Quote: lynne barrows

1)How, exactly, are you getting him in his crate? It does sound like he has a really negative association with going into the crate. This will only get worse if you are physically forcing him in any way.

2)Why is his crate in your bedroom?

Excellent questions. There's no reason the crate has to be in the bedroom, so if that's a problem, just move it out into another area.

I was also wondering, I'm not sure what state that foot/paw is in, but if the crate only allows him to lay down in a "curled up" position, it may be uncomfortable for him to hang out in there if he's really sore (and you know he is). You might consider getting an x-pen , which would contain the dog, but allow him to really stretch out and get all pressure off that foot... this is a common solution for dogs recovering from knee surgery - assuming they can't jump the pen height, they just have lots of room to lie about and heal.

My sympathies though Doug, this sounds like a very unpleasant situation for everyone - I'm hoping this aggression is just rooted in discomfort, and that a healed foot will see the return of your calm, gentle dog.

~Natalya

So for the x-pen. It won't work. For one, if he gets aggressive, he can knock that thing over no problem. For two, and this partially answers why his kennel is in my bedroom- I live in NYC lol.

My apartment just isn't big enough for that or to put my kennel many other places. I work from home so putting it in my living room would mean I'd have to deal with the potential aggression(even if its just verbal) when I'm working and where I spend most of my time. There is one place I can try to put it, but my problem with that is its a more open space so I have less maneuverability for putting him back in to avoid any attacks. Where his kennel is now is pretty cornered in. However- maybe thats adding to his apprehension of being put back in?

I'd say it can't hurt to try but in this situation, it can! LOL I can't help but laugh at that.

To get him in his crate, I've been getting near it, throwing a cookie in and taking his leash off and closing the kennel as soon as he gets the cookie. bad form?

Doug,

What does your trainer think? When you say Jake is attacking you, do you mean he lunges at you and tries to bite you?

If your trainer doesn't feel comfortable evaluating your safety with Jake in the home, then you need to find a professional who can asap. I think I can refer you to a reliable person who could help you make a decision about the next step. PM me if I can help you with this.

Personally, I would support the suggestion to kennel him at the vets until his paw is healed and reevaluate when he is healthy. Every time he behaves aggressively toward you, that's one more incident that will have to be trained against in the future. Like Ed Frawley says, it takes 90 repititions of the right way to overcome one instance of serious negative behavior.

Just as an additional fyi: generally I think it's true that dogs see other dogs and humans in terms of size and speed. It's generally not a good idea to let big, forward young dogs sit on the couch with you or sleep in your bed. They might get confused about who is running the show. I say this mostly with regard to your other dog. It's possible that his easy going nature and submissiveness is a response to Jake's aggressive leadership of the pack, and after Jake settles or if he leaves the home your second dog might decide to fill the power vacuum.

Edited by Margaret Wheeler (08/07/2009 11:52 AM)
Edit reason: accuracy

I'm not much help with the aggression, but remember it started with the foot injury (if I read the posts right).

"I'm getting REALLY tired of it and its starting to turn from feeling bad for him and the situation to borderline not caring."

Remember when it gets to be so frustrating that YOU were the one who allowed him to go through so much pain without going to the vet- you might owe him more time than would normally be expected if the injury were seen earlier.
Hopefully as the antibiotics do their thing and he feels better, he'll go back to being the dog he was before.
vickie

OK so we had major progress and a MAJOR step backwards over this weekend.

Jake's pretty much not in pain anymore from what I can tell. He's been happy over the weekend and today he was playing with sawyer all day, wagging his tail and being a crazy happy dog. Putting Jake away hasn't resulted in any major issues, a bit of snarkiness once he got inside the cage but it subsided quickly.

So I just came back inside from taking them for a walk and gave them both a treat. then i put sawyer away and was going to take jake into his kennel with another treat, as its been easier to do that by distracting him with the treat.

He wanted the treat though- and he started snarling at me for the treat. I didn't have his leash in my hand so I threw it to give myself some space and backed off. He came over and at first seemed happy but then you could tell he was still about to threaten me again. So I quickly got up and asked him if he wanted a cookie, which distracted him and started to make him wag his tail, grabbed a big cookie and walked him back to his kennel. i threw the cookie in his kennel and he immediately went INSANE. I am truly lucky he had a choke collar on and I had his leash in my hand or there's a chance i might not be here at the moment. I pulled up on the collar and held it there until he gave in, which for a second I thought he wasn't going to and I was going to kill him. Then I somehow got him to leave with me and put him in my 2nd bathroom. I just didn't have it in me to try to get him back in the kennel again. He is WHINING a STORM and I hope my neighbors cant hear but I'm almost positive they can. He hasn't stopped for 30 minutes.

He started to growl and lunge at me and was in a way worse then I ever saw him before in this entire thing. This wasn't a pain related thing, this was an aggressive thing. I seriously doubt I will keep him beyond tomorrow. I'm shaking and really upset. I just cant see myself ever feeling safe around him and these behaviors just going away. What a disaster.

Doug, it's been three days by my count. It's impossible to know that this wasn't pain related however, perhaps you're right and you're out of your league with this dog. If you're unwilling or unable to work with your dog for fear of your safety, unwilling or unable to keep an injured dog quiet enough to heal, then perhaps your local animal control center is the best option however much I hate it for sake of your dog.

If it were my place my first call would be to my vet to see about boarding him until his foot was healed and you can re assess him. After 3 days it's just plain not and possibly reinjured at this point. If that wasn't an option my next call would be to the humane society and rescues to see if they take pit mixes in his injured state or if he'd be immediately PTS. Finally if all else failed I'd have him PTS which I strongly suspect will be the unfortunate end game at this point.

It sucks, I'm sorry for you both but you do have a mess on your hands. I've only encountered a couple dogs who have for lack of a better term exploded on me. It's a little scary each time. Think it over and decide what's right for you and the dog.

I really can't understand why he is out walking, playing and running around and being so active when he has only been on the mend for 3 days. He very could have re-injured it.

Foot injuries can take a long time to heal, especially ones that are so badly infected. Even minor ones can cause discomfort and limping for quite some time.

It may be that he has some sort of major issue, but I really think he needs time to completely heal before you make that sort of decision.

If its reinjured, he's not acting at all like he was at first. He's overall in great spirits which makes last night that much more shocking.

As far as boarding him- my local vet doesn't have long term boarding options. I live in NYC so space is at a premium. Unfortunately for Jake, since I'm in NYC, the shelter options are pretty non existent for a pit bull, never mind one that is now showing such aggressive tendencies.

On top of that, if I don't feel safe around Jake enough to keep him, then I wouldn't want to have him with someone else either.

I love Jake dearly but I'm just straight afraid of him right now. I feel like I have no other options.

Not re-injured. STILL injured. It takes more than 3 days for the injury you've described to heal.

I know you're in a tough spot right now - but if at all possible, buy the dog a basket muzzle (so he can drink and eat) and give him some space and time.

Anyone with experience in foot injuries care to hazard a guess as to how long the OP can expect to wait until the foot is FULLY healed? Maybe a timeline will help him. My guess would be 3 weeks, at least. Anyone?

I know that Loki had a VERY minor paw injury a few weeks ago. He had basically just skinned a pad on some rough rocks. He limped for about 5 days from it.