I failed as a mother and a dog owner…long...positive advice needed :(

[Jylly18]

Thanks again everyone! I called Shawn today, and left a voicemail…she called me back but we can't talk till tomorrow. She was hesitant to help because of distance, but said she would do what she could, and she is looking for someone in my area. I am anxious to talk to her tomorrow, hopefully I can get some good information

[Arwen]

I agree with Andrea. Tosca was correcting. Sadly, a baby's skin isn't protected by fur nor does a baby have the reflexes of a puppy who would have been diving for cover at the first hint of snarl.

I'm so sorry that Colton was bitten. I imagine that was terrifying to you as a mom. It was a mistake. That happens. Everyone is lucky that it wasn't worse.

Colton could have bumped her. You will never know what occurred. Now to do what you can to prevent it from ever happening again. Hang in there. Reaching out and asking for help was a HUGE step!

[sharronhurlbut]

I do hope whatever trainer your able to get, can help you work with your b in your home.
Its always best if that can happen.

[Patty]

I really have nothing further to add and I'mm sure with the help you're getting this can be resolved. I agree with what has already been said and that it was purely a reprimand and natural to Tosca. As the others have said there is no point beating yourself up about something that could have happened to any one. I once adopted a dog who when he came treeated my small children as people to be disciplined when he thought they were naughty (often just invading his space)

It took us exactly a year to resolve the whole thing mainly by establishing the childrens control by hand feeding him (they took turns) Until we considered him reliable we kept a basket muzzle on him but didn't separate him from the children. It was also a matter of teaching the children too to respect his space. I know your little one is as yet too young to expect him to understand but as somebody else said time will resolve this and not much either.

[Arwen]

Just wondering how things are going?

[Jylly18]

Thanks for asking
Things are going ok…Colton is healing well, he got his stitches out yesterday, so he no longer looks like Chucky You can definitely still tell it was a bite, though, which is embarrassing when I take him anywhere.
Tosca is doing ok too...her vet visits have been fine (we have to go 3x in 10 days per law) but she is going crazy with no walks for 10 days. Monday can't come fast enough in that regard!
It hasn't been too bad, though, keeping them apart. It sucks, but it's been managable with rawhides, and rotating her between outside, and up/down with DH or I, whoever doesn't have Colton at the moment.
I have called 2 behaviorists, but so far we are playing phone tag. One I am hoping to talk to on Sunday, the other might have to wait until after the weekend. I was sick Tuesday and Wednesday so I didn't get calling as quickly as I should have. The first was recommended by Shawn Smith, and the second from my vet. After I speak to them in person, I'll try to decide who would be better for our situation. Hopefully we can get whoever it is in quickly and get working on this...so far it's been manageable, but certainly not easy. Especially with winter coming, and we can't put Tosca outside as much.
So overall we are managing just fine, and waiting for more news...I'll update again soon Thanks to everyone who helped me...it's great to have such wonderful support!

[DebraDownSouth]

Do you not have a large crate for Tosca?
Not sure what kind of rawhide, but I am of the "should be banned" group. One of my worse experiences with dogs was watching a dog strangle and die a horrible death with FIVE of us trying to hold him down to get the wet sticky rawhide chunk out. It was traumatic to put it mildly.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5901278_bad-bones-long-period-time_.html

[Quercus]

Let me know how your consult goes with the trainer you can email me at quercusbasenjis at gmail dot com

[Jylly18]

Thanks Quercus…if you don't mind, I will do that Also, if you don't mind, I might email you and ask you which seems better. I have one name I got from Shawn Smith, but she admitted she doesn't know this person in real life. I also got another name from Tosca's vet. Her vet is not all that familiar with Basenjis, but said she thought hers would be better because she had heard of the person from Shawn, but thought hers would be better for aggression issues. Both the vet and Shawn told me to look at their certifications and decide, but I have no idea what I am looking for.
Therefore, if things are still unclear after speaking to these people on the phone, I might ask your opinion if that's ok

DebraDownSouth...we do have a large crate, but we can't keep her in there all the time. We already work full time, so I can't imagine locking her up for so long, that's no life for Tosca either. As for the rawhides, I know they are not the safest thing, but we take what precautions we can. She only chews them for awhile each day, not hours on end. Also she is supervised, and I am watching for her to bite off any big chunks and things like that. I often have treats nearby and "trade" her if she gets a chunk off. I know they are scary, when we first got Tosca and didn't know any better, we let her have them and didn't take chunks away, and she did start choking once. Luckily DH was able to get it out just fine. Right now, I think with our precautions the benefits outweigh the risks, but that's just me. I know a lot of people use them, and others are hesitant

[tanza]

Jylly18…. I think you are doing all the right things to work through this!

[Jylly18]

Quercus…did you get my email? I hope the address worked...I spoke to both of the trainers, but have no idea what to look for in terms of certification and stuff. I didn't know if I should put the names on here publicly, so I emailed you. Just wondering if you had any input on which to choose, and wondering if you had heard of one of them.
Hope you don't mind my email, and thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

[Rita Jean]

I hope it all works out for all of you.

Rita Jean

[Quercus]

@Jylly18:

Quercus…did you get my email? I hope the address worked...I spoke to both of the trainers, but have no idea what to look for in terms of certification and stuff. I didn't know if I should put the names on here publicly, so I emailed you. Just wondering if you had any input on which to choose, and wondering if you had heard of one of them.
Hope you don't mind my email, and thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

I emailed you this morning Sorry about the delay!