The "damaged" ones can really steal your heart, cant they Melissa? Sometimes you just "connect" with them in a unique and special way.

I want to add that I don't think that this is a dog that I would consider re-homing if I was unable to manage him safely. As hard as it is for me to accept sometimes, for some dogs, the world is just such a fearful place that it is kinder to euthanise them and release them from the mental anguish that every day living entails. And I would take comfort that they left this world as peacefully as possible with me holding them.

Not saying this is absolutely the case with your dog. But from what you posted it *may* be.

<<Hugs>>

Claudia Romard is on the upper east coast.

http://vangoghkennels.com/contact.htm

I saw Claudia work with a fear aggressive dog at a seminar once and was very impressed with the progress in one session. I am not going to attempt to describe what she did because without someone of her caliber to read dogs it could really backfire.

If you can connect with her it would really be worth the drive to get her evaluation of the dog. If she is to far from you, she may know of someone that is a bit closer to you.

 Quote: betty waldron

The "damaged" ones can really steal your heart, cant they Melissa? Sometimes you just "connect" with them in a unique and special way.

I want to add that I don't think that this is a dog that I would consider re-homing if I was unable to manage him safely. As hard as it is for me to accept sometimes, for some dogs, the world is just such a fearful place that it is kinder to euthanise them and release them from the mental anguish that every day living entails. And I would take comfort that they left this world as peacefully as possible with me holding them.

Not saying this is absolutely the case with your dog. But from what you posted it *may* be.

<<Hugs>>

So true.


I understood "NEXT DAY"to mean you took the dog the day after entering the shelter,to your home, with Mom, Dad, Brother? The dog wasn't working out there, You got your own apartment?



There will be many years ahead. Your young, Cupid may not ever accept your friends, relationships,any future spouse, or child.

I wish you luck in finding a trainer/behaviorist soon for an evaluation. As others have stated, this sounds very dangerous.

Thank you for you reply. The first trainer just said to use prozac. The second was very treat oriented with halti. He helped in getting us over some obstacles, but she would never let him near her.

 Quote: Betty Waldron

Claudia Romard is on the upper east coast.

http://vangoghkennels.com/contact.htm

I saw Claudia work with a fear aggressive dog at a seminar once and was very impressed with the progress in one session. I am not going to attempt to describe what she did because without someone of her caliber to read dogs it could really backfire.

If you can connect with her it would really be worth the drive to get her evaluation of the dog. If she is to far from you, she may know of someone that is a bit closer to you.

Thank you. I will be contacting her shortly. I appreciate your help so much.

I have no experience with aggressive dogs. But I have rescued 3 dogs. Each were in a shelter before a rescue organization picked them up. You never really know what kind of treatment a dog has endured when you rescue them. Each of my dogs had issues. All were afraid of people. All were afraid of the hose and water. My last rescue Terra was thin as a rail, when you went to touch her she fell to the ground fearful. If I walk around the house and pick up something in my hand, she immediately drops to the floor or runs to another room. It took a long long time for her to begin to trust me. All my dogs were the same. Cody was put in the dog shelter as a puppy. They allowed all puppies to play together and the bigger pups mauled him. (full grown he is 18 lbs) he started to become aggressive with the other pups so they decided to put him to sleep. Since he was so young about 10 weeks, they called a rescue organization and they took him, then we got him. He was absolutely terrified the first few months.
I agree with what the others have counseled you. Put your dogs crate in a quiet secluded place. Do not try and train him or socialize him with family. (we kept our dogs in the crates and away from (well meaning) family for many, many months. (with the exception of Bindi who immediately bonded with my granddaughter (she was there when we bought Bindi,we think she must have had her own girl before she came to us.)
But all others were kept away from her. We didn't force ourselves on our dogs or introduce them to other dogs or take them for walks for about a month.
It has helped. cody loves the other two dogs, Terra although something in my hand still frightens her doesn't run away any more, but stops and looks at me.
All of them are no long afraid of the hose. (Someone at a shelter told me that sometimes shelters squirt out kennels with the dogs still in them)
They all love people and kids. In fact bindi now has human friends at lowe's tht she must see each walk we take. After having Terra for about 2 years she is now walking with bindi and I and meeting some of bindi's friends. (they know the perimeters of meeting my dogs. But this has happened way down the road from the date we brought them home.) My pups have calmed way down. We have had them for about 3 years total. It is still a work in progress.

Who knows what has happened to this dog. Not to make you feel sorry for her, but just to keep your mind on the reality she may have faced crazy situations where she had to defend herself. People probably passed her each day in her kennel and who knows what they did as they past by. I have seen people hit at the cages to see if the dogs are aggressive, or yell at them. Grrrrrr....
How old do you think she is?
I hope healing will come to your dogs mind and heart. I pray you find a good trainer, be very careful who you choose, it could make things even worse. And I pray for your safety. THis dog is a life long project, you will have to be diligent for as long as you have her you will never be able to let down your guard. You never know when something can set her off.
sharon
sharon

 Quote: MelissaPietrocol

 Quote: Betty Waldron

Claudia Romard is on the upper east coast.

http://vangoghkennels.com/contact.htm

I saw Claudia work with a fear aggressive dog at a seminar once and was very impressed with the progress in one session. I am not going to attempt to describe what she did because without someone of her caliber to read dogs it could really backfire.

If you can connect with her it would really be worth the drive to get her evaluation of the dog. If she is to far from you, she may know of someone that is a bit closer to you.

Thank you. I will be contacting her shortly. I appreciate your help so much.

No problem. You will love Claudia. Not only is she one of the best trainers I have ever seen she can explain things to you that not only do you understand what she is saying but you don't feel dumb....... She will also give you her honest opinion.

She is also funny as hell.

 Quote: MelissaPietrocol

The first trainer just said to use prozac.

My parents have a dog that is a lot short in the genetics department. Very insecure and downright unpredictable sometimes. They have been working with her for 8 months now and have made huge strides.

The biggest tipping points for her were having a very nervous person who was staying with them move out and having prozac. Meds without a training, behavior modification, and daily management plan are pointless. They had gotten to a point and then gotten stuck there. The addition of prozac got Xena to the point that she will respond less erratically. She seems more relaxed and able to think through a situation better than just reacting.

Prozac isn't the answer to your problems but it can help with a dog that's otherwise unreachable.

One HUGE downside to working with a dog that is genetically messed up is that, no matter how well you can "train" the dog to respond correctly, stress will always bring out the dog's natural behavior, good or bad!

 Quote: bob scott

One HUGE downside to working with a dog that is genetically messed up is that, no matter how well you can "train" the dog to respond correctly, stress will always bring out the dog's natural behavior, good or bad!

I am having a hard time believing this bad gene theory. How do you know an animal has bad genes? How do we know the dog's natural behavior?