Louie is on Wellness Core, he cannot tolerate any grain based foods at all. I started him on the RAW diet and got his seizures under control that way but found it pretty cost prohibitive so gradually switched him over to a grain free diet. He is not on any medications and it's taken a bit to get the seizures controlled this well. He may have one seizure every 4 months or so now, compared to two or three a week.
He does get booster shots though. They do house checks here for Rabies so that's a must have or a $300 a day fine for every day he doesnt have it. OUCH! I do not use heartworm meds on him either as I've heard bad things about those and epilepsy.

Ok I am going to print out the article on groundwork and have it handy and read it through and make everyone in the house read it also so we are all on the same page.

I'm getting a bit excited to know I can fix this, or at least make it somewhat better and may not need to re-home this pup I've learned to love.

 Quote: melissa burkhard

He does get booster shots though. They do house checks here for Rabies so that's a must have or a $300 a day fine for every day he doesnt have it.

Other vaccination "boosters," though, have no laws. I'd make sure the vet and staff know your instructions with regard to boosters. Also, I'd probably ask about waiving the rabies shot too, for a dog with any seizure disorder.

 Quote: Melissa Burkhard

... I'm getting a bit excited to know I can fix this, or at least make it somewhat better and may not need to re-home this pup I've learned to love.

You *can* fix it. Even though you have created a pack, separation and rotation and one-on-one training can still make for a happy household.

The work it takes to change the way you live with your dogs and to provide them with a strong and reliable pack leader will pay off enormously.... for all of you.

Melissa, I think you are light years away from being an idiot. Your strategy for pack management has worked very well in the past with laid back dogs. In fact, the methods you now need would have been excessively harsh with the pack you had previously. You just hadn't experienced a dominant, aggressive dog like Sniper who requires a completely different approach. So please don't waste time kicking yourself. Your posts reflect an articulate, intelligent person who really wants to do right by her dogs.

I agree with your inclination to rehome Sniper if a good home can be found. It will be much easier on your other dogs, who are now restricted because of him.

In response to a very intelligent question you asked ("But with the epileptic is it wise to use a remote trainer? Something says no due to the electrical impulse.")--you are absolutely correct to be concerned. E-collars can indeed precipitate seizures in epileptic dogs (even with very low stimulation levels), as my epileptic GSD taught me many years ago.

Susan

Melissa,

It is so wonderful to hear how willing you are to take the steps necessary. So many come on here, hear all of the recommendations, and then don’t do it. Or fail to take responsibility. Your posts absolutely warm my heart.

 Quote: Sarah Moris

A real idiot would never admit to a mistake. A truly wise person not only admits a mistake but tries to do better.

Truer words were never spoken.

 Quote:

My question is: will neutering him at 9 months have any desired effect on his dominance issue? I know they say it will, but now heck I feel like I don't know a thing about dogs anymore!!!

I know this is not your main priority, but on the neutering of Sniper, I’d wait. If you are going to be giving him to a man that will use him for hunting, and is a responsible owner, let that be his choice. He may find that with structure, work and maturity that the dog is fine. If you are going to be keeping him, and he is to be a pet, then maybe wait until he is at least a year. At his age, neutering probably won’t have much impact on his temperament. But then I am not much of an expert there, as all of my dogs are intact.

Things are going well this morning. The cocker has been in a crate and Sniper has been strapped to me with a leash. They have sniffed each other through the crate and were very good about it. The cocker at one time did a little bit of a lip quiver at Sniper but I immediately gave him a stern NO and moved Sniper away from the crate and made him sit so I had his attention.

I did notice last night that when Louie is in the crate and Sniper is out when Louie moves Sniper immediately gets that "prey" stance. Ears perked and forward, tail erect, body stiff and his eyes hone right in on Louie. I'm really not liking that look !!! When he does this I immediately call him to come which he does most of the time, if he does not respond immediately he is given a pop on his leash and usually that's all it takes for him to then come to me.

Am I doing this correctly??? I cannot wait to order some of these videos, taxes are done today and I plan on spending a good chunk of it right on this site! I so want to salvage this relationship between these two if I can.

Melissa,

I'm no expert on dominant dogs but from Ed's article on introducing dogs to cats, he says that (a prey driven dog, who chases cats) would get a good correction for even *looking* at the cat. I think that might apply to Sniper looking at Louie that way.

The behaviour I would want would be for Sniper to ignore Louie completely. No looking, sniffing, or approaching. He may be developing some same-sex aggression and you as the pack leader need to teach him that your cocker is off-limits.

I agree to hold off on the neuter until you find out what the hunter wants to do. If the hunter would use him as a working dog, he would likely want him intact.

I do agree that he probably should not be bred or used as a stud dog, so if the hunter does not take him I would then get him neutered before re-homing him.

Hope this helps and good luck. You will learn a lot here - I know I did.

You know what is disheartening about this whole situation? We had dog training classes tonight, about 8 dogs total in the class. Not a huge class so it works well. Before class a doberman came over to check out Sniper. I was a bit leary at first but watched closely to see if a black dog approaching would set Sniper off. The two of them ended up playing at the end of their leashes and having a grand time. A bit later a black standard poodle came over to check my treat pouch out and sniffed Sniper, again I watched closely, not one sign of any aggression and they too ended up playing on leash with each other a bit. Then a boxer invited him to play and they played and so on and so on. Every time I'd call Sniper to come, he'd come immediately and sit very nicely until told he could go back to play again. Keep in mind this was all on leash, no off leash.

It boggles my mind how they can be absolutly fine in one scenario and not the next. Yet Sniper knows that building and I feel you could say it's familiar territory to him and hes' never so much as grumbled at another dog there. Is it because that is not a pack and therefore there is no need to fight over rank?