Frankie is the best, most loving dog I have ever known. With that said, he has many issues, most or all of which are not his fault. The answers to the above questions about other dogs, kids, and other small animals are all true, but only in cases where the other dogs, kids, and cats were in our home, and he had time ( less than 20ish minutes) to feel comfortable with them. I got Frankie when he was about 3 1/2 months old, and he has only ever been mine. He has ALWAYS been very timid, anxious, and fearful. The bigger, stronger, and more aggressive-sounding bark he got, the more people and other animals became something he couldn't be around. In the rare case when someone outside of our family does come to our home, they are always terrified, and he is always terrified, and this rarely works out. Frankie barks at everyone when they come over (including me when I first get home). He gets amped up and scares people. To avoid this, we VERY rarely have anyone over to our home. We moved to a new neighborhood and home about three years ago. This was a difficult adjustment for Frank. Walks became almost impossible. At one point about a year and a half ago, Frankie got away from me while we were walking and charged at another dog. He knocked the person walking the dog off of her feet, and I thought he was going to kill the dog. But he didn't; the other dog (protecting his owner) bit Frank twice in the face, and unbelievably Frankie didn't do anything back. He just barked and peed. I was able to basically tackle him and get him back on his leash, dragging him away, which was almost impossible. Since this incident, walks have been almost nonexistent. Because of this, when we do try and take even the shortest walk, I have to use a choke collar which I hate, and he still almost hurts himself pulling, barking, and crying. It takes everything I have to keep ahold of him, and I am scared the entire time. It is no life for him, no life for me, and it just doesn't work. I work shift work, 12 hours shifts, with an hour and a half commute. My last child living at home just moved out, and now my animals are alone for a crazy amount of time with no one to care for them. This is not sustainable and not their fault. I have to do this. The less time spent with Frankie, the more timid or scared he gets. Now after being fully potty trained since he was a puppy, he nervous pees, even when I approach him a lot of the time. He is jumpy and anxious much of the time. If I didn't know for a fact that he has never once been hit or harmed, I would sware myself that he had been abused. Full disclosure and being totally honest - I haven't taken Frankie to the vet in over two years, and I am scared to take him anywhere. I am scared that he will freak out and something bad will happen, that I won't be able to control him, and that someone will get hurt or he will get hurt. I know that Frankie can be trained, I would bet a million dollars that he could be trained relatively quickly and be an amazing well, adjusted, awesome dog. Five years in, I am accepting that it is me who is not the right owner and likely the majority of the problem. I could write a book about this dog, how amazing, loving, and a complete mess he is, but this is a start and hopefully some of what you want to know about him. I am looking for some help from people who know and love his breed to find him a good home with someone who can give him the great life that I can't.
