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Did I miss a previous thread about this same dog....

Yes.

http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/showf...rue#Post4176990

http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/showf...rue#Post4177515

Ah. I did a search; must've screwed up keywords <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />. That's what I get for taking a forum vacation-forgot all my neato skills. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

It kinda seems like Eric is to be commended for his faith and effort, but is having a hard time seeing the forest for the trees. It's a sad situation, and not one I envy him for. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

20 month old chow had since 8 weeks. Completed basic obedience, novice and a 3rd course through dog club. Has CGC. 16, 17 YO daughtert and wife. No prisses in my family, all are tomboys. Kids lost interest early in training and wife was to busy to follow strict advice form Ed's video. I was the main one taking time to watch, read and implement.

Bruno has bitten my wife during correction about a year ago. He was maybe 55 pounds and becoming to strong for alpha roll and they went at it. She helped him lose a baby tooth early. Advice received at that time was to alpha roll so you can imagine the disaster. He has bitten me once (around April) when I tried to move his pad (not in crate) to help him get a treat that lodged between the pad and a piece of furniture. I then knew he was food aggressive and knew I made a mistake. That did not prevent me from giving him a come to Jesus meeting a half second after he did so. The only other times he's bitten have been while using the dominant dog collar. As I write I asked my oldest and she said he has never bitten her. I thought he had. We don't use this approach anymore as there's not enough control and he is a very hard dog. Have also implemented a Dogtra 1700ncp with success.

What he did frequently was gaurd! Wherever he was laying was his spot and he'd growl and bare teeth at all who wished to pass. With me he'd do so while he moved out of my way. He is also food aggressive. Here's what we now do:

Aggressive pack leader initiative...no stone unturned per Ed's video. No peeing but in yard, no furniture, no human food and the rest.

Always on leash in the house on a prong with me. He goes everywhere I go.

Eats only in crate. If he growls and does not stop, he doesn't eat that day.

Currently going through basic obedience with my 16 YO daughter to help her understand commands, timing, pack leader etc.

Limited uncontrolled freedom in back yard.

Increased activity. We also take him on walks at night when it's cooler. Since doing this he does not want to come out of his crate in the morning.

No offense taken to enough rope. We're not your average family and I don't expect some people to ever understand where we come from or what drives us. We take the concept of teamwork and family VERY seriously and for better or for worse, Bruno is a member. I need to allow new tactics time to work before I'll give up my dog. If you're going to tell me to re-home him, save your typing fingers. Thanx for the concern.

DZ

Hey Eric, I really was kidding about the rope thing <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. What ultimately happens is your decision totally. Luckily, you do not have any small children in your home. Your kids are at an age to understand and take necessary precautions. The danger comes in w/outside kids and your kids' friends. You don't want to be sued; the general public does NOT know how to behave around this type of dog, and they are notoriously stupid. Sounds like you got some bad/potentially dangerous advice early on; hope it's not too late to fix some of this. I agree that people are pretty quick on the "rehome-kids are more important" trigger. Keep in mind that everyone (I truly believe this) means well. They're offering the best advice they can w/what limited info you can get online. You are not going to be able to be the "typical family" if you want to keep this dog w/out incident. I wish I had the magic words, but it seems like you're doing pretty much everything you can, (within the bounds of what you're willing to do) so I guess only time will tell. I certainly hope your commitment and positive attitude pays off and a tragedy is averted. I don't think you can be too careful with a dog like this, though. He may need to live out his entire life under the strictest supervision. Do not ever back off of this, even if you think he's "better." I sincerely wish you good luck.

Eric,
Nobody is going to be "proud" when your dog seizes an opportunity to rip into someone. Resigned perhaps, because it will be another "bad dog" incident. Sorry perhaps, because someone will have gotten hurt. But pride won't be a factor.

I had a full response but I am tired of the pessimism. My questions are geared toward changing my dogs behavior, not his location or owner. If this does not fit your idea of my life with my dog, realize it is my life and help someone else who is less committed. I will continue to post as there are still those out there trying to help me.

Sincerely, Eric D.

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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?

Eric, can you crate him first, wait a few minutes then prepare the food and give it to him? Make it 2 sepetate things.

Hey Hank! Right now I'm going with advice from Anne V. I tried the 2 step process you spoke of. He usually starts growling as you approach the opening of the crate with his bowl. He is starting to quiet down sooner though. I want to keep trying this for at least a month before deciding it doesn't work but it seems to be.

Another thing that seems to be making an enormous difference is this new leash I picked up. It has a clip at each end and rings sewn in at differebt points. You can use it in many different ways. I throw it over my shoulder and keep him on a prong in the house. He follows me everywhere I go and I don't even need to remember because it's connected to me also. He has pretty much stopped growling at me altogether. I put him on a flat collar today and noticed a difference in his pulling. I'll just stick with the prong.

DZ.

Hank is right on. I may not have made it clear -- it is hard in writing. I believe I wrote to give a treat for going in the crate, then set down the food. I may not have explained the purpose is to separate the two things.

If he growls while approaching, I'd treat it the same as if he growls when setting down the bowl. Give a verbal correction "No" and if he doesn't stop, turn around and walk away.

Maybe try offering small meals more than once a day. He needs to have 90 - 100 successful nongrowling mealtimes to learn the acceptable behavior, so one month may not give you a good result.