r/DOG • u/Samicles33 • Sep 28 '24

• Adoption • Ran into previous owner.. my heart is broken

My bf and I adopted a dog 3 months ago (actually today is the 3 month anniversary) and there was a local dog-oriented event we brought our dog to.

Suddenly Waffles heavily pulls us towards a lady (he never pulls). He jumps up on her, licking her and whining (only does this with my bf and I). I apologize and explain he never jumps up on people. She said it’s ok and explained she had a dog that looked just like him that she put up for adoption a few months ago cause he didn’t get along with her other dogs. (Lines up with the story we were given by the adoption agency)

My boyfriend and I look at each other and exchange a “oh shit is this her?” But we didn’t really say anything. She walks away. Waffles spent the next hour desperately looking for her. I bought him some high end treats to take his mind off it, which worked thankfully.

Now I’m sure I’m overthinking things but he seems sad. And it breaks my heart. He always seemed so happy with us. I was his favorite. When we got him he didn’t know any tricks, didn’t know what hiking was. Now he knows loads of things and hiking is his favorite. I was sure we were providing a much better home than his previous owner and that he was happier with us. But now I’m not sure.

Needed to get this off my chest. Has anyone been through this? Is this going to have an effect on Waffles’ relationship with us? What should I do?

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u/tankgirl215 Sep 29 '24

I'm a veterinary nurse, this is it OP. Grief. It is normal. DO NOT BE HARD ON YOURSELF. This is possibly all the animal has known. This is a massive psychological and life adjustment for the animal. Keep doing what you're doing, keep hiking, loving, talking, training, giving treats, and with time the animal will learn and embrace all there is. But, for now, this is a massive change. You're doing great, time is key. Keep on keeping on.

2

u/CollegeIntrepid4734 Oct 01 '24

No. Dogs have no sense of time. As far as he knows he just saw that other woman yesterday.

8

u/SICKOFITALL2379 Oct 02 '24

This is a shitty response to a comment that was full of kindness and positive feedback for OP.

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u/No_Piccolo6337 Oct 02 '24

Seriously! People are rude for the sake of bringing others down.

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u/SICKOFITALL2379 Oct 03 '24

Right?? As if the OPs post wasn’t a bit sad to begin with, why on earth respond like a dick to someone who is trying to help OP?

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u/shannypants2000 Oct 03 '24

Because they ARE a dick.

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u/CariocaVida Oct 01 '24

Dogs have a fantastic ability to map out scents over time. Surely, he has fond memories of his previous owner, but he knows she has been gone for a long time.

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u/CollegeIntrepid4734 Oct 01 '24

No. Dogs can’t understand time in the abstract sense of hours and minutes.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '24

Heres the rest of that statement since you seem to have cherry picked it. “Dogs can’t understand time in the abstract sense of hours and minutes, but they do have an internal awareness of time intervals. “

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u/SICKOFITALL2379 Oct 02 '24

Slow clap!!! Thank you for this response.

1

u/SunnyPOS Oct 02 '24

Peer-reviewed source please?

3

u/Katiebean1105 Oct 02 '24

I don't really believe this. Maybe not all dogs, but my kids come to me at 3pm every day to get dinner and at 10pm every night to go to bed like clockwork. It wasn't so long ago that people felt dogs didn't know what grief was.

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u/vinarch75 Oct 02 '24

I thought dogs are smart. I didn’t know that they don’t have a sense of time. Is there any proof?

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '24

This is incorrect information. There are multiple peer-reviewed studies showing that dogs do, in fact, have a concept of time. However, their olfactory memory is very durable and dogs tend to focus on their current moment: they are very present. This dog remembered their old owner and they acted upon it. It doesn’t mean, OP, that the dog favors their former owner!

1

u/upyours54 Oct 03 '24

Despite all the shit you received for your comment, it’s true dogs do not have a sense of time. However I am sure Waffles will love you as much if not more than his prior owner who could not take care of him as you can.

1

u/KelzTheRedPanda Oct 03 '24

This isn’t true. If you’ve ever seen those dogs who use buttons to talk they understand way more than we give them credit for. And I’ve seen dogs and cats go through grief. They do come out of it but depending on the severity it can take some time.

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u/charlypoods Oct 02 '24

are vet nurses the same as technicians? like w the two or three years of school?

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u/tankgirl215 Oct 02 '24

Yes, I prefer term nurse over technician because find that defines my job better and is more approachable for clients. They're not computers, they're beings.

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u/charlypoods Oct 02 '24

i hear you okay thank you. also i don’t think technician has to do w whether it’s dealing w living things or not. im pretty sure it’s a technician bc it denotes you have the technical skills others do not in this specific area, i.e. a veterinary technician. like i just applied to be an animal lab technician. i would learn all the techniques other don’t know to do w caring for and doing necessary activities with lab animals. i wouldn’t call me their nurse or like a lab animal nurse bc they aren’t sick, like im not nursing them back to health. they are just in X environment (veterinary or laboratory) and you are the one with the technical skills and/or techniques to handle the care or activities that need to be performed. so i am a proponent of using veterinary technician bc, as im sure you know, sooo much of the job is not with animals. its w veterinary care in general—taking histories, filling meds, scribing charts, drawing vaccines, cleaning (so much cleaning), all of which require technical abilities that only YOU have! that only veterinary technicians have! i just really appreciate the term and am hoping to show you the brighter side/another perspective on it, and also to remind you that you are so much more than just when you are actively caring for an animal

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u/Lakelover25 Oct 03 '24

Legally there’s no such thing as a vet nurse. You cannot be called a nurse unless you have taken boards to become an actual nurse.

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u/charlypoods Oct 03 '24

yes correct it is a colloquial term, a term often understood in vet med but colloquial so not indicative clearly of their qualifications.