Kuma T

 I've gotten more done today (by noon) than  I have in almost a month.  Why, you might ask?  Well, because of the aforementioned dog. 

We did, in fact, get a dog.  It's been a difficult month for me.  It is literally like having a baby and I have mourned my old life and routines.  I have tried not to feel resentful or angry, because we did pray about this and moved forward with the decision we thought we were being led to.  However, it has been a lot.  A lot!  This particular breed of dog is known for it's energy and stubbornness.  Also, it's love of people.  

We named our new creature, Kuma.  We made a long list of names and debated which would be the best.  The girls wanted Kuma (it means Bear in Japanese).  Kuma has the typical puppy behaviors, except more energy than a normal puppy.  He has literally taken over every working brain cell I have and I've cried many tears.  Perhaps that sounds dramatic to you, but it feels dramatic to me.  When I feel upset about having this dog in our home, I try to think back to the feelings we had about getting him.  We could have chosen a different breed but every time another dog/breed was discussed, Mike felt uncomfortable--More than uncomfortable, I guess.  He would say, "No, I don't think we should get a dog then" so we always came back to this one.  

Already feeling frustrated and trying to adjust to this new change to our lives, Kuma added a new level of difficulty and confusion for us.  Kuma has always been a biter, like you would imagine from a new puppy, but as I've spent more time with his siblings (the breeder is a friend of mine), I have noticed that Kuma seems more "mouthy" than the others.  I don't know how that escaped our attention when we were considering him.  Anyway, it's been really hard to get him to stop biting things.  We have read books and watched videos and done all the training they suggested.  Also, we just realized that it was going to take time for him to learn not to bite--we didn't expect him to stop right away or really any time soon.  

Last Sunday Kuma was playing with a toy Mike made for him.  It's this little toy that looks like it has octopus legs and you hide food inside the little pockets in the legs.  To keep Kuma's attention longer, Mike hooked it up to a bungie cord and dangled it from the hallway banister upstairs.  I'm not sure you need that level of information about the toy...Anway...Kuma likes to play with the toy because when he bites it, the bungie cord makes it fling up and food comes out of the legs.  He was playing with the toy and a treat flew out of a leg so Mike picked the treat up and offered it to Kuma.  Kuma calmly ate it out of Mikes hand and then Mike bent down to show Kuma that we brought a bed out into the living room for him.  As Mike bent down, Kuma bit Mike's ear, making Mike yell, and surprising Kuma.  The two of them pulled away from each other but not before Mike's ear was completely sliced.  We are sure it was an accident, though, we aren't exactly sure how or why it happened.  Mike wasn't rough housing with Kuma and Kuma was calm and unaggressive.  

I rushed Mike to the ER and Eli stayed behind with the girls to calm them.  Felicity has a healthy fear of dogs and has been working on being comfortable with Kuma.  Eli also helped to calm Kuma down, as Mike had roughly shoved? thrown? (I wasn't in the room when it happened) Kuma into his play plen, leaving Kuma confused and scared.  

3 1/2 hours and 10 stitches later, we came back home.  

Mike was insistent we get rid of Kuma, that night.  I knew were weren't going to get home until late at night and also, I said no about sending him to a pound.  We considered asking the breeders to take Kuma back but ultimately, we decided to give it a night and a day to decide.  If Kuma had bitten one of the girls he would not be able to stay in our house, regardless of it being an accident.  While waiting in the waiting room at the ER I found myself surprised by the tears.  Was I crying because all the stress of having a puppy only to have my husband's ear bitten had finally erupted in tears?  Was I crying because I didn't want to get rid of the puppy?  I honestly can't tell.  I do know that I assumed the ear biting incident would be my out.  No one could fault us for getting rid of him after giving Mike ten stitches.  I was, however, surprised, and confused, by the feelings I was having about getting rid of him.  I don't want a dog and he caused me so many tears!!  Why was I feeling sick to my stomach about giving him away?!  

The girls were heartbroken about us giving him away.  Felicity was the most surprising.  I was 100% sure she was going to have trauma about Kuma biting Mike.  I thought all the progress we had made with her and Kuma was going to be for nothing.  I felt horrible thinking that her experience with a dog was going to end with a this biting incident.  Surprisingly, she didn't seem any more scared of him than she was the day before.  I think we have all been more cautious around him and while I was patient with his biting before, I have no more tolerance for it.  If he tries to bite anyone, and won't take correction, he is immediately put in his pen.  He spent a lot of time in the pen this week.  

The following day after the trip to the ER, Mike and I did some research and found a puppy boot camp of sorts to send Kuma to.  He left on Saturday morning and will be gone for two weeks, being trained on biting, barking, jumping, as well as being crate trained and potty trained.  It isn't going to be a miraculous solution.  He is still a puppy, afterall.  However, I felt like after the bite, we all needed a little space, and we realized that we had bitten off more than we could chew, no pun intended.  The trainer will bring Kuma back and show the entire family how to train him exactly like he has been doing.  When Kuma is five months, he will go back for two more weeks and have further training.  I am hopeful.  

If we are consistent, Kuma should be able to be a great addition to our home.  I can't have a dog in our home that I feel concerned will bite my kids. If things aren't better, we will try to find him a new home.  

In truth, the last two days  have been so easy, and as I said, I've been so productive!  I actually have loved it and that makes me feel worried about him coming back.  

I guess I'm jumbled.  I can't figure out what the feelings all mean and wonder if we got our messages crossed.  How can I feel so good about having him gone but also feel like he's supposed to be a part of our family?  

In the meantime, while we figure out exactly how Kuma will be a part of our story, we have added a T to his name--Kuma T, as in Tyson, Mike Tyson.  We already have too many Mike's in our house so Kuma T will have to work.