Adopted Lhatese - Bear

by MaryAnn
(PA)

My Lhatese dog, Bear was adopted at 8 years of age when his prior owner had a baby. Bear grew jealous of the baby because he was the baby for eight years. When he nipped at the child after the child kept pulling on his collar, the owner gave him up. The first week that I owned Bear he was snarly, did not want to be picked up, would have a major attitude, and was very sad. After patience, motivational training with lots of treats, I was able to do things with Bear that he never allowed during the first two weeks. Bear allowed me to wash his face. He allowed me to pick him up and and put on his harness to go for walks. Slowly, the attitude started to change, and the kisses began. My Maltese Lhasa mix began to trust me explicitly. The only problem with Bear is he had separation anxiety when he is alone in the house. He will scratch on the door molding for hours exhausting himself. I adopted a rescue from a high kill shelter which calmed him for a bit, but only for about an hour. After an hour, he goes back to the door scratching away. We are still working on a solution. Regardless, of all that, he is the best boy. He is silly, and does funny things after he finishes a meal. He rolls on his back sliding across the hardwood floors with a ball in his mouth. He enjoys his walks. He loves the doggie park and playing with other dogs. He enjoys people and chew bones. He also likes his little sister sometimes when she is not jumping on him. She is another Maltese. She is very sweet and in her shy little way, calms Bear down for a little while.