinforcement training, but she’d bit another reactive dog several months ago so I’d been especially vigilant since the incident. Unfortunately her fear-based reactivity led her to be overly anxious at any other animal she saw, even if she was in our fenced yard. I tried the vet behaviorist route (unfortunately there was only one in my area, who did not think any medication was warranted and really didn’t help my dog at all). We had found a great trainer though, and I worked hard to set consistent rules with my girl.
Despite all the issues I’d have over the years with her, she was truly my best friend. She cuddled next to me in bed at night, sleeping like a baby. She laid in her bed next to my desk, suffering through endless Zoom meetings and phone conversations. She followed me everywhere and was always so excited to see me when I returned home. She loved it when the neighbors or other family came to visit and cuddled right up to people like she’d known them forever.
I never knew how hard this would be, or how much it could hurt. Right now I’m just grief stricken and in some way I feel like I failed her. Thanks for reading, if nothing else this was just a cathartic exercise for me.
EDIT: Thank you all for the outpouring of love and sympathy. Even though we are seemingly Reddit strangers, we share a common bond here with our reactive pets. From the bottom of my heart, I thank each one of you for your comments.
She was a runner and had significant leash reactivity since I adopted her from a neighbor 7 years ago. We had always been working on positive reinforcement training, but she’d bit another reactive dog several months ago so I’d been especially vigilant since the incident. Unfortunately her fear-based reactivity led her to be overly anxious at any other animal she saw, even if she was in our fenced yard. I tried the vet behaviorist route (unfortunately there was only one in my area, who did not think any medication was warranted and really didn’t help my dog at all). We had found a great trainer though, and I worked hard to set consistent rules with my girl.
Despite all the issues I’d have over the years with her, she was truly my best friend. She cuddled next to me in bed at night, sleeping like a baby. She laid in her bed next to my desk, suffering through endless Zoom meetings and phone conversations. She followed me everywhere and was always so excited to see me when I returned home. She loved it when the neighbors or other family came to visit and cuddled right up to people like she’d known them forever.
I never knew how hard this would be, or how much it could hurt. Right now I’m just grief stricken and in some way I feel like I failed her. Thanks for reading, if nothing else this was just a cathartic exercise for me.
EDIT: Thank you all for the outpouring of love and sympathy. Even though we are seemingly Reddit strangers, we share a common bond here with our reactive pets. From the bottom of my heart, I thank each one of you for your comments.
