[Starlette]

Good morning.

My apologies for not responding soon. I'm glad many of you agree with me that spanking in general is not good for a puppy.

@Teresiana – You stated, “ ‘Since your mom says that Julie "has to learn", maybe you could actually show her the way you would handle the situation. That way, she can see & practice a new method.’ ” They have seen me MANY times how I have Julie get busy in their front yard. What I do is attach a 16 foot leash to her harness and escort her to the front yard to get busy. This leaves her no chance of her running around the front yard or out onto the street. There are times when they follow this procedure, but most of the time they don't. Understand that my parents are in their early 70s. With my dad, he has end time liver disease and I believe he has some dementia. Combined these two together, Dad has a hard time remembering how I want her to go outside to get busy. As for Mom, there are times where she will put Julie on a leash, and most of the time she won't. IMHO, I don't feel comfortable leaving Julie with them for an extended period of time due to the circumstances at hand.

@Teresiana – You stated, “Then again, I don't know how the set up is at your mom's house”. I will explain. The reason my parents have Pablo, Tori and Julie get busy in the front yard that is not fenced is because they have Chance (Golden Retriever and Pit Bull mix. Who has been abandoned by my brother and basically dumped onto my parents to take care of, which personally I never thought was in the best interest of Chance or my parents. He has never been socialized, and pretty much lives in the backyard alone till around 8 or 9 PM in the evening; Hangs out with my parents for about 30 to 45 minutes and then is escorted to his crate for the night. Truly a dogs’ life! *shakes head in sadness*) He is another story altogether. I am giving you a brief summary as to why my parents have Pablo, Tori and Julie go out the front door to the front yard (unfenced) to get busy. Lastly, they have a wooden 6 foot fence that surrounds the backyard where Chance stays.

I noticed that Mom gave her one spank on the bottom. I asked Mom about the intensity of the spank. She stated, "real hard". I don't know if she was serious or just kidding. This is why I don't like her way of disciplining Julie or her two dogs.

@MomtoJasper – You stated, "Do you have friends that would be willing and able to keep her while you are gone?” Wish we did, but we don't. Sabu has always gone to doggy daycare during those times we were away that he could not accompany us.

@Magnus – You stated, “Another option would be pet sitters? Not sure about where you live but there are sitters that puppy sit in their own home where I am”. Are you suggesting that the puppy stays in the pet sitters’ home while you're are gone? I have never heard of this before. If you are suggesting that Julie stay at a pet sitters' home, how would you interview that person?

Lastly, I’ve thought about leaving her at doggy daycare with Sabu. My concern there is that I am currently trying to socialize Julie with other puppies at Petco. However, she is very timid. I don't think staying at doggy daycare would be in her best interest and help her “socialize" with other puppies. I would feel this would traumatize her instead. When she was born, she was born in a litter of four puppies total. Three of the four puppies died in the first couple of weeks, Julie was the only survivor. Therefore, she has pretty much grown up alone without any sibs to learn from and play.

Thank you for reading my post in this difficult/sensitive predicament.
Starlette