We need help w/our 2 yr. old rescue Boston!! - Boston Terrier Forums

jodie21383 · (#1 (**permalink**))

My husband and I have a 2 year old female Boston named Maddie that I rescued from this past January from a veterinary hospital I used to work at. Her previous owners had recently had a new baby and also downsized their house/lost their fenced in yard/etc. and found it unfair to keep her under such circumstances. I had lost my other rescue Boston 3 days before Christmas '07 and of course, had to open my heart to this little girl! I felt like it was God healing my broken heart. But since we have had Maddie, it has been one uphill battle with her. She is very defiant and difficult, hyper and high-strung. While we admit, she is a lot of fun, and very sweet, there's some things we just can't stand--I truly believe she has "selective hearing." lol She doesn't always come when called, or do things on command (i.e. sit, lay down, etc) She also has TERRIBLE seperation anxiety and cries and whines and barks very loudly when we leave and put her in her crate. She also pees in her crate. Every time! Even we are only gone for 30 minutes, it never fails. When we first got her, she seemed to pee in the house every 5 minutes...that has stopped, but she does still always go in her crate. She has also shown a little bit of dog agression--being very dominant and rough, and even humping other dogs.

The bottom line here is, I know she was "ruined" before we got her--her old owner flat out admitted to me that she "treated her like she was her baby" until she had an actual child. Maddie was spoiled rotten--her old owner took her everywhere and let her get away with everything. She never had rules or boundaries. We'd LOVE to put her through some training, but honestly can't afford it. Vets will only give you so much advice. We've tried to give her Benadryl before we crate her to help calm her down and it doesn't phase her one bit. (we live in an attic apartment and our landlady down below has testified to constant whining while we are away from home)

We KNOW she is a smart dog...she will sit, and does a few little tricks..and she is oh-so-lovable and cuddly. She loves to just sit on the couch with us and watch TV, and she's very playful. But the behavior issues she does have drive us crazy! lol

We want to work with her...we want to help her...there's no possible way we would ever imagine trying to find her a new home. My husband is a musician and travels a lot and I really do rely on Maddie's company while he's away, she helps me feel safe.

Can anyone please offer us any advice??? We are willing to try anything!!! Thank you so so much!!!

~jodie donis