Must Vent.

I absolutely HATE the way my mom deals with her dog. He is spoiled little shit and she is so inconsistent about dealing with him that it's no WONDER he behaves the way he does (but she still wonders why!) Aargh.

1. She thinks that just because she's giving him dog treats while we're sitting down to eat (instead of people food like she did with previous dogs) that it's somehow better. Yet, then she yells at the dog for jumping up on her for more after she tells him "no more." Er, you're dealing with a DOG. You just gave him treats 2 minutes before and now you're yelling at him because he wants more? Am I the only one that thinks this is idiotic?

2. Almost every night the dog gets people food mixed into his dog pellets as a treat. Er, it isn't a treat if it happens all the time. "He won't eat it otherwise." Yeah, because he KNOWS you'll give him something better if he plays hunger strike for a night. If you only give him pellets then he'll figure out he has to EAT pellets if he wants to eat. I maintain, he'll get hungry enough and eat them.

3. He is allowed up on my mom's lap at the dinner table after she has finished eating. Obnoxious and uncalled for.

4. He bites and they (my parents) don't do a damn thing about reprimanding him for it. If he gets hold of something he shouldn't have (say, a tissue, magazine, sock, scarf, dishcloth etc., etc.) and you try to take it away from him, he will bite. I've been bitten by him a few times and, yes, he's broken the skin. Does he get punished? Is anything done to try to change this behavior in any long-term way? No. Let me say that if/when I have kids, I will NOT feel comfortable letting them anywhere near that dog.

5. And just because I find it obnoxious, he's a fucking little, white shih tzu. Obnoxious, obnoxious, obnoxious.

I am not a dog person, but I have also been spoiled by how WELL behaved Jon's dog is. Fina is not allowed in whatever room a person is eating in. She has to sit at the outside door until whoever is walking her says "ok" and lets her go. She has to sit at intersections when on a walk. She is a 90lb white German shepherd and is INFINITELY better behaved than Dante (the shih tzu). I have the hardest time not completely blowing up anytime my mom lets Dante do something bad/obnoxious/dangerous etc but I know she won't listen anyways. It's like beating my head against a wall.

I hate to say it, but I can not STAND that dog. Ugh.