Do I baby my Boston?

by Ann
(Canada)

Hello all. I am a proud and happy owner of a 4.5 month old Boston Terrier. What I am about to detail here is an attempt to clarify an issue for myself.

I have a friend who has 2 Bostons who I love dearly and were the very reason I decided a Boston was the puppy for me. I recently spent a night at my friends place and brought my puppy along. We were all very excited as the three dogs get along well.

Well to get to the point, my pal has accused me of babying my puppy and not liking her dogs at all. We were out a good deal of the day and the dogs were each in their own crate. My puppy has blankets to nest in as she shivers easily. She will not pee or soil her crate. I felt bad leaving the dogs in the crate for the entire day. I feel that locking them up, while it keeps them safe for short runs, is unfair to the dog in the long run.

My puppy is allowed on the couch with us at home and again does not soil the furniture. My friend takes the "my dogs come on the couch only when I say they can" approach. At one point my puppy jumped up on the couch and would not listen to my verbal command (no doubt she was confused) so my friend grabbed her and pretty much threw her on the floor in anger. She also yells at her dogs and grabs them by the scruff if they do not listen right away. I prefer to pick the dog up and put her on the floor and praise her when she stays there. Thanks to my friend my puppy cowered at my feet even at home where my husband wondered what was wrong with her.

I do take a gentle approach with my dog. I will speak firmly and praise her for a job well done but I will never hit her or yell and scream at her untill she us terrified of me. There is a difference between fear and respect.

At night at my friends I brought her crate near to the couch, covered it and made it so she could see me. I feel this eliminated the anxiety of being in a strange place - especially since her crate is in our bedroom at home.

As a final anecdote, my puppy and her 10 month old Boston love to play and rough house. At one point there was some yelping and we separated the two dogs...my friend accusing my puppy of not knowing when to quit and me pointing out that hey it was my puppy who yelped. Really petty garbage. I realize that as my friend pointed out my puppy "dishes out just as much as she takes". These two pups were playing non stop and Bostons will do untill they are completely exhausted. At my friends complaint that they never stop and that her dog was tired I picked my puppy up to calm her down and her dog kept trying to play. She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and threw him onto the blanket with her other dog and hollered "STOP". He stopped..he cowered and went to sleep.

I realize there are times when I could be more firm with my puppy. I have her in puppy classes and we work away at the skills she will need. She is however still a pup and full of goofiness. Sometimes she doesnt listen and sometimes she does. I choose to focus on the good things she does and gently steer her away from inappropriate behaviour. I think it works.

So...does it seem like I baby my puppy? I love her dearly and will do anything to give her a happy and healthy life. I do believe she is a dog but she is a family member and not JUST a dog.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading my rant.

Ann