See below for post with paragraph divisions

I’m at a loss the past few days with my dog Tenzin and could really use some good advice. Here is some background on my dog I adopted him last March and from day one have had a lot of problems with dominance and handler aggression so much so that after a month of it I was really considering returning him but did not want to be another person that gave up on him and knew I had to learn more about dealing with the problem before I gave up. Tenzin was basically biting me every time I would sit on the couch or my bed, on walks when we came across another dog or even the scent of another dog he would lose it and just start jumping on me wrapping me up and biting me. If we were playing catch in the yard and he missed the ball he would start running around in circles uncontrollably and then start jumping on me and biting me. We don’t have a lot of dog trainers or behaviorists locally and struggled with finding help but then found a Sit means Sit trainer that would make the trip from Kansas City to my home. (I know now this was a big mistake) At first I was sold on the training my dog was behaving the dominance appeared to stop. Eventually I started to question the training methods and started hating zapping my dog into compliance. (My trainer basically told me that every time I issued a command to simultaneously give the dog stimulation or in cases like heeling continually buzz him until he got into proper position) In my search for answers I finally found Leerburg and started reading every E-article I could and ordered some DVD’s pack structure, dealing with dominant dogs, basic obedience, e-collar training and also have all the Michael Ellis DVD’s (AMAZING! ) I started my dog on the pack structure program and started working with marker training ditching the escape training. After about a month things seemed to be going great Tenzin caught on quick to markers and plays tug very well knows all his basic commands, jumps, making good progress on focused heeling, retrieving etc. Things were going great for awhile occasional flashes of his old behavior but we were able to walk by dogs without him going off on them or me even when they were barking at him I thought we had worked our way thru the problem and starting to develop a good bond. Then about a month and a half ago Tenzin became fearful of people in uniforms at my work (this happened in a day) gradually he became more fearful of people and new object in his environment also around this time I noticed he was starting to lift his leg when I took him outside. I emailed Leerburg about my fear problems and I got a very nice email from Cindy who thought Tenzin was possibly going through a maturing phase and to start pack structure again which I did. After about 2-3 weeks he seemed to be doing better and I was working on feeding him in places where he was being fearful and seemed to be getting his confidence back. Which leads us to now the past several days Tenzin has had another relapse his fear has gotten worse then it ever was, a friendly game of fetch turned into world war 3 after he missed what he was chasing and went into hyper mode, last night during a walk after we passed a dog he started to jump on me and bit me (probably the scariest and most serious event so far). When I finally got him home he went straight in his crate and we are starting pack structure again no free time. Today on my lunch break I took him out on leash to go outside I walked him around the yard a few times to stretch his legs a little before putting him in the crate and wham he jumped me out of no where. One thing I have noticed is he never shows his handler aggression if he has his e-collar on but if I have a pinch, fur saver, or dominant dog collar on while walking him he just goes into this crazy mode of attacking me corrections seem to make the situation worse the only thing I have found helps is if I stand still and ignore him until he wears himself out and my hands are raw from the biting and scratching. (obviously this is not the answer and its only a matter of time before I get seriously hurt) I’m just at a loss of why he can be the sweetest and most well behaved dog I’ve ever seen one minute and Cujo the next. I feel like the e-collar or a muzzle is putting a band-aid on the situation and I really want to solve the core problem lately I have just been wondering if I have a dog with a poor temperament and genetics or if he was badly attacked when he was younger by another dog leaving him to always be on guard and aggressive. I love Tenzin more then anything but I always have a question mark in the back of my head if he can ever be trusted I can’t live like this for 10 years I can barely sleep at night from over thinking this. I’m starting to consider looking for another home for him where he could be kenneled but it breaks my heart and I want to give this dog a fair chance but I feel like I’m doing everything right when it comes to being a leader. Occasionally some of my friends pitch in to have a trainer come work with our dogs and he complimented me on my leadership he said I was very calm but assertive when handling my dog I just can’t figure out what I’m lacking or if there is something wrong with my dogs genetics. Any advice anyone has for me would be greatly appreciated sorry this was so lengthy but I really wanted to try and describe what has been happening since its hard to diagnose a dog you have never met.



Edited by Connie Sutherland (10/12/2010 04:15 PM)
Edit reason: mod note

I am going to paragraph your post.

Just a note (in general, to anyone posting a long message): Many folks will pretty much not stop to try to wade through a giant block of dense type with no paragraphs.


eta
How old is he?

Edited by Connie Sutherland (10/12/2010 04:07 PM)
Edit reason: eta

WIth paragraphs:

I’m at a loss the past few days with my dog Tenzin and could really use some good advice.

Here is some background on my dog:

I adopted him last March and from day one have had a lot of problems with dominance and handler aggression so much so that after a month of it I was really considering returning him, but did not want to be another person that gave up on him and knew I had to learn more about dealing with the problem before I gave up.

Tenzin was basically biting me every time I would sit on the couch or my bed. On walks when we came across another dog or even the scent of another dog he would lose it and just start jumping on me wrapping me up and biting me. If we were playing catch in the yard and he missed the ball he would start running around in circles uncontrollably and then start jumping on me and biting me.

We don’t have a lot of dog trainers or behaviorists locally and struggled with finding help but then found a Sit means Sit trainer that would make the trip from Kansas City to my home. (I know now this was a big mistake) At first I was sold on the training my dog was behaving the dominance appeared to stop.

Eventually I started to question the training methods and started hating zapping my dog into compliance. (My trainer basically told me that every time I issued a command to simultaneously give the dog stimulation or in cases like heeling continually buzz him until he got into proper position) In my search for answers

I finally found Leerburg and started reading every E-article I could and ordered some DVD’s pack structure, dealing with dominant dogs, basic obedience, e-collar training and also have all the Michael Ellis DVD’s (AMAZING! ) I started my dog on the pack structure program and started working with marker training ditching the escape training. After about a month things seemed to be going great Tenzin caught on quick to markers and plays tug very well knows all his basic commands, jumps, making good progress on focused heeling, retrieving etc.

Things were going great for awhile, occasional flashes of his old behavior but we were able to walk by dogs without him going off on them or me, even when they were barking at him.

I thought we had worked our way thru the problem and starting to develop a good bond.

Then about a month and a half ago Tenzin became fearful of people in uniforms at my work (this happened in a day) gradually he became more fearful of people and new object in his environment also around this time I noticed he was starting to lift his leg when I took him outside.

I emailed Leerburg about my fear problems and I got a very nice email from Cindy who thought Tenzin was possibly going through a maturing phase and to start pack structure again which I did. After about 2-3 weeks he seemed to be doing better and I was working on feeding him in places where he was being fearful and seemed to be getting his confidence back.

Which leads us to now the past several days: Tenzin has had another relapse; his fear has gotten worse then it ever was, a friendly game of fetch turned into World War 3 after he missed what he was chasing and went into hyper mode.

Last night during a walk after we passed a dog he started to jump on me and bit me (probably the scariest and most serious event so far). When I finally got him home he went straight in his crate and we are starting pack structure again no free time.

Today on my lunch break I took him out on leash to go outside I walked him around the yard a few times to stretch his legs a little before putting him in the crate and wham he jumped me out of no where. One thing I have noticed is he never shows his handler aggression if he has his e-collar on but if I have a pinch, fur saver, or dominant dog collar on while walking him he just goes into this crazy mode of attacking me -- corrections seem to make the situation worse; the only thing I have found helps is if I stand still and ignore him until he wears himself out and my hands are raw from the biting and scratching.

(obviously this is not the answer and its only a matter of time before I get seriously hurt)

I’m just at a loss of why he can be the sweetest and most well behaved dog I’ve ever seen one minute and Cujo the next. I feel like the e-collar or a muzzle is putting a band-aid on the situation and I really want to solve the core problem lately I have just been wondering if I have a dog with a poor temperament and genetics or if he was badly attacked when he was younger by another dog leaving him to always be on guard and aggressive. I love Tenzin more then anything but I always have a question mark in the back of my head if he can ever be trusted I can’t live like this for 10 years I can barely sleep at night from over thinking this.

I’m starting to consider looking for another home for him where he could be kenneled but it breaks my heart and I want to give this dog a fair chance but I feel like I’m doing everything right when it comes to being a leader.

Occasionally some of my friends pitch in to have a trainer come work with our dogs and he complimented me on my leadership he said I was very calm but assertive when handling my dog I just can’t figure out what I’m lacking or if there is something wrong with my dogs genetics.

Any advice anyone has for me would be greatly appreciated sorry this was so lengthy but I really wanted to try and describe what has been happening since its hard to diagnose a dog you have never met.

http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af160/brentpetersen/tenzin/credit.jpg

Sorry grammar is not one of my strong suits I just got on a role.lol I'll work on it. I really have no way of knowing how old he is my best guess from vet visits is maybe around a year in a half to two years old.

I would continue with the pack structure work you are doing. It sounds like it's working, you just aren't done yet (and may never be entirely done). And WOULD ABSOLUTELY BE USING A BASKET MUZZLE on this dog whenever you are working with him. I wouldn't need to think twice about it. If this were my dog, the muzzle would have been part of the training immediately following the first biting episode, and he would never be given the opportunity to bite me again.

He needs to get zero satisfaction from biting you, and you need the opportunity to work with him without the fear of being bitten. Until he is over the jumping/biting nonsense entirely (meaning it doesn't happen for many months), I would continue with the muzzle. With the muzzle on, you can correct for the jumping without getting bitten.

I am probably one of the 'softer' trainers you'll encounter, but I have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to biting.

This IS an adult dog, right?

So does the muzzle actually help stop the behavior ? One of the problems when im correcting him for this it seems to just amp him up and he rolls over on his back and bites or wraps the leash up with his paw. Ill have to read up on how to size a muzzle for him since hes a mix breed im not sure which style would fit him best i willing to try anything.

He's camouflaged by his brindle markings and blends into the carpet in your picture. It's hard to tell what breed he is. I'm not offering advice, but you came to the right place. People here really helped me with my adopted bully mixes.

Any chance some dietitary change brought on this seemingly overnight behavior?
Have you had any blood work-up done? Ever?
Perhaps some hormone imbalance?

I'm not an expert or a dog trainer, but after reading your post, I wonder if it is true handler aggression, or amped up young dog looking at you as a play item?

The reason I say this is because my GSD, as a pup, even after a leash walk, & a off-leash run in a fenced in baseball diamond; upon return home & off leash in the backyard, would tear it up!! running in circles, & then run full bore & leap into me!!
It was real Wow, Everyday!! After, what I thought was exercise!

She was not being ficious, or mean, just high energy, & as I was raising a working dog, I did not correct for this behavior!
She was showing her oats!
I think I posted on here once about it, but the replys were along the lines of "Great recall" when I was not calling her!!lol
She out grew this, & is now an awesome 2.5 yr old. But I just wonder how much exercise, off leash, your dog gets; as with mine at that age I was lucky enough to find a 3 acre fenced in pasture to let her run, which really made a great, livable dog out of her at that age.
Sorry not to be more help, but reading your post reminded me of mine at a younger age, & all the pent up energy can be a worse nitemare for someone wanting a calm dog, they just have to let off stream?
Also, & still, I always have a ball (many) that I have in hand & put in her mouth. She was Mouthy!! Like I mentined, I was rasing her as a working dog, so I just put a ball in her mough, hard to bite when something in there already!! & this calms her down.
Even now at 2.5, if my 18 yo son goes outside with her, I say, & he know = put a ball in her mouth!! She Loves my son sooo much, she cannot contain herself = the ball helps her Greatly!!

I'm certainly no expert but one of the first things that came to my mind reading the OP was the possiblity of either hypothyroidism (low thyroid) or hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

Has the dog ever had blood work (full 6 panel thyroid test)?