So the dog

Sometimes I look at my husbands dog & I know he is not the greatest service dog. He is nervous & barks where his hair stands up when he meets new people. I feel like we got ripped off, like the trainer sold me this fantasy promising this dog would help us tremendously & he doesn't. I want so bad for my husband to be better that I felt like I fell for it. I have never said this before because I feel like a fool & guilty that people helped us get him. 

  When the dog was living there we were only allowed to visit him once a month for maybe 30 minutes. So every month we would drive an hour to see him & bond with him, but we never saw his living area. I asked to meet his parents that live on site & was told the father does not like strangers.  

We have brought the dog back to the trainer & seen everything threw new eyes after getting to know him,. The dog is sweet & loving & eager to please. He gets up at 4:15 in the AM to come out of his cage & give me a kiss, then go outside & try to catch the bunny that is in our yard. The bunny waits by the side stairs & when I open the door he runs towards the fence then stops & ducks under, the dog would never hurt him, we have the cat that is mean to him & he has never even barked at him, so I know the bunny is safe & I think he does too. We went back to the trainer a month or so ago & he grabbed the dog by his leash & dragged him all around, seeing this threw new eyes I thought NO NO NO! He kept saying he needs a firm hand & I said he's so sweet he doesn't though.  They said I "ruined "  him  babying him too much . I thought he wasn't perfect when we got him but I love him.  The dog was raised with all German shepherds ( they also do security dog training) when he sees a German Shepherd he will literally rear up on is back legs & fiercely growl & bark. The vet thinks he had been attacked by a German shepherd in the past  & that is why he goes on defense right away. I can't even imagine this.

BUT.... He loves us, like unconditionally loves us. He wants to lay on the bed next to Lou & just kiss him. If Lou has a seizure he whines & nudges him. He has helped Lou's depression tremendously. He has gone from 60 to 20 mg of his depression meds since the dog came to live with us. The dogs eyes are soulful like he can see your sadness & wants to fix it. He is funny, sometimes we play " scooby doo" & chase each other around the furniture.  We race around the house & he cheats slamming me into the walls on the corners then spinning in a circle when he wins. He is amazing at catching his ball, then he demands a butt scratch before giving it back for another throw. He loves bath time Thursdays, mostly because he gets a massage & a then a biscuit afterwards. He waits in the yard for me to come home from work then gives me a big kiss when I come through the gate. If the scratch & sniff Yankee catalog comes he has to sniff each page & gives the page a lick if he likes it. 

When I see him my guilt in doing the fundraising goes away, I know maybe he is not the best service dog & not the friendliest to strangers but he is amazing to us. The love he has for us just fills our house. I am willing to give up my 50th B day trip because I think he would be too nervous & I love him that much. 

We will work with him & watch You tube dog training videos & hopefully break his nervousness, fingers crossed.