I can't be the only one wondering how Stark is doing in his new home! I don't think I've missed a post on it. Any information anyone??

I was just thinking the same thing...Hey Jenni, we know you're busy, but do you have any updates on Stark ?

Hi. Well, it's been a long road. Stark had some, um, issues from his previous life that have been an uphill battle to correct, and his adopters deserve canonization. He has terrible allergies now, (IMO, some is "detox" related from new-found health due to new diet-old issues are coming to light) and they are struggling to find what works for him. His manners are atrocious, and he has attacked 2 dogs, luckily not doing much damage. I stand by my original take that he's not so much aggressive as insecure; his "attacks" are oddly timed, and not at all easy to predict. Seems to be more likely away from home, which makes me think insecurity...but I digress.

He is very, very lucky to have found the people who adopted him. I would never have had the patience to deal w/him longterm. I have a letter from Karen explaining his manners, or lack of. I will post it soon. She wrote it as a kind of documentary on how hard it can be to "rehab" a dog so used to behaving a certain way. Seems like he was kind of on his own for a while before being rehomed, and it shows. He is all about Stark, and looks out for number one, which is typical of a dog who has not had a strong bond w/a human or strong leadership.

They are working on it day by day, and he is getting much better. I wish she would join so we can talk about his allergies; I have tried a few times to get her to join, but she's pretty busy. I will keep trying. I have forwarded her several threads about allergies/testing/fallacies/etc.

Thanks for asking.

 Quote: jenni williams

Seems like he was kind of on his own for a while before being rehomed, and it shows. He is all about Stark, and looks out for number one, which is typical of a dog who has not had a strong bond w/a human or strong leadership.

Thanks for the update Jenni! I look forward to hearning more about Stark's "rehab"... poor guy. For dogs that need constant ledership, it really doesn't take long for them to revert to their own means of "getting along" in the absence of a stong pack leader - I learned this first hand recently. In the few months leading up to our big move to a new state, Oscar didn't receive nearly the same attention and leadership as usual, and he slid into some seriously bad & aggressive behavior... we were incredibly concerned about how he'd do in the new home, but by golly, once we had time to work with him again and pay attention to all the "little things" (we went back to groundwork) - he went back to being himself, and he's doing VERY well here.

Continued good success to Stark and his new family - I hope his allergies can be controlled, and I'm really curious to know what has surfaced now that wouldn't have been noticed on his old diet...?

~Natalya

Thanks for the update Jenni; that's one lucky dog for you to have taken him in and then re-homed him. You're right, his new family should be put up for saint-hood.

Turns out he DID have allergies when he was younger, but Gene thought they went away on the prescription diet. My guess is that a few mos on raw, and his body is like "Yay!" and suddenly feels healthy enough to bring up some dormant health issues. He has been over-vaccinated and fed poor-quality food his entire life, and I do believe this has taken a toll on his health. His teeth looked like seaweed and he was overweight when I got him. I think he was fed to pacify him.

I think about him often actually and meant to ask you a while back. I'm glad you found the right people for him and hope they can form the kind of bond with him that every dog wants and needs. Which leads me to a question about dominant dogs and bonding, so I'll start a new thread for some opinions.

I wouldn't call Stark dominant, for the record. My honest opinion is that his temperament isn't even strong enough to be dominant. I think he is simply used to these methods to get what he wants/needs. Not to apply human terms to dogs, but I think he's a brat who probably wouldn't even APPEAR the least bit dominant if it weren't for his upbringing. Any dog will learn that being obnoxious gets him what he wants if you let them.

That dog should thank his lucky stars he found you & you found people for him that will work with him and his um issues.

I guess I didn't realize he wasn't dominant. Bad assumption on my part. Thanks for clarifying! Great explanation, btw.