To all who dropped their info on dog development--thankyou, it will be valuable for anyone who reads my thread and has the most unfortunate luck to have a dog like mine :P--but I have done enough research that I no longer need to have "his young age as a puppy being a bad time to accquire him" beaten into my head any further-this is a sensitive topic for me, as I have recieved alot of critcisim for it; of course after the fact and a year later...after I have already put two and two together... Puppies are not often acquired 'carefully' or under the most ideal circumstances. Or ther would be far fewer of them...
That being said.. I was told that his mother developed a severe infection just one week into nursing, and could no longer feed her puppies. The woman (an aquaintence) I got my dog from bottle fed them (10 puppies in all). There wasn't much hope in reintroducing the puppies to the mother because she had become aggressive toward the family and the puppies.
At 4 weeks, after she said she consulted her vet, apparently with his okay (doubt it--now)--she decided to wean them. All the pups but Aries and four siblings had found homes when I stepped into the picture. I looked over the pups- His brother was very stand off-ish, scared of people. His two sisters were almost overly hyper and one actually climbed over the barrier to get attention. Aries seemed like the only 'normal' puppy. As I was leaving with Aries I over heard one of the childeren cheer that "the one that bites hard is gone!"--my stomach sank and my trouble with him began...
If I knew then what I know now, I would have never got my dog, and would have marched him right back into the house..but like other people in my position I didn't. I had done all the research, and hummed and hawed and found that a pitbull would be the best fit for my lifestyle and the amount of time and training I was willing to invest (HA! generalizations are just generalizations..) so I figured he would be rough around the edges, but nothing I wasn't willing to work with...if only I had known more about dog behavior then... ANYWAY..
She had him on adult dog food at only 4 weeks old. His stomach was bloated from the irritation of the hard food in his system, and I could feel his bones from malnutrition. Not what I would expect from someone who paid $1000 for their beloved gotti-line pitbull, and live in a fricken mansion near the white tanks--but to each their own.. She wouldn't give me any of the food she was feeding them (dunno why) so he got what I would call a hard switch onto puppy food mixed with puppy formula/replacement milk.
At such a young age he would growl to protect his bowl--and literally inhale his food. He grew out of the food hoarding thing....but the biting....took him eight months to stop that, and now we are working on "when you want attention you do not get to pick my hand up in your mouth and put it on your back." OR "Grab my hand while we are outside in the yard to take me to the toy basket"-- he dosen't BITE he just puts his teeth on my skin to get me to do what he wants me to--he never gets what he wants this way, but he tries any way-- very stubborn dog.
Okay..now to answer the questions...
1) No his obediance is not bomb proof, but he is pretty good at it. During High stress situations he will switch positions (sit, lay down, stand..whatever you want him to do) but he will constantly glance over at the stranger, start shaking, 'woof', OR if its reeeaaallly stressfull. Do all the commands at a delay, while staring down the 'opposition'..
So what do I do??
If he is being over stimulated, and is shaking, is constantly staring, I will move away from the person/dog in an ark, or just out of the area. I don't force him to walk dead on to scary things...unless we a trapt on the side walk between bushes where I cannot move off. I always walk my dog on my left to the outside of the sidewalk/trail so people have to pass me..not the dog.
If I get the chance to get off the walkway I put him infront of me, and I stand between him and the people passing by as we do our 'routine'-sit, lay down, paw, what ever trick to keep him distracted and focused on me until they pass.
No body is allowed to do anything with this dog but me. I don't have problems with people wanting to pet him, or talk to him when he has the haltee on--people think it is a muzzle, and instinctively look away from the dog and glare at me. Its people with dogs that are the problem..they also think its a muzzle and that their over reactive dog can do what ever it wants 'cus my dog can't get them..that would be false--But it does have a muzzle-type function.
When you pull on it, a loop closes around the muzzle to pull the dogs head toward you..if he lunges, his mouth gets shut, and to his disappointment he finds himself sitting right back in front of me again.
The good thing about the haltee is that his mouth is free except when he tries to snap-- and when I correct behavior he gets the thrill of having to look in my direction instead of putting his head down and doing what he wants.. I try to get him to give before I demand, but in high stress he is not always so giving.
2)He has seen a behaviorist, but she doesn't work with aggressive dogs;even though she did offer to give him a 'observation' and talk with me about my conserns--but she was scared to death of him--which made both of us nervous (me and the dog).
I have looked for people who are certified behaviorists who work with aggression, but there aren't many people in my area who have the qualifications I am looking for or that I feel I trust..one company has several locations around the country and they claim to fix aggression..that worries me. Sooo thats why I am trying to piece together what I know with what I need to know to help my dog as much as I can.
Re: Where to Begin....
Top
Previous Topic
Index
Next Topic.jpg)
