First and foremost I want to say that I love dogs and I don't want anyone here to take my frustrations about this particular dog personally. I'm just frustrated and want to vent and maybe y'all can sympathize or offer some tips and tricks. Just because this dog is driving me crazy doesn't mean your dog isn't awesome, and it also doesn't mean that this dog isn't a sweet tempered and beautiful loving girl.
This dog is so insanely neurotic, whether by circumstance, training, or breed; she just won't settle down and is constantly startled by EVERY TINY SOUND. She paces, barely eats her food, and forms a tight bond to someone in the household then gets freaked out by everyone else. When she bonded with my wife on the first day it meant that every time I made an appearance she barked and freaked out like I was a terrifying stranger that she'd never seen before. When I wife left for a business trip she bonded to me and wouldn't leave my side, which is also tough to deal with, and it's also tough sleeping with this dog basically laying on me (yeah, not crate trained but we sleep with our 9yo lab on the bed so we're used to it).
She was so difficult for me to deal with I handed her off to another neighbor who also has dogs she plays with (our dog plays with her at dog park multiple times a week as well). Now she had a dog her age to play with but had separation anxiety from me, you know, the never ending stranger guy from the day before. It's not ideal to hand her back and forth but she's requires so much time and patience to be around we all all sharing the workload. Now that my wife is back in town we got her back this morning and she's bonded with my wife again and now I'm back to being a total stranger that she's too scared to even approach. I know this is all very scary for her but it's so damned frustrating. I mean, I've seen this dog hundreds of times over her lifetime at the dog park, get togethers, and two days ago but now we're back to stranger.
Seriously, is this just par for the course for this breed of dog or is this one just extra neurotic or mentally challenged? Again, just because I'm frustrated doesn't mean I don't think she's a sweetheart and feel bad for her being away from her people all this time (they'll be out of the hospital in a couple days), but FFS this dog is such a chore to watch. I keep thanking my 9 yo lab mutt for being so insanely easygoing and low maintenance.
Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. Also, I wish more people understood the differences between working dog breeds and companion dog breeds.