dog not being taken for walk

jess1974

Clare57 whereabouts are you? if you lived near me i would happily walk your dog for nothing. Like Deep in Debt said the sunshine and weight loss is good enough for me......

mirrorimage0

jess1974 wrote: »

Clare57 whereabouts are you? if you lived near me i would happily walk your dog for nothing. Like Deep in Debt said the sunshine and weight loss is good enough for me......

same here, let us know where you are i dont mind helping out

suzanne

Hi Claire,
The Cinnamon Trust is charity that can provide help in your situation. 01736 757 9000.
Suzanne

Drea

jess1974 wrote: »

Clare57 whereabouts are you? if you lived near me i would happily walk your dog for nothing. Like Deep in Debt said the sunshine and weight loss is good enough for me......

I wouldn't mind either, never actually had a dog though but I'd give it a go

mizmir

Does not being walked bother him? You are feeling bad about it but he has your constant company, loads of time outside to play if he wants, and obviously lots of love and attention - do you think he minds not having the walks? Obviously in an ideal world all dogs would have loads of exercise as would people but we don't live in an ideal world. It is convention that says dogs can only have a stimulating life through daily walks. For most people this is the easiest way certainly - but as long as they have enough space, stimulation and care then they can be perfectly happy staying on the same property all the time. He is 8 years old - how would he feel about being rehomed? I suspect if he could talk he would choose to stay with the person he knows and loves than go somewhere new just for the sake of getting out and about. If he was a youngster or was climbing the walls then perhaps but you don't suggest he is. How about setting up some stimulating games for him? Teach him to search for things in the garden. Get some training books and do some fun training with him (heel work to music "moves", agility, tricks are all good). All these things will keep him happy and tire him out.
And try some of the ideas to find a volunteer dog walker as has been suggested - even a few times a week would be a change - and be good exercise - but if you can't then I still would think very carefully before you rehome your dog.
Good luck.

oystercatcher

It sounds to me that you need the dog there if he gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning. I also agree with previous poster that you may well end up worrying more about him if he's rehomed.
Are you getting any help for the agoraphobia? Maybe the dog could be the help to get over it . Is there somebody who could help you take him out for walks a little at a time? Maybe just to the front gate for the first week , then a couple of houses along the road for a week and then a little further depending on how you feel you may get good days and bad days but if you can build up your confidence slowly maybe you can crack this problem?
You might find it easier if you have someone with you for moral support or maybe try it on your own ?

Good luck

Oystercatcher

Misty_Blue

suzanne wrote: »

Hi Claire,
The Cinnamon Trust is charity that can provide help in your situation. 01736 757 9000.
Suzanne

I was just about to post the exact same thing! I am a volunteer with the Cinammon Trust, and I walk dogs for people who are struggling to provide proper exercise for their pets for various reasons. Illness, injury, depression, age...whatever the reason.

foreign_correspondent

Claire, I am sorry to hear about your worries, but...

Personally, I would not say rehoming him is necessarilly the best thing - you sound like a very caring owner and he spends a lot of time with you and I am sure he will be very attached to you. Also he is 8, so not the easiest prospect to rehome, and rehoming would probably be traumatic for him.

Also, as he is getting on a bit he is less likey to need as many walks as he did when he was younger, and lots of labs have to cut down on walks due to hip problems as they get older. I suppose what I am thinking, is you could re-home him, and then he could start having problems with his hips in six months, or a year, and his new owners may be advised to limit his walks anyway... I hope that makes sense.

Also, there is no guaruntee that a new owner would walk him anyway - lots of people dont after the novelty wears off!

And, I believe you will overcome your agrophobia in time, and your dog pal may be the best ally you could have in achieving this.

Jules66_2

And I thought it was only me who worries and feels guilt about how little I walk my four legged friend........

Please, please don't rehome your dog - you'd suffer and so would he.

I can totally empathise with your situation, I too, at the moment, can only motivate myself to do anything because I have to look after and care for my dog. I feel that my illness is my problem and neglecting him would be cruel and unfair - he can't help that I'm ill and he doesn't understand, even though I talk to him about it.....

What others tell me, and I know when I'm well enough to think rationally, is that he is perfectly happy with the living arrangements we have and he's fit and healthy too. Also that if I hadn't rescued him he wouldn't be alive today! I rescued him from a local animal sanctuary nearly 4 years ago; I was suffering from a really bad and dark episode of depression at the time and when I was asked by a friend what was the one thing that I wanted in the whole my reply was 'a dog'. I wasn't well enough to go anywhere to find one so I went on the web and looked on local sanctuary websites - and that's where I found him.

It was instant love at first site. I read through lots of sad stories and looked at many pictures of potential furry friends, but as soon as I saw him I knew it was meant to be and that he was there just waiting for me. To be honest he wasn't the most handsome or friendly looking but what attracted me to him was how sad, depressed and in desperate need of someone to love him he appeared - all the things that I was feeling at that time.

Two days later I went along to view him and found him out in a back kennel away from visitors and only accessible because I asked where he was, much to the surprise of the staff. Me and my friend took him for a walk and even before we had got out of the gates of the sanctuary I was saying to her that I had to have him. She tried to reason with me and point out how much care and attention he would need to recover - he was covered in scabs and it was impossible to pat him because his skin flaked off and began to bleed.

We took him back to the pound and began discussing him with the manager, she seemed genuinely amazed to find that I was so ready to take him on with all his problems, but could see that I was serious and would do a good job. So much so that we took him home the same day, she waived the normal adoption fee and said that as long as I agreed to take him along to their vet that they would cover the cost of treatment until he was in a much more healthy state.

I arrived home with my new friend, with provisions given to us from the sanctuary as I had nothing and hadn't been expecting to be allowed to adopt before my home had been checked and they were sure that I was committed to caring for an animal. I didn't even have a gate on my garden I was that unprepared. It took about 5 months to get him back into to good health and lots of visits to the vet and back and forth to the sanctuary for his 2 baths every week with special medicated shampoo - but together we did it.

Sounds like I did a lot but in actual fact he did more for me; he gave me a purpose, a reason to go on living, companionship, love and most of all someone who didn't judge me or my illness. I still firmly believe that I was meant to find him and that he was waiting for me to go and get him. Sanctuary staff called me his guardian angel but in fact someone (no idea who) had sent me mine :T

Sorry, that ended up being a very long ramble about me when all I wanted to do was offer you some support and understanding, sorry.

I do manage to walk him at least twice a day, but only for about 10 minutes each time. I also work which means he's left on his own, but I work part time and only 5 minutes from where we live. I worry that I don't walk him for long enough and that I shouldn't leave him for as long and as often as I have to, I feel really guilty about it all the time.

He is perfectly happy with these arrangements, he knows he gets taken out before I leave the house and as soon as I return, and that he has treats everyday as well. He gets the full run of the house, has a double bed all to himself and can do whatever he feels like doing when I'm not around. Although he loves me to bits he is quite independent and so when I'm home and would be quite happy to snuggle down for a cuddle he's usually off somewhere else doing his own thing - usually sleeping in the back garden!

So basically what I'm trying to say is that you both need each other and deserve to be together. Now is actually the time to let him help you. He's already doing some of it now, he's your motivation for getting out of bed and also for getting into the fresh air - who cares if it's only the garden, I don't, I think it's far better than what I manage when all I do is sit at my computer and only venture out for the two sessions of walking that I mentioned earlier. In fact I'd say that you spend more time with your dog than I do mine :A.

The Cinnamon Trust sounds like the right place to go for help, even though you aren't doing anything wrong to or with the dog. What I would suggest, and I do know how hard it will be for you to do, is that if you can arrange someone to come and walk him let them do it for a while and then pluck up the courage that I believe you've got buried deep within, and start to go with them. As someone else suggested, start very slowly and gradually increase how far you go. He'll love that you are doing it because he will understand its different from normal and he'll be there to support you and help you to do it! I always advocate taking small steps on the road to recovery as they are far more easy to maintain and eventually you will look back and realise just how far you've traveled - quite literally in your case.

Here's the link to the Cinnamon Trust:
http://beehive.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/default.asp?WCI=SiteHome&ID=6544&PageID=34979

Give it a go, what have you got to lose?

Take care and good luck.

Jules
Mental health support worker
Sufferer of clinical depression

TomandBarbara

clare57 wrote: »

thanks for your replies. I am able to go out in the garden (probably because it is totally private)and i spend time out in the garden with him. To be totally honest he is the only reason i get out of bed at all so i do understand why pets are recommended for people with mental health problems. BUT i think the guilt at not taking him out is making me more depressed.

where do you live Clare?