Sorry this letter is so long winded. However, I was told that the dogs behavior was altered do to the problems we have faced with in the last 8 months. So I am explaining everything in brief detail so maybe someone can help me and might be able to understand what actually triggered the dog to behave in the manor he does now.

When I became Disabled March of 2002 from a head injury I wanted some assistance. So I got a dog when he was 6weeks old from a shelter, and he was hand picked by a local trainer out of a litter of 13. She and I began working together to train this dog so he could help me with certain things in and outside of the home. Anyways a lot has happened since then and the dog was doing great with training he actually became a lic, registered, and certified service dog. However, the roof of my trailer home caved in and the repairs were worth more then the trailer was worth. That is when both of our lives had changed. His behavior problems began literally the night I was declined to enter the Homeless shelter because I did not have the papers stating Pepsee was a registered service dog. The papers were in storage somewhere. (I filed a complaint with AZ Attorney Generals Office and won, however that took about a month and a half to finalize) Anyways the night I was refused by the shelter was the night Pepsee’s behavior literally changed.

I was sleeping out on the street around 12th Ave and Madison and a guy came up and began beating me and tried to rape me and that is when Pepsee protected me and bit the guy. Gave the guy 15 stitches in the arm, 5 in his ass, and 17 in his leg. The guy tried to file charges against me, however, they were completely dropped cause he was found guilty of aggravated assault. Since that night the dog has not been the same.

We have had another problems while living on the streets. Pepsee and I were attacked by two coyotes. When I was sleeping down by South Mountain Park. I tried to get off the streets of downtown Phoenix so I wouldn’t have the problem I had with that man however this happened.

Another time I was living in an apartment. Pepsee and I were doing our early evening walk down the street in Phoenix, Arizona (Pepsee was on a leash of course as always) and a dog out of no were attack Pepsee and me. I jumped on the dog and placed the dog in an Alpha Roll (the dog that attacked Pepsee and me) I gave Pepsee a good firm command and he did exactly what I had told him to do. The owner finally came out of his home, began hitting ME and grabbing me, telling me I was abusing his dog. Pepsee was still barking but was still in a down stay and the guy began hitting Pepsee, Pepsee bit the guy in the arm. (Heck I would have bit him to if I had the chance) (The guy told the cops The only reason he hit my dog is cause I was sitting on top of his dog with my hand lightly gripping down on the dog neck, AKA Alpha Rolling a dog). Well anyways Pepsee had a few minor injuries (note the guys dog had no injuries what so ever). However the police found the guy and his dog at fault he paid for Pepsee’s Vet bills and I have never heard about it again.

There was another time I was walking down the street on Southern Ave and a Shepard Akita mix attack Pepsee (of course just like last incident my dog is on a leash this dog was not) well I couldn’t break up the fight and the 6 people that witnessed this whole thing would not help me break up the fight. So I had to think of something to get the dogs apart with out getting bit and Pepsee was not backing off this time. I tried to swing my purse in between them that didn’t help, I grabbed the attacking dogs back legs and in the process got bit by the dog. (I still have scares on my arms and almost lost a finger from that incident, I spent 5 days in the hospital had 2 surgeries and went through 18 weeks of physical therapy.) To Continue with the story. I let the dog go and the two continued to attack each other. At this point my patients had worn thing and I was looking to save my dogs life. Pepsee is only a 48 pound dog but he pulls his weight pretty well. ANYWAYS, I realized it was an intact Male. (I were only steel toe boot were ever I go) I kicked the attacking dog right in the nuts and stomach area with my Steal toe boot and I never saw a dog go down so quickly. I grabbed Pepsee and he went right into a heeling position and he laid there by my side. At the same time some guy that was witnessing the incident grabbed the attacking dog and tied it up with a rope. When the cops showed up they called Animal care and control to get the dog that was loose and the cop told me he would have done the same thing to protect his dog. However Animal Control found the dog to be aggressive and the dog had to be put down the dog had no collar or microchip and the owners were never found. So the Vet bills were about $700 but Local people helped and the ASPCA helped and my medical bills were covered 100% by Medicare and State.

There was only one more time and remember all of this has happened with in a 7-8 months time frame... This incident happen in March 06 and I am still in the apartment complex it happened in. (I will be out on Friday but if you are aware of Phoenix problems with the serial killers that are on the loose I am in the area they are raping and killing people. I actually live 1 mile from were the baseline rapist murdered and raped a man and a woman at a Yoshi’s restaurant and the most recent was A woman was washing her car at a local car wash just a few blocks from my house less than ¼ mile and she was raped, beating, and murdered.) Anyways the last incident I was taking my dog out to go to the bathroom a man jumped out of a bush in the apartment complex over flow parking lot ran up on me and the guy grabbed my arm and threw me to the ground. I was injured and I of course lost control of Pepsee but once again this little dog bit the guys leg wide open. When the police showed up they said they couldn’t find the guy but they would make a report. Nothing came of this cause the guy ran away.. However I went to the hospital and I had a broke thumb and wrist.

Anyways now Pepsee barks at anything that runs up at me, Adults and Children. Anything that approaches me in a fast manor, or even a friend tries to pat the dog on the head the dog begins to bark at the person. This Friday I will be moving into an actual house with my boyfriend northwest of Phoenix out by Surprise, Arizona close to the 303 and 60. I would like to try to get some kind of behavior modification for this dog to try to retrieve the behavior he had before our lives had changed. I am no longer able to use this dog as a service dog outside of the house he does fine in the house until someone tries to give me a hug or touches me. It took Pepsee about 3 weeks to let my boyfriend give me a hug or kiss. I use to take this dog everywhere with me. Dinners, Theaters, Malls, Stores, Bus, Doctors appointments, EVERYWHERE. Now I can’t trust him. If someone tries to pet him he will give a low growl, bark, he has even gone as far as showing his teeth and snapping at someone...

I was wondering would anyone know if it is going to be possible to use Pepsee again as an out of the home Service dog? If so what kind of Behavior modification should this dog have and how long do you think it will take?

The woman who helped me train Pepsee on a bi-weekly basis is no longer training and will not help me. I have called a bunch of Dog trainers in the valley that she suggested and they want $150- $250 dollars per hour to correct Pepsee’s behavior... WHAT THE HECK I AM NOT MADE OF MONEY especially living on SSI and SSD. My total monthly income is $623 per month. And I was paying $540 per month for rent and utilities. However, this Friday I will be moving into a house with a backyard with my boyfriend. He will be paying most of everything but my payee (The Lawyer who controls my SSI and SSD) felt I should be paying $562 per month for my portion of rent and utilities. Of course after the payee has paid my $562 per month to Steven for my portion of the housing cost, Steven is responsible for paying the rest of the bill in full. That leaves me with $61 per month then $21 goes to my Medicare Co-payment for my prescription drugs I need to stay alive. That leaves me with $10.00 per week or $40 per month to buy, personal items, (toothpaste, shampoo, and other hygiene products for my self), Dog Food and to pay for the Dial-A-Ride transportation fees to get me to and from certain places that Arizona State will not pay for.

So, if anyone can or is willing to guide me through the proper steps of trying to correct this dogs behavior problems please do… Any information will be useful. In return I promise I will begin to save up a little bit per week out of my $10.00 I get, to try to buy the DVD Dealing with Dominant and Aggressive Dogs. However, just know that I will not be able to buy this DVD within the next few months. I figured in December when I get some birthday money I will take what I have saved up and put it with my B-day money and send a money order out to Leerburg to buy the DVD. So if anyone is willing to help walk me through step by step with this dog to try to change his behavior I am all ears.

Thank you for anyone’s help on this matter,

Annalynn

Hi Annalynn,

First off, you and your dog have survived some pretty horrible things. I am so happy that you are finally able to move somewhere safe and have a fresh start.

It may take a while for anyone to answer you. The reason is because your situation is complicated and a "wrong" response would have heavy consequences, seeing as how the dog is a working service dog and he and you have been through so much. People will be reluctant to reply unless they are sure of their answer. So.... check back often and best of luck to you, don't give up. Your dog sounds like a great dog.

I'm just having a little problem with a story about a "Service" dog getting more bites than most Police Canines.
You know..."Service" dogs...... that are carefully chosen *not* to bite or be aggressive in any fashion whatsoever.

Sorry, I'm having a real problem believing this story.

Hello Annalynn, apparently you are either able to afford a home pc, or you have access to one somewhere. While you are waiting to save up enough money to buy DVD's, I'd advise you to read all of the FREE info that has been put on this site by Ed Frawley. You might find something that would be helpful to you. Otherwise, I know nothing much about service dogs.

I am writing this on my own no one is helping me. I know my writing is not good my last Neuro Phsyc test said my writing level was at a 7th grade level so please I am sorry if this seems a bit childish. I have no body to proof read this.

Thank you for your honest reply. When I began to call different people in the area they all told me the same thing over and over again The dog began to react to certain stimuli that he was being faced with to either protect me or he began reacting out of fear. A lot of people has said what you said and wouldnt even begin to help I even contacted a few people here in Arizona Lynn Houston at the AZ Service Dog Brush-up Association, Diana Parks from the Companion Animal Association of Arizona and they are the ones who told me cause of the situations being one after another that the dog is either acting out of fear or just being over protective of me. However they told me I needed to make Pepsee a in home service dog ONLY and that is what I did. Now If I can never use him as an out of the home service dog again thats fine. However I did not want to give up complete hope on this dog he has saved me a bunch of times from harm and that to me is a God Sent. Heck if all else fails I will always have him as an in door Service Dog cause he still knows how to open doors, he retrieves my purse, medication, cell or portable phone, He still uses his K-9 speaker phone when I fall, when I go up and down stairs he helps me on the days I have a lot of back pain, AND even though he was never trained to do this he actually response to my blood surgars levels going up and down and he has on 5 recent occassions responded to petit mal seizures (AGAIN HE WAS NEVER TRAINED TO DO THIS) So as a inside service dog he does what he is suppose to do he just doesnt want people approaching me or touching me or him. I have 9 people in my life that can do anything to this dog with no attitude from him, however its people he doesnt know all that well and some of my newer people that entered my life he reacts to.

Again thanks for your honest opinion.

Annalynn

That is fine you dont have to believe me I wasnt writing about this to play truth or dare with people I was writing to see if I could get assistance to see if I could get a dog that was hand picked by a trainer here in Arizona that helped me train him to do the thigs he does for me and still does for me inside the home.....That is it I was not looking for someones approval on situations that have happened in my life thoose stories were told because I was told by Trainers and 3 Vets that they were very important peices of information when it came to Pepsee's behavior changing. They were not told so you could pass judgment on me.

Thank you Ms. Jarman for your assistance I prited out Dealing with the Dominant dog by Ed Frawley I plan on reading it tonight to see if I can begin doing some work with Pepsee once I get into the house this weekend cause I will have a big enclosed backyard to work with him in which is what I have been needing. Again thank you for your help.

I was online read and printing out different things I was reading Dealing with the Aggressive Dog By Ed Frawley it said not to far down
"Over aggressiveness in dogs has a number of different causes that all can be traced back to
2 different areas: poor breeding or poor socializing."

Now poor breeding is a VERY VERY GOOD possible situation cause this dog was hand picked by a trainer here in Arizona from a shelter litter this dog is a mix dog BLACK LAB WHIPPET MIX and he must have CHOW CHOW in him cause he has black on his tounge. Now could it been possible that this behavior was stewing in this dog and the Trainer just took the money I was paying her with and ran and new it was possible that Pepsee could have issues in the future with out letting me know????? ALSO could this be the reason this trainer is telling me she doesnt train anymore so she wont help me cause she dosent want to be known for training a bad dog?

OR COULD IT BE

Poor Socializing NOW THIS COULD BE THE PROBLEM TOO I WONT DENY I COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING WRONG. I would feel EXTREMELY bad though if this was my fault and if it was MY FAULT Then I deserve the behavior Pepsee displays.... If this is my fualt what could I have done wrong? and can I now fix this problem that I might have caused? However he does not act this way with me and 9 other people he knows that are in my life consistantly.... I ALSO followed the trainers insturctions to the best of my abilities but I could of messed up somewhere along the way.

ALSO I when I was talking to some trainers and vets they said that there are plenty of trainers out thier that have very little expeirence and becasue there is no laws governing the dog training business that this lady could have just been training and really not know what she was doing..... Is this a possible situation Too she was just a bad dog trainer and was lacking experience?

Or am I reading into all of the things I heard and so far read to much? Which is possible to.... I am a bit slow after my head injury and Nuero Phsyc Evals show that..

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP....

I think Pepsee now guards you from strangers & unfamiliar dogs because you were raped by a criminal & the poor dog was attacked by coyotes -- Both of these events are appropriate triggers for aggression & are NOT necessarily caused by weak nerves, IMHO

Check out these 2 links as well & best of luck in de-sensitizing Pepsee to non-threatening people & dogs:

http://www.janfennellthedoglistener.com

http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com

I'm still amazed at the amount of protection this dog has provided here, being a service dog and all. Apparently the extensive testing to weed out any sign of aggression in a Service dog didn't work here.

Take the coyote attack - there's about one (1 ) attack on a human by a coyote in the states of CA and AZ per year ( only 20 to 30 attacks on people in *recorded* history ), and they're usually on children.
http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/coyote_attacks.html

Just amazing it was on this lady and her dog, along with all their other sensational events.
Why, it almost reads like fiction....