I am a cruel owner!

[Nudibranch]

Feel very guilty this morning. Puppy, who is nearly 9 months, decided to do a runner from the park, all the way back to the house. I followed him, he kept turning round to look and then running off! I had visions of him running under cars and all sorts, he only stopped when he got to the front door.

I knew I should have put him back on the lead and taken him straight back to the park but I was SO angry with him I picked him up and gave him the b*llocking of his life and a smacked bum. Then put him in the garden. He sat there, head on paws, until I let him back in. He looked so dejected I spent the next 10 minutes trying to win him back round.

Anyway I am feeling horrible for losing my temper with him, I am normally always calm and rational - I've had lunatic ex racers behaving worse than this... it was the utter defiance and idea of him running into the road. I am officially a bad owner!

 

[AmyMay]

Ah well, lesson learnt - for you that is.

He won't have had a clue what he was being punished for of course.....

 

[yipster]

Don't beat yourself up - puppy will have forgotten all about it by tonight. Everyone reacts differently when we're frightened and that's all it was - you being frightened that he'd get hit by a car.

Also just to add when my puppy wonders away from me i turn my back and walk away from him and he always follows. If i chase after him he'll keep running. Might not work for everyone but it does the trick for me.

 

[Acolyte]

Gosh dont worry about it really - as someone else has said, you were frightened he would come to harm, and that manifested itself as being cross once you knew he was OK. In an ideal world we would not react like that, but this is not an ideal world and I have done the same myself in the same circumstances.

He is a dog not a human at the end of the day - he wont bear grudges

 

[nijinsky]

Of course you're not a cruel owner. They love you unconditionally & as previous poster said will have forgotten all about it in no time.

I think I've only ever lost my temper with my staffie when he was a puppy once, I didn't smack him but I really, really shouted at him and he ran back in the house to his bed from the garden & when I got there he was trembling with fear. I too felt awful but then it's over with.

 

[Nudibranch]

Cheers Yipster, Acolyte and Nijinsky - feel a bit better now! I usually use the walk away tactic and it works fine, he's normally very good but today I think he decided to test the boundaries...

 

[Angua2]

it wasn't the fact you were cross with him more it is the thought of what could have happened. Parents do it with their kids too

I wouldn't worry about it he still loves you. and you are not a bad owner either

 

[Spotsrock]

you can't emotionally damage him with one telling off, he might be a little guy but he's tougher than that!!! managed to take himself home all by himself didn't he?!!! Now that's tough! Obviously there was risk but a miss is as good as a mile this time, at least he knew where he was going and went. I'd be pleased he knows way home. Work on his traffic awareness if your worried about it happening again.
x

 

[Gingerbird]

[ QUOTE ]
Gosh dont worry about it really - as someone else has said, you were frightened he would come to harm, and that manifested itself as being cross once you knew he was OK. In an ideal world we would not react like that, but this is not an ideal world and I have done the same myself in the same circumstances.

He is a dog not a human at the end of the day - he wont bear grudges

[/ QUOTE ]

Totally agree with the above.

My pup did this once to my OH. It was peeing down, blowing a gale, freezing cold and pitch black. Barnes decided it wasn't a nice morning for walk, so he buggered off full pelt and sat outside the house waiting for OH to catch him up.

OH reacted just as you did, because not only was he terrified that B would get hurt but also that I would rip him limb from limb if B did get hurt or lost!!!!!!