I've been looking through the posts and cannot find a situation I can get good info from so I ask:

Dog enters crate no problem but sometimes growls after entering. If I am feeding him should I pull the bowl back and not feed him that night or will he see this as unfair messing with his food? Do I tell him "No" and wait until he stops or simply close the door and ignore him. Once the door is shut, whatever he has, he has. I leave him alone but during the transaction of placing the bowl, I do not want to reward him for aggression or mistakenly intice him by removing his bowl inappropriately. If he growls after the bowl hits the crate floor do I just close the door and ignore him? Now that I have him entering the crate without problem, I don't want him to resent being in the crate again.

Eric,

You are in a rough place for balancing positive and negative motivation so that he isn't being aggressive, but he isn't resenting his crate either (setting up for future agression). In this situation, I would try first to reward the good.

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Dog enters crate no problem but sometimes growls after entering.

He goes in the crate and gets a small piece of food. If he starts to growl, withhold the meal. The instant he is quiet, even if for an instant, use words "quiet, good boy, good quiet" or a marker "yes!", set down the meal, close the crate and leave him.

He may stop growling after he figures it does no good.

After a couple weeks, if he continues growling, use a verbal correction "no" and the food and praise for the quiet.

I would consider using an ecollar here with one of my own dogs, but I can't say without seeing the situation if it would help or hurt. It could range from "magic" to a dangerous situation.

If he does not stop growling with a verbal correction (or if you decide to use an ecollar), then close the door and skip the meal.

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If he growls after the bowl hits the crate floor do I just close the door and ignore him?

With your dog, yes. Tossing a blanket over his crate before meal time may help calm the growling after the door is closed.

Hey Annie, so far so good. We fed him two days ago and he started growling. She waited and he stopped so she placed the bowl. I try to have my youngest feed him so he'll see her as the giver of food. She did just as you suggested, timing is a little off but she's trying, and it went OK. I'm the only one who pulls the bowl out of the crate as this is the most dangerous time, he's bitten me before for trying to move a cushion so he could get a treat that fell.

One thing I noticed as explained by another poster...One day my youngest and I got into it in the kitchen with Bruno present in his crate and he started growling. We stopped, and he stopped. Wow!

I'm really optomistic about how things are going. Since you posted we've had very minimal problems. Thanx again.

DZ

eric, if the dog warns you to stop doing something by growling, and you stop doing it, it is not a big surprise that he will stop growling. he's training you!

you are keeping a dog that bit you for moving his cushion so he could get to his treat?

:where is the graemlin for shaking head in disbelief?:

and this dog is supposed to be a family pet?

there is no one more committed to their animals than i am. but that dog would be out of my house so fast it would be a blur. human family means far more than any dog.

you are playing with fire. i hope you get some perspective before there is a tragedy.

Eric, As the mother of three daughters.... there is no way that this dog would be an active member of my family. I believe you stated in another thread that your wife and children do not like this dog and want nothing to do with him. You are going to feel like an inch-worm if he badly bites one of your kids, not to mention the rath of your wife!!!

You will have plenty of time to own this type of dog after your children are grown and gone from home. Why put the dog and family through all of this....the dog knows that there is tension in the household and will take advantage of it at some point.

How old are your children?

Debbie

Thanx for the input however as I have stated he is doing better. Yes, I am comitted enough to keep him until there is nothing more left to try. I have previously addressed how he is safely being handled. I have also stated my family has finally realized how their lack of cooperation has fueled this fire and are taking some responsibility as well. I believe in myself enough that I am not giving up as easily as some would but thank you for your concern.

DZ

The best of luck with your dog, but it sounds like he's ticking. It's good you are aware and have measures in place.
Ruth

Have you really given your family much of a choice?

This has nothing to do with believing in yourself.

it doesn't matter if he is doing better or if you are committed to him or "believe in yourself." it is becoming plainer for all of us to see that this dog is a tragedy waiting to happen. your family's lack of cooperation also has nothing to do with this. your dog is not an appropriate family pet, and he was very likely BORN THAT WAY. he will NEVER BE TRUSTWORTHY.

get off of blaming your family, because this is not their fault, and being the hero for the dog, because he is not as important as your wife and kids. someone is going to wind up in the hospital if you don't rehome him. all it takes is one momentary lapse of attention, or someone making an innocent mistake.

i can't state this any more strongly, and i won't try again. please listen to what people here are telling you.

Did I miss a previous thread about this same dog, or is this all the info we have on him? How old is he? What breed is he? Background, etc? I can see everyone's alarm at the situation and concern for the children, but maybe we don't have all the info, and should give Eric the benefit of the doubt for a minute...or just give him enough rope to hang himself <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />(kidding)!

Is the crate the only area he growls in? Did the bite occur inside the crate (the moved cushion/treat incident)? If so, it would seem that there may be some hope for this dog, if he's consistently, reliably, non-aggressive outside the crate.

My GSD has the longest fuse of any animal I've ever met when it comes to provocation; however, if he's crated and another dog so much as walks by his crate, Old Yeller's got nuthin' on him! The change is unbelievable. I was so stunned the first time I saw this that I decided to test him out and see if he was still clear-headed (ie, not p.o'd at me, just the other animal), so I stuck my hand in there and pet his head. Yes, it sounds ridiculously dumb, but I did come from the top and pet his head, so if he decided to take a chunk out of me, he'd have a tough time actually doing it since his head was against the top of the crate...ANYWAY, maybe not the smartest idea, but I have a good bit of trust in my pup. He spun around, licked my hand, wagged his tail, then turned back around and showed off every gorgeous tooth in his head to the dog standing outside his crate. If there's food in his crate, he's even more obnoxiously evil. If I let him out, he's instantly fine, no dog-aggression whatsoever. I chalked it up (whether right or wrong) to dominance. Sorry to ramble, but I was just trying to point out a situation where the behavior and it's likely, eventual outcome looks/sounds much worse than it is in actuality. If it doesn't apply here, fine. Big difference I see is that (never say never <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I don't have any reason to believe my dog would ever bite me, and Eric's HAS bitten him. Which is why I want background!

My dog has no skeletons in his closet (had him since 8wks), or bats in the belfry, for that matter. He's stable and clear-headed-just dominant. This dog may in fact have a screw loose and not be "re-homeable." No one is to blame, as Alice said-not Eric, not the dog, and certainly not the family. Hope it doesn't come to that, and I applaud Eric's commitment to this dog, but it's equally commendable to know when "enough's enough" and prevent a tragedy.

Again, sorry for the length <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />.