[Dekoi]

I have a very beautiful Miniature dachshund and he is like my second child. I am insanely protective of him. We got him when he was 8 weeks old from a breeder and he was cute as cute could be. He is about 18 weeks old now and he thinks he owns everything he touches, including us!:D He's never been crate trained, in fact he's only been in a crate once and I really didn't like it. He was sooo sad. So I don't deal with the crate thing. I'm a stay-at-home Mom, so I am always here with him, he even sleeps with me. He is laying on my lap asleep as I type this. Zim (our daschund) is very bright and learns tricks fast and is easily trained. When I tell him to "Go potty." He knows exactly what I'm saying and what I mean. He goes straight to his litter box and eliminates.

Okay, now that I have probably bored you with my ramblings I shall go on.

So here's the replay:
April 8, 2006
My husband, my daughter Saira, Zim, and I were outside in our front yard and part of our neighbors yard playing. Our next door neighbor is getting a brick ledge put in his yard, so his yard is filled with huge piles of dirt. Which Saira and Zim have a blast playing on. They get so dirty!:eek: They were doing what they normally do, and that is digging huge holes in the dirt. Saira starts the hole and Zim starts digging rapidly helping her finish it. As the dirt was flying everywhere Saira's friend Mikayla comes over and wants to play. A few seconds later her brother Sean is coming out and so is their Grandmother. I know these people fairly well, their daughter is very good friends with Saira. So I trusted them.

Just so you know these people are not our next door neighbors with the dirt, they are the next door neighbors to the people who house the dirt.

Mikayla and Saira are playing with Zim and the little brother comes over and he has this huge and I mean HUGE thick metal spoon. I'm thinking why in the heck does this kid have this spoon outside. It looked rather expensive and it was definitely heavy. Anyway Sean comes over and starts to pet Zim and saying "Good dog" and such. Then he runs off and starts sliding down the pile of dirt.

I look down at Zim and he is sniffing away at the ground so I ask him if he has to go potty. He starts circling, round and round he goes, which I suppose is his way of telling me yes. So I say "Go potty." He runs over to a grassy spot where the blade are pretty high and starts scratching at them. For a moment I think he's forgotten what he was supposed to be doing because he starts to play. So I say again "go potty." As I say this Sean comes running out of nowhere like the Flash and whacks the spoon against Zims head and my mouth dropped. To top it off he hits him once more on the back VERY hard and I hear Zim crying. It all happened so fast I couldn't stop it.
I looked at the kid and said sternly. "Do. Not. Hit. My. Dog!!!!" Okay maybe it was more angry than stern, but I was beyond mad. I felt like taking that spoon and whacking that kid in the head with it. I know I may sound dramatic, but I LOVE this dog, he is truly my child and I spoil him as such.

Anyway I run over to Zim and pick him up and pet and kiss him to soothe his whimpers to nothing. The Grandmother who saw the whole thing says to me, "Oh...he's only 8." At that I really had lost all vocabulary and my brain could not perform a proper or appropriate sentence. Then she had the audacity to start petting Zim, my eyes nearly detached themselves from the retina. I turned away so she couldn't have access to my baby.

Then... get this... Sean runs on the big pile of dirt and the Grandmother quickly goes over there and spanks him. If you could have seen my face you would certainly have been appalled for it melted from the heat of my anger. I looked at her with a confused expression and said, "You spank him for going on a pile of dirt? But you don't reprimand him for hitting my dog twice. A living being? You promote these acts of cruelty?" That kid is out of control. He's always running away and destroying the neighborhood. The Grandmother just looked at me and I believe it was her turn to be at a loss for words. Because she said nothing, she just stared. So I told Saira to come on and let's go in the house.

In the house!! That is where I believed all problems and memories of 'The Sean Incident' would be annihilated from our memories. Boy was I wrong!
The next day I took Saira and Zim outside so we could swing. And an hour or more goes by and I see this blur swoosh by me. It's Sean! With no socks or shoes in a wife beater and pajama short bottoms. You'll never guess what he did... he hit Zim again, with that spoon. It happened so fast time could have stopped. I looked around for the Grandmother and she was just smiling. I was like okay... this is... strange and stupid.

I didn't get it, I will never get it, I have no clue as to why the Grandmother had a smile on her face. Did she plan the whole thing. Was this an evil plot to destroy my dog... Seriously I am so confused. I just don't get it. That family was rumored to have a lot of mental problems and such but I didn't witness it until that day. A smile that really held no emotions was trying to soothe me? Scare me? I don't know. It was like I was in some horrible B movie horror flick.
Despite the fact that everything felt surreal and generic I was irritated, angry, furious... tired of the stupidiy and nonsene. Games that only children play.

I asked the kid why he keeps attacking my dog. He says because Zim bit him... LOL that's a laugh and a half. If I could have fallen, I would have right through the swing below the cement, frozen in a state of perpetual laughter and the idiocism that other minds create. Zim is the most gentle pet I've ever owned. He is completely nothing but sweet. I said "Well I'm through playing these inane games with you and you're grandmother and if you decide to abuse my dog again I will call the Humane Society and ASPCA."

With that said Saira, Zim, and I went into our safe haven... THE HOUSE! YAY for the house where Zim feels safe and goes potty in his litterbox...

Oh... wait rewind, pause, replay in slow mo, Sean hitting Zim while I'm saying go potty... flash forward.

Oh yeah... no place is a safe haven for my Zimmy. He probably lives in a world where spoons are walking after him just waiting to strike when he eliminates.

Every time I say "Go potty." Zim started to cower and lay his head down and shake. Sometimes he would roll over on his back and put his paw up. Every time he has to go to the bathroom he gets so scared he starts to shake and run to a corner and hide. I was broken... I mean my dog has this whole new side. All because of that child. That child broke my dog. I started crying and saying to Zim it's okay to go potty, it's okay. So I called my vet and told him the situation and he said just be gentle with him and encourage him give him treats for no reason. I do that. But nothing works he is terrified of his litter box. He is even more terrified to eliminate outside. He did go in his potty on two different occasions and I praised him and gave him a treat. I thought wow things are going really well. But they weren't he is still terrified. He will hold it until he's about to burst. He just won't go to the bathroom and it's killing me to see my dog like this. He's just a puppy and I want him to have a happy life and good memories. The good part about it is it didn't effect any other part of Zim. He still plays normally, gives us kisses, performs his tricks on command, eats normally, and everything! It's just when the need to go potty arises he turns into a whole other dog. He is completely different and I don't know him anymore. He whines, whimpers, cowers and rolls over if you try to pet him, walks with his body very low to the ground, sometimes he drags his legs behind him. It is breaking my heart to see him like this. I don't know what to do. Please help me, give me advice, and anything I can do to help Zim get rid of this fear. Thank-you.

Bleh... sorry for misspelling dachshund so many times... I always get it wrong one time and right another.

[Hypatia]

It sounds like first you need to contact someone about this kid hitting your dog. it is a crime I think to do that. Also animal abuse is often a sign of trouble with a child. You might be helping him more than you know. It is written that children who abuse animals have a strong predisposition for becoming a criminal and abuser.
Second disassociate the words "go potty" from your dog and elimination. Begin to train him in another area of the yard with a phrase like "Lets make tinkle" or something unlike in any way the usual statement. Reward him for eliminating and say good dog etc. But you must remove the words go potty all together. No Go Tinkle, no Try To Potty.
I think if you change his habit with love and reinforcement he should be ok. Also you might want to take him to obedience class with you. By going to class you will establish a rule base with him that will add to your bond and to the halting of any little bad behaviors he can develop over time. The way you sound on how you love him, I think this would be a wise decision for you both.

Hypatia

[Dekoi]

Hypatia,
Yes, I have considered reporting the child but I was unsure if that was the right thing to do. But how you put it by saying I may be helping him more than I know...Then yeah I think I should call.
As for obedience class I am totally going to sign up for that. I was just talking to my vet about it, but I wanted to make sure I could get a class alone because Zim's attention span is like Homer Simpson's. The minute he sees other puppies he'll want to play forever.
I will change Go potty to Tinkle, it makes sense to change the phrase. It's just that I'm so used to saying it I will have to break myself from it. But I will do everything within my power to get him back to the way he was. Thank-you so much for your advice I truly appreciate it.
~Dekoi

[fredg]

Hi,
Your dog has you trained! He is the dominant one in the family, and is dominant over you. You will have to show him he is not the "boss", nor the "leader of the pack" with you. Dogs are happiest when you are, and the only way you can be happy is by having him be under your control, not the other way around.
I highly recommend a video by Ceaser Millan, a Professional Dog Behaviorist. He rehabilitates dogs, and trains people.

He has his own TV program, the Dog Whisperer, on the NGEO (National Geographic) channel, on Friday nights mainly, but also comes on some other days. This video is available from:
http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/
I also ordered his new book, "Ceaser's Way", from Walmart online, around $15 US, and it's very good!

There are other good videos available on the web, but this one is really worth your attention.

Dog classes are good, but everything learned must be inforced on a daily basis.
Persistence and consistency are the key words. If you get the TV channel, I am sure you will be "hooked" on watching Ceaser's program... it's awesome!

[Dekoi]

Okay I have something very sad to tell you... I LOVE CESAR MILLAN!! Here is the sad part I can not do anything he has done on his show. I tried... I REALLLY have. I have recorded many episodes of Dog Whisperer too... and it is so hard to do what he does. I don't know how he does it, he's freaking amazing! I try to walk my dog the way he walks dogs. (I mean the guy can walk a dog while on a skateboard!! Freaking rad!) I make Zim walk next to me and I tug on the leash when he tries to stray but it is so hard because he is sooooo far to the ground. There was one time when he walked next to me perfectly and I was on cloud nine. And I think it was because I was stress free that day and I was calm. I try to remember what Cesar said about how we can transfer our energy to our dog, and I don't want to do that if it's negative or unhealthy energy or emotions. I don't want Zim and I to be out of step or out of place. Watching The Dog Whisperer has helped me A LOT. I've gotten Zim to do things I would have never thought he would do. I want to be like Cesar and just go in a room and be able to say shh and just point and the dog obeys, or be able to just say relax when the dog is over excited. But I really have been trying tips from Cesar. Don't be surprised if you see me on his show. He is coming to our town pretty soon and I am going to send in a video and everything else to enter. I NEED help! Thanks for commenting

[fredg]

HI,
WOW; you are a very fast learner!!
Congratulations on getting the dog to walk a few times like you want it to!
The key is persistence and consistency! Keep it up, walking the dog about 45 minutes a day. Tiring out a dog, is good for it. They are use to running in packs, in nature. Notice the "running" word; it tires them out, ready to eat, poop, etc. then relax.
Ceaser is the first one to say that all this takes time. Sometimes, it takes 3 months of being consistent to get results you want, and for the dog to be much happier. Best of luck to you, and hang in there.
Now about your own feelings of stress or whatever; don't worry about it. Just do the best you can, and you will be amazed at the changes!!