I do rescue for American Bulldogs. Last night I picked up two Am. Bulldog mixes from the kennel we use for boarding. One, Sensei, was so sweet when they brought him out and he was great on the ride home even with another dog in the truck. Once he got in my house and I took him to his new crate, he got scared and didn't want to go in. My son had to pick him up a little and get him in. Then I gave them both food and a rawhide (in separate crates of course) and Sensei freaked out. He started lunging at the crate and barking and growling at us and/or the other dogs. If we went near the crate his tail went straight up and his ears went back and he growled and barked. He ate his food really fast and I went over to give him more but he lunged and growled as soon as he saw the food. I can tell he is afraid but, so am I. When my husband came home from work he did get him out of the crate and take him for a walk after about 20 minutes of sitting next to the crate and talking to the dog and finally being able to put his hand in and pet him. Once out of the crate he was fine. Back in the crate the aggression started again. Then, this morning he greeted me with a growl and again I was afraid to let him out of the crate so my husband took him out to our yard (his first time in our yard) and he was fine so my husband was out there petting him and went to wipe his eyes and he growled at him. So, he went back in the crate and the barking and growling started again. He was rescued from a shelter in Manhattan and he was temperment tested and passed with flying colors. The president of the rescue said we have to euthanize him as he is aggressive. I just don't know what happened, he was a completely different dog before he came in my house. He is EXTREMELY skinny, I don't think the kennel personnel fed him enough and we are not using them anymore. However, they claim they never had any problems with him. Any thoughts on this? Suggestions?? I don't know if he just needs to adjust or what is going on but I am afraid of him.

If I were you, and Im not expert but I've owned some agressive dogs like this. I would try and keep him out of the crate except when absolutly needed until he gets used to you, gets a bond with you and your family. He probably is not excepting the fact that he has a new pack yet. If he knows that he gets food in his crate by acting like that he might be doing it to get the food too. But I would not put him down, Id spend some time with him, if he was all nice at the kennel maybe it was because he got used to it there. Again Im no expert just given my 2 cents.

Good Luck

My advice should be taken with a grain of salt since I have never had a dog like you described.

In the past I have found that hand-feeding a dog all his food has both enhanced trust and bonding and eliminated food aggression.

This dog for whatever reason does not trust either you (humans), or the situation of being in his crate. Being that he is a rescue you know nothing of his history, and being the breed he is you don't know if he was ever crated and had a dog sic'ed on him or the crate hit with a stick or whatever (like they do for training dogs to fight). For this dog, a crate is not a safe place. If you have the airline-type crates, maybe try one of those, as it looks different to the dog. Or see if you can cover his crate with a blanket.

I've had dogs that took about a month to adjust, and their guarding behaviours just went away on their own with just giving a correction when it happens. Your dog likely feels cornered when he is in his crate.

I don't blame you for being afraid of this dog, like I said I have never had a dog that did what you described and hopefully someone more experienced will offer you some good advice.

Colleen,

Frank suggesting that you not put him down and keep him out of the crate as much as possible is is a whole lot easier than actually doing it. You need to have him crated because you have other dogs around and this guy needs time to acclimate to the household safely... I.E. IN A CRATE. This dog is obviously going to take a lot of work to get healthy again mentally and physically. If, and that's a bit IF, you want to take this on you need to be safe. This dog needs firm, CALM, non confrontational leadership and that's impossible to do when you are scared. I would suggest using a muzzle, and a dominant dog collar as well and to read/watch everything you can about dominant/aggressive dogs. Once you have control and know you won't get hurt if he snaps at you, then you can be a calm leader and start to undo all the harm that's been done to this dog. Good luck with whatever you choose, and remember not to be too hard on yourself. You did not cause the problems this dog has.

I would NOT give rawhide.

I would probably try a different crate.

I would NOT interact with the dog if I was obviously afraid of him. Your husband should do so, since he is not exhibiting fear to the dog. The dog cannot be reinforced in his perception that an aggressive display makes the human run away.

I would call the kennel and find out how he was housed and fed there.

JMO, as starting points.

I don't want to put him down, this is horrible. I am only his foster home, I did not adopt him, I have 6 of my own already. I wish I could find someone experienced to foster him and maybe work with him. I'm at a loss, the change in him is like night and day.

Hi. I wanted to thank those of you that responded to my original post with advice. I took the advice and after two days, I had the dog (Sennie) out of his crate and sitting in my lap!! He does have some issues with the crate and certain food/treats but outside of the crate he is perfect! I still have him and love him to death. I can't even imagine letting him go to a new home. He is such a baby!! Thank you all so much for your advice, it truly saved this dog's life!!