Quote: Angela Burrell

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.

Doug, I strongly second the muzzle suggestion. Whether the aggression is now due to pain or maybe a way to get what he wants....no offense, but he did avoid his crate since he ended up in the bathroom. And I am not saying that in a negative way; you have done a terrific job with Jake but the return of aggression probably due to his injury shook you up. It sounds like Jake knows it and he may be one of those dogs that ALWAYS needs the rules enforced and pack structure is paramount to a controlled dog which in my opinion means no playing with Sawyer, definitely no treats in the company of another dog and a very RIGID set of rules.

Would it be possible for you to feel more comfortable with him if he were muzzled? Unfortunately there does seem to be a very negative connotation with his crate so what about the 2nd bathroom becoming his space for the short term while he heals and you reinstate yourself as the leader?

I feel if you return him he will be PTS and that would be unfortunate since I think the aggression is pain induced coupled with his reading your current emotional state; and you as a strong leader can work through this. But the descriptions you have given of his recent behavior make me completely understand your predicament and I wish you the best in whatever you choose.

One other thought.....does your vet want to recheck his paw after treatment? It might not hurt; well it will hurt your wallet a little bit, to ask for a thyroid panel and bloodwork to make sure nothing else is going on with him.

By the way....how'd you score two bathrooms?

What exactly did the vet say was wrong with his foot?
Something simple like an interdigital cyst can be much improved in just a few days, while a sprained ligament can take months. It sounds like you got antibiotics, so whatever was initially wrong was now infected? The antibiotics will take care of it in short order, the infection, but not necessarily whatever it was before it was infected.
What instructions were you given as far as exercise?
This dog is a mix of very stoic breeds- he will have to hurt very, vary bad before you may be able to tell.

I second the muzzle- I plastic basket greyhound kennel muzzle is great because they can pant and drink freely while wearing it.

vickie

Hey everyone- todays update.

First want to say I really appreciate the kind words and advice and support. When Jake first showed food aggression, I posted on another board where everyone was overwhelmingly negative. In hindsight, it seems some of the things they were saying had truth to them but it did nothing to help me with the situation I was in.

So I basically had mentally decided to return Jake to the rescue today. I spoke to the trainer, who has been really helpful throughout this, taking daily phone calls and everything and Jake now has at least a temporary reprieve.

Jake has a guardian angel for now and its this trainer- this is the 2nd time he came over for free just to help me out. We basically worked with Jake and found a place to move the crate(like some of you said to do). I've taken him in and out of the crate a few times and its been incident free so far- keep your fingers crossed, because thats the real danger right there. My threshold is getting lower and lower for what I'm willing to deal with though, so Jake is on a very short leash but I pray, for both his sake and mine, that he never has another outbreak like the one he had yesterday.

On the flip side, I emailed the rescue group to tell them there's a chance I'd want them to take Jake back today and can you believe they said they wouldn't take him back, that I should just take him to the vet and put him to sleep if I wasn't going to keep him? What was already a difficult decision has just gotten 34 times worse. How can I bring a healthy dog I love to a vet to put him down? I just don't know if I have it in me.

One other thing- the cone I think was really ratcheting up his aggression. He's not wearing it now, which is worse for his paw but its worth a shot. What do you guys think about that?

To answer the questions above- everytime he's worn a muzzle its made him more nervous and upset, so while a muzzle would protect me in the short term I don't think it would do anything in the long term to solve the issues here.

I know his paw is not healed, sorry I didn't mean reinjured, I meant still injured. My point was- he isn't in enough pain to justify his current actions last night. I personally can not accept a dog is ok enough to be perfectly chipper, playful and happy except when a treat is in front of him, and all of a sudden the aggression is pain related? I can accept the lead up has been pain and anxiety related, but yesterday was purely a lack of respect.

The doctor just said he had a badly ripped paw pad. Nothing else. I will bring him back for bloodwork and thyroid tests and all that.

Oh and the bathroom- haha I have a duplex that has the 2nd floor as an open loft floor with a 2nd bathroom. Its really designed to be a 2 bedroom.

Did you ever find out from the boarding kennel what had happened to cause the injury? If that could happen without them telling you about it then is it possible that they've done something to create the behaviour?

Perhaps there's something about the way they put Jake in his kennel that turned it into a very negative thing for him?

 Quote: Doug Cohen

On the flip side, I emailed the rescue group to tell them there's a chance I'd want them to take Jake back today and can you believe they said they wouldn't take him back, that I should just take him to the vet and put him to sleep if I wasn't going to keep him?

That's pretty much what I expected. To rehome him would become a liability for them. Sad but true. Thank goodness for the trainer and his willingness to help.

 Quote: Doug Cohen

One other thing- the cone I think was really ratcheting up his aggression.

I forgot all about the cone and I do think that you are better off not having it on him if you can watch him and distract if he is going for the paw. My boy is a long nosed shepherd so at least his sniffer was not impaired but his peripheral vision was gone and he was crashing into things and agitated. Agitated is the closest I've seen him to aggressive toward me but he is a laid back dog who has bonded with me for 9 years so I do think the cone could be a big contributor to the aggression. All his senses are effected vision, smell and hearing...and he's fairly new to your home....sooooo when in doubt shout (or behave aggressively if you are a dog)

 Quote: Doug Cohen

I can accept the lead up has been pain and anxiety related, but yesterday was purely a lack of respect.

There could be a little of that too But thinking about the cone maybe not so much lack of respect as lack of trust. He doesn't know what to expect.

I think you have your hands full but I do think you can make it work; I believe Jake needs consistant strong leadership......as much as you might want to coddle him while he is injured.....though you sound like you are over that.

Good luck Doug.

Great news- Jakes gone 2 days without an incident and has started going in and out of his kennel like the old Jake. Jake and Sawyer are back to being inseparable. yay! I'm not letting my guard down altogether but Jake seems like the old Jake. Any ideas on what I should do from here- are there any "tests" or anything?

 Quote: doug cohen

Great news- Jakes gone 2 days without an incident and has started going in and out of his kennel like the old Jake. Jake and Sawyer are back to being inseparable. yay! I'm not letting my guard down altogether but Jake seems like the old Jake. Any ideas on what I should do from here- are there any "tests" or anything?

I am so relieved for you.

Just regular life with a very confident and assured and upbeat owner is the best test, IMO, and a benign one besides.

 Quote: connie sutherland

 Quote: doug cohen

Great news- Jakes gone 2 days without an incident and has started going in and out of his kennel like the old Jake. Jake and Sawyer are back to being inseparable. yay! I'm not letting my guard down altogether but Jake seems like the old Jake. Any ideas on what I should do from here- are there any "tests" or anything?

I am so relieved for you.

Just regular life with a very confident and assured and upbeat owner is the best test, IMO, and a benign one besides.

This.

OK this just got weird again.

Its been a totally incident free week with Jake. He's been going in and out of his kennel without any fuss, and just been acting totally like his normal self. Tonight, I went to walk them and I left the door to my bedroom open. I got on my computer and then realized Jake was in my room on the bed.

I went in, went near my bed, put my phone in my charger then got on my bed where I was going to give him a quick pet and then put him in his kennel in the other room. Before I could do that, he lunged at me and banged his teeth against right outside my eye. He didn't bite me but his teeth scraped against my face less then 1/8" from my eye. It almost could have been playful but then he started to growl. I immediately got up and left the room before it could get worse and went got his leash, asked him if he wanted to go out to get him out of the bedroom. I got him on his leash, went out of my apartment in my hallway and immediately took him back inside and he went back inside into his kennel. ARGH! I can't take this anymore.