Lynnann Gast

Review of Fox Valley Humane Association

I adopted a young puppy, listed as a lab/retriever...

I adopted a young puppy, listed as a lab/retriever mix from Tennessee. I figured it was not lab, but maybe a hound mix of some kind. After my disappointment I found out she was pitbull. I went back in to complain that a pitbull was not what I signed on for and the lady dog shamed me like I was dog racist or something. She threatened if i returned her we could not adopt for 6 months, and with her attitude i doubt they would ever choose us for a dog. We had watched a few Ceasar shows and knew a dominant species was not for our family. She was a sweet puppy so we thought maybe this lady was right and kept her. Fast forward 5 months we start giving her freedoms like laying on our bed....she started pooping in her kennel, running off, ignoring calls. We went for a vet visit. She had no health issues. We hired an amazing trainer, and have found out that we were not setting the right rules for this breed. She is now in line after an amazing 3 days but it is too early to tell if she will ever completely fall in line. We will not know for possibly a year if we will be able to have her sleep in the bed or allow her on the furniture. Thevworst part is I have a five year old who is very heart broken that she can't play (part of training)....my biggest question is if my five year old doesn't show his dominance can I trust her around him. These kind of dogs require rules, she may have to have these strict rules forever, depending on her personality. She may accept we are alpha, but them again she might compete forever for that position. Now we have plenty of love invested in her and I am at square one.....I don't think she a good fit for our family? Had the lady at the counter just said I am sorry your questioning this, they can require some extra work...I could have made a more educated decision.