Good Bye to Trooper

Well, we had to say good bye to Trooper. He had been on "probation" in my mind since Kelby's bite. He had started doing a little better around his food with Michael, but he remained a crazy nipping dog. He never fully got over being protective of his food when Kelby was around, and was still especially bad when other kids were around. He just never settled down. We had been trying all the tips and hints to train a dog, but he just hasn't responded to any of them. So after some heart wrenching time of thinking it all through, I decided to call the breeder to see if they would want him back. They said it was no problem at all and came to get him for me yesterday. On the web, I found some information about dominance aggression in Springer Spaniels. It seems to be a tendency for them. I think the better hunting dog you have, the worse it is as a pet. He was always trying to let us know that he was the leader of the pack...at least over the kids. That is what all the nipping was about. Mike said that if he would at least like to be petted and loved, he might have been an okay dog, but he was just never happy with us and was always nipping when we were just trying to love him. I will really miss him, but it will be better this way. He needs a family with no kids or much older kids that can be his boss. I made sure that Kelby got to say good bye. She did just fine. I told her that he was going back to stay with his Mom and Dad. She cried a little bit and said, "But, I wanted a puppy." So she'll miss him, but she also remembers him biting her and is a little relieved to be done with that. We are still thinking we might like another dog, but we'll have to find a much older dog that is just right for us. It was a lesson we had to learn on our own. I'm not sad that we tried...it was a good experience...all except the bite part.

I just can't believe how easy-going Kelby has been with this all. I really think she is amazing. Nothing really phases her. She has the strongest spirit I have met. She quickly forgave Trooper before and now she doesn't hold a grudge against me for making him leave. She has so much inner strength. She's my hero.

Kelby won't let me stop swinging her now that she has her own swing set. I am glad we have it, because it has served as a great distraction from Trooper. At least we still have something fun to do in the back yard. I need to go get a special swing for Tegan because she is jealous of her big sister. She's not quite big enough for the regular swing.

Overall we are doing really well. I am taking a big deep breath after all the partying. I think this week will prove to be relaxing. We hope everyone has a wonderful Fourth of July! We'll be going to a parade tomorrow, so Kelby should be happy! God bless.