Great post Mr. Arnold.

Katie

I agree, great post!

It serves us well to remember our dogs are animals, not humans. They don't bite us because they don't like us. They bite due to lack of pack structure and training. It is just nature for them. As humans we can sometimes take this personally, we become emotional ("my dog bit me, he doesn't love me, even after all I've done for him. It hurt my feelings...") and an emotional human does not make a good pack leader or trainer.

The dog doesn't understand I cried because he bit me and it hurt my feelings! It doesn't understand my s.o. is mad because he bit him, and we've spent all this money on his surgeries. He just sees instability, which reinforces his confusion and attempt at dominance.

Watching that Cesar clip was very inspiring to me, along with all these posts. The way he sits there and doesn't react, never acts upset the dog is trying to bite him. It just is what it is, and he's dealing with it.

Who knew dog training would involve working on our own selves first?

 Quote: stephanie biros

Who knew dog training would involve working on our own selves first?

Amazing, huh?
I agree, great post Mike! I think you may drink as much coffee as I do...

 Quote: Mike Arnold

Stand up straight. Have a game face. Be resolute. Don't negotiate. Don't make excuses. Don't back away from an immediate challenge. Anticipate and act. Etc., etc., etc...

Out of coffee.

As usual, Mike, another thoughtful post.

Anticipate and act...very important I think. Once you get your mind wrapped around that concept, things go more smoothly , I've found.
Being pro-active can eliminate many potential problems...

Well, I had the vet appt today. She said definately pain could be an underlying issue, and that that could be part of his personality now, dealing with chronic pain. She believes it's mostly behavioral. Doesn't feel it's thyroid or any other medical issue related, because there are no other symptoms. She recommended Tufts Behavioral Clinic very strongly so I think that's my next move. I told her how he lunged at us when we tried to make him stop eatting everything in site as an 8wk old puppy, so she thinks it's built into his personality and behavior.

I was glad at least she does not feel he's the kind of dog who warrants euthanasia. She agrees he's very challenging, but feels there's room for improvement in his behavior.

So, the call is in to Tufts. It'll probably take me months to get in, but at least it's in the works. In the meantime I've got stuff to work on.

I recommended the behaviorial clinic at Guelph University to a nephew of a friend when his Chessie became even more dominant and aggressive than he was originally. The dog did obey obedience commands, but had limited respect for the family. There were small bites, subtle challenges, snapping, etc. escalating over a few years. I am no expert, but based on the stories of the temperment of the dog in the past, the breed profile, and my friend's opinion of her nephew's personality, the individual dog (or breed) was a mismatch with her nephew. He loved the look of the breed but did not really have the temperament to deal with the strong pack structure this dog needed. The behaviorists basically said everything you read here about pack structure, N.I.L.I.F., crating, etc. In fact I e-mailed him (the nephew) some of the articles from this site.
The dog is pretty good now, but will always have to be watched and dealt with as he's not a happy golden. The nephew loves his dog and is putting in the work, (he does not want to put the dog to sleep and a breed rescue will not take a dog who has bitten) but everyone agrees the dog was really not the best match for him.

Even if you do go the behavioral clinic route, I wouldn't consider waiting months (or even weeks) for it to happen without doing all the groundwork recommended on this thread.

And marker training, pack structure, and everything else here -- these are not some kind of "out there" controversial ideas that a behaviorist is going to say "WHAT??" about.

Oh, no, I've already been implementing tips from here! I feel like I'm making headway already!

 Quote: stephanie biros

Oh, no, I've already been implementing tips from here! I feel like I'm making headway already!

Excellent. I think that this experience is going to be a good and a valuable one. Look at all that you have already gained (your post, a couple of posts up).

Dog training sure is a huge plus in my life.