New House, New Dog?

Throwing the biggest temper tantrums, giving me his “I don’t want to talk to you” face, not eating his food until I leave the room, and driving me crazy— no, it’s not my brothers; it’s my dog, ever since we've moved, it’s like everything I've taught him is still at my old house.

I have this stuffed elephant that’s bigger than I am. I get home from school— Gibbs is chewing on it on my bed. It is bad enough he was on my bed to begin with, but he’s chewing on my elephant. Who does he think he is? I grab it from him, and he barks and growls at me as if I was trying to hurt him. I tell him to stop but that doesn't seem to work. Usually if I tell him to stop, he will do so without hesitation and without a second to lose. I drag him outside and keep him out there for a while. My elephant isn't badly ruined, but it disappoints me that he’d even do this in the first place; I thought I've trained him better.

Putting it all aside, I go outside to do my observations, and Gibbs is on the other side of the yard. I grab his ball and throw it. He just stands there and watches it. I walk towards him, and he keeps getting farther and farther away from me. I start to chase him, and he begins to run. When I finally give up, he still keeps his distance. What is wrong with this dog? I sit on the grass and watch him. Eventually, he lies down and stares at me. He keeps his distance but watches me the whole time. I start to walk inside, and he follows. Gibbs still keeps his distance the whole time; as he gets inside the house, I rush at him and force him to play with me. He simply just can't or is too stubborn to. I go into the kitchen and put food in his bowl. He walks straight towards it and lies right next to it, staring at me. What is this dog trying to prove? I walk to the television to change the channel, and Gibbs begins eating his food. As soon as I get back, he stops. He is driving me insane. I can't handle him changing or him just showing how he truly acts.

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I sat down to finish my observations, but I couldn't write how bad of a dog he was being. He was being a bad dog, but in my mind, I knew he wasn't intentionally doing this. According to Laura Garber, “Dogs can be sensitive to changes in their lives, just as humans can be… all of these can upset a dog’s routine and trigger troubling behavior changes” (Garber). In the back of my head, I knew it was the move, but was too focused on how much the move would affect me that I didn't realize how much it affected Gibbs. New house— it means a new place to adapt to and get used to. I think it’s harder on dogs than humans. Humans have different roles and responsibilities in their lives, it’s practically mandatory to get used to change. Dogs have one role, to be a dog. What humans usually don’t realize is how sensitive dogs can be when their surroundings change dramatically. We all might want to believe that our dog doesn't have an opinion to certain changes, but they do. We have to take their feelings into consideration when making decisions as big as moving into a different house.

I never once thought that Gibbs wouldn't like the house because I never even considered if he would or not. It may be the house or it may be just him needing to be trained again, whatever the case, I had to make him see the house as his new home. I grabbed his leash and forced it on him. I started walking him around the house— inside, outside, through every room, closet, and every inch of the backyard. Soon he began to roam through the house without me forcing him to (like it’s always been), so I took his leash off. We started to play in the backyard like we always did. I left him out there so he could sniff around and get used to it. I knew by how fast he was running around, trying to explore the whole backyard that he was beginning to get comfortable around it— that’s all I've wanted. I took him inside and he lay down on his bed next to the fireplace. Ever since we've moved, I haven’t ever seen him lie there. It made me smile. I lay on the couch next to him, and he cuddled underneath my feet. We both took a deep breath, and, in that moment, we were both thinking the same thing— this is our new home.  

Garber, Laura. “Tips to Help Your Dog Deal with Life Changes”. Today Pets and Animals. N.p. 28  
          Sept. 2012. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.