Yes. I'm going to close the thread, since the original poster seems to have left the room.
Poor dog.
Editing to add a post that got stuck in limbo between unlocked and locked thread, because maybe someone else (who actually wants help) can benefit from another very good piece of advice.
JENNIFER MARSHALL posted:
Heidi you have gotten some very good advice. And regarding tone, you have not seen abrasive compared to what could have been said
The dog wuffing and lunging at the cats, if you are ok with that I guess I'm a little confused. I protect my dogs and my cats from each other in not allowing my cats (I have SIX felines in my care ATM) to pester the dogs and not allowing the dogs to in any way show a spec of aggression towards them. If it gets to the point where the dog is being aggressive to the cat it means I have not done my job in preventing the situation so rather than open a can of whoop on the dog I remove the cat from a situation it cannot win. Ignoring the beginning stages like you are doing often leads to a dead cat. Just a warning to you.
I also have ferrets and while they do not roam the house they have a playpen and if they had their way they would romp all over the dogs like they were breathing jungle gyms but being small fast moving critters they are considered little more than appetizers and so for their protection are kept from the dogs.
I agree that the instance you forgot to mention regarding the child in the street is indeed a big deal. What were you doing to control Max? Were you holding his head up or just standing there? If you were holding his head up to pull him away/off the boy you cannot know that he would not have bitten and my best guess would say that yes indeed, he would have at least nipped the boy. Growling and putting his paws on someone is an aggressive dominant action.
I am in full agreeance with both Mike's and other posters here. The dog needs to be worked with by all family members. If you are the one that is most around him you need to work him when you are with him at some point during each day. Obedience does not have to be a chore and does not have to be negative for either one of you. Start the session with a treat and one in the middle of the session. Ask for a sit or down or something simple, praise, reward with the treat then immediately move to another command he knows, praise, happy, good boy! and move on to the next a few minutes into it give him the other (small) treat. Keep it short, 5-10 minutes, end with a command he does well, praise, and go about your day. Keep it varied to prevent boredom, try to avoid getting into a pattern. Keep him on a leash or long line in your hand at all times.
How obedient is he? What commands/things/tricks does he know that in your mind makes him a well trained dog?
Keep him on a long line in the yard until you get a fence up. Regarding the dog attacking the mail.. that is not a behavior of a stable dog. Have you tried to work with him on this? What have you done to correct this behavior? This must be stopped IMO and to give you a good reason I will put it to you this way. Children will be children. Kids like to play pranks and do stupid or silly things, especially during the summer. What if on a Sunday or before the mailman arrived to deliver your soon-to-be shredded post, a child stuck their hand through your mail slot to tease a dog they do not realize will bite them? Instead of damaged and shredded paper there will be a damaged and shredded hand.
You mention telling him to knock it off or telling him No; what response does your verbal correction get from the dog? Does he stop the behavior, does he just stop the vocalization (growling/barking) but remains alert, or does he stop and sit and be calm? What does he do?
Keep him on a lead in the house attached to you or someone with authority and the physical ability to control him during the day. I recommend getting a crate, also. I'm not sure that I would recommend a prong collar for him at this point since he is aggressive and prong collars to tend to escalate aggression if the correction is not timed perfectly and of the right intensity to break down the drive of the dog at the moment of the infraction. For the mail/mailman, keeping him on a leash should help to save your mail and offer you the best chance to control and correct this behavior.
Edited by Connie Sutherland (06/12/2008 03:21 PM)
Edit reason: adding info (J. Marshall's post)
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