I adopted Peaches in January as an ESA for my depression. She's a GSD, probably purebred from backyard breeder or a puppy mill. I love her so much, but after trying our best and working our butts off for five months, none of us are happy. This sucks. I should never have gotten a shepherd. It doesn't matter that they're my favorite breed. I don't have the home or lifestyle for one.She's got a lot of behavioral issues that could be manageable somewhere else. She's very dog reactive while on leash, especially if she's under exercised. She resource guards and has separation anxiety. She's afraid of public transport. She afraid of loud noises. She's afraid of people who are bundled up in lots layers, or who move stiffly or strangely. She's afraid of strange elevators. She's afraid of baths/showers. She's a garbage hound and will scarf anything off the ground she can.I live in a studio apartment with no yard, in a part of the city with a ton of homeless people and cheap restaurants. We're a few blocks from the stadiums, so there's always fireworks going off. We're in medium sketchiness neighborhood, so there's some gunfire too. We have no car and rely on public transport. There's a nice big dog park about a mile away.We hired a respected dog trainer to make a house call when we first got her, and we have worked with her on her issues. She had some small improvement, but not enough. We can't leave her home alone because she claws at the door. My husband works and I don't, so I've basically been trapped with her this whole time. My husband has started working from home once a week so I can go to therapy or just get away. When we're both invited somewhere, I just stay home while he goes. I've missed birthdays and going away parties.We've tried daycare but she just cried at the door the whole time she was there and they wouldn't take her again. We tried Rover but no one in range wants to deal with her issues.We give her three or four walks a day, plus dog park a couple times a week, plus basic obedience training for a few minutes several times a day. It's not enough. She whines a lot. Every time there's a bang or a boom, she cowers in the farthest corner for hours. If they happen outside she just bolts.Every walk is an exercise in constant vigilance. I have to watch for food scraps, for other dogs, for people who might be afraid of my giant dog, while still paying attention to her. It's exhausting. This weekend I wasn't careful enough and she managed to pull me off my feet trying to go for another dog. I have road rash and rope burns. Didn't let go though.None of us are happy. Not me, not my husband, and certainly not Peaches. I hate that I have to do this, and I hate I waited so long to admit it. I'm something of a rescued stray myself. I believe strongly in the concept of pay it forward. I know there are strays out there who could be a great pet for me, but I also know that with shelter shock there's no way of knowing what your rescue dog is like until you've had it a while. I know that with my mental health issues, it's just not a gamble I can take right now. I'm deeply sorry Peaches had to go through this for me to learn this lesson.TLDR: Dog is very incompatible. I should have known. I'm very sad. via /r/dogs http://ift.tt/2qxEaKd
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