Baxter...seriously??

A blurry but recent "mug shot"
...see how sad and guilty he looks!

Baxter is going through some sort of emotional crisis...seriously.  I'm not sure what is going on...but it's gotta stop.  I'll lay this out there and take full responsibility-- We have never given Baxter the structure, training, or boundaries a dog like him needed to be well behaved.  We dropped the ball on dog training, but we also have a VERY difficult dog.  For a little over 3 years, we have tolerated Baxter's unruly antics and charades, but this is no longer an option.  He's got to learn discipline and we've got to follow through with it.

What exactly is going on??? Well... In the past month he has become increasingly more needy.  He will throw his huge head on you and FORCE you to pet him.  He does not back off.  He is less aware of his size and Ella's size and has knocked her down while being unruly on several occasions which is totally dangerous an unacceptable.  He is becoming more neurotic and chews at himself constantly (he has flea meds, so it's not fleas).  He tries to lunge through the glass door to attack our awesomely nice postman every time he sees him.  He has become territorial and is becoming aggressive towards people entering the property.  NO no longer means NO...he does as he pleases.  And his most disgusting new behavior (as if the others weren't bad enough)...drum roll please...the dog who only had 1 accident as a puppy has started MARKING.  It started with moving boxes and has moved on to mattresses and Ella's belongings.  This makes me LIVID...I just can't tell you how much it riles me.

SO-- we've hit a brick wall.  Baxter has got to SHAPE UP or literally we can't do it anymore.  We are people that take responsibility for our animals.  We have kept, cared for, and loved Emma Bear the Cat for the past 8 years even though we are not cat people and will continue to care for her unless she finds a wonderful home (**side note--she is still up for adoption).  And we will continue to do everything we can to keep Baxter...we adopted him and want to follow it through...he is our pet.  But, some days he just makes it so hard.  So here is our next step...Baxter will be enrolled in a doggie training boarding school program when we move to Roswell that will last 2 to 4 weeks (depending on how long he needs).  This program is not cheap, but we have to make the investment to rescue ourselves and him  from this craziness.  He will board with 2 other dogs also in need of intense intervention training and will hopefully be returned to us a new dog with a mastered set of commands.

With Baby Girl #2 coming this summer, we have no time to waste on disciplining an out of control Baxter and we can't risk Bells getting hurt.  We love him, but his behavior has got to go.  Operation Chill Out Baxter starts in exactly a month...I'll let you know how it goes.  In the meantime, I literally have to watch him like a hawk when he's in the house so he doesn't mark.  I mean, I expect to have to watch Ella that carefully, but my 3 year old dog...not so much.  It's really perturbing me.  The only issue is, if we don't let him come inside or out of his kennel, his neurotic behavior worsens and the marking and the unruliness escalates...it's just a vicious cycle.  Baxter, seriously...can you just chill out...seriously??  It would greatly be appreciated.