Most SPCAs and Humane Societies offer basic obedience classes for dogs and puppies. Is it dogs that you have, ExistingInChanges?

These classes are for training the owner as much as it is to train the dog. There are also books and videos. Training a dog properly is a difficult undertaking that requires focus and perseverance. It's mandatory though if you expect your dog to know what you want and do what you want. In the long run, for an owner with high expectations, it's worth all the effort.

A well-trained dog always sees its trainer as the alpha dog. Yelling and other displays of anger only frighten and confuse dogs. It sounds to me that you and you dog(s) don't have a common language yet. Training will give you that, and you'll be able to live together as a team.

If you take meds, they may need tweaking. Kali's brought up some other possible areas where therapy could help ... anger management, frustration tolerance, etc. She's so right that "the pets are just being themselves. they don't know about respect."

You wrote, "If an animal can do something right one time, they should be able to all the time." I would say that's an unrealistic expectation to have even of an intelligent, high-functioning adult human. To expect that of a pet is setting up yourself (& the pet) for failure.

To have in your home animals who make you so anxious that you worry and harming them and yourself sounds self-defeating. Have you talked this over with a therapist? If you have control issues, animals are not therapeutic--they're just another out-of-control part of your world.

I'm sorry you're having this trouble. The last animal I adopted I searched for in shelters across the state for six months. I talked to lots of shelter volunteers and told them I needed a fairly young, well-mannered cat who would be sensitive to my feelings and illnesses. A therapy cat, who would take as much care of me as I take of the cat. Finally, a gal at a shelter called and said, "The cat you want is here!" I adopted a three yr-old Manx cat, and Charlie causes no problems for me--he's my nurse and therapist.

Maybe you have needy animals, and you can't cope with their needs and your own. You might want to consider finding homes for the pets you have and look for the special pet, one who is what you want to begin with. Just a thought.

roads