My dogs are just like my babies, however, like humans dogs can be very unpredictable. We have two dogs, both I would consider to be medium size dogs, even though with their breed, they should be bigger dogs. Bones, who was the first into our home will be 3 in human years in March, he is our pit bull and chow mix.
When we first got Bones, everyone told us this would be a mean dog, and we would have a lot of problems with him because of his breed. However, this dog is the biggest baby I have ever met, the only problem we have with him is the fact he does have some separation anxiety, and when we go places and come home he likes to jump on you. He is learning to control this problem by running into the kitchen and stuffing his head into the food bowl, if the food bowl is to far away, he will grab a toy or a bone to help ease his excitement.
When it is time for bed, he is just like every other human I know, he jumps in bed grabs his spot and gets cozy under the blankets.
Yoda, is our Boxer/Mastiff mixed dog. He will be 2 in March, he came from a different background. Bones, we got from a family that had their pups indoors, Yoda, came from people that just wasn’t good with animals. Yoda, was the runt, and when we got him he was covered in fleas and was infested with worms. At one point we didn’t think he was going to make it. The worms and fleas stunted his growth, and I think played a small factor into his very unpredictable behavior.
Yoda, is what I would like to call our problem child. He once was a loving pup, now he is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I am not an expert of dogs, their behavioral problems, or a trainer. I am only a dog owner, that has researched the problems we’re having in hopes to keep my beloved dog from having to be put down because of his problems.
What I have discovered is Yoda, has fear aggression. He gets scared of his own shadow and for awhile, he would growl while eating because he seen his shadow and thought that they were going to steal his food. With working with him and showing him no one wants his food, not even the other dog, he has gotten a bit better with his “Food” aggression. We can now walk by him without him wanting to attack. Usually if he is eating, and we go into the kitchen, he will growl a second and walk away from the food dish. We assure him he is okay and let him know he can continue to eat. We praise him for walking away and award him with a treat.
With fear aggression it makes it difficult to properly take care of him, this means no clipping nails, no bathing, no doing anything in attempts to help him. It really makes loving this dog that much harder! Before I was bitten by this dog, I was able to trick him into letting me clip his nails, with distracting him with a hot dog. At this point, I think we have a lot more work to do, before we attempt the hot dog trick again, because now I know he is capable of biting. However, he didn’t just bit me, he let me know he was scared and I needed to back off, in attempts to give him flea meds, I was using treats. My mistake was leaving the flea meds in my hand, and patting him on the head after he got his treat. He felt as if he was in danger, so I cannot blame him for that bit. It did almost cost him his life, I begged my husband to let me work with him and give him another chance. If it happens again though, we will have no choice but to have him put down and to me that would be like killing one of my babies, so I have researched and researched and researched some more.
I have been working with him, and we have learned that with fear aggressive dogs they have to work for everything. When he needs to go outside, he must sit, he must wait, and once I go outside he may then come. With his food, he must sit and wait until I give him the okay, he once slept in bed with us, however, whenever my husband, bones, or I would get out of bed he would wake up growling. So know he is no longer in our bed and he sleeps outside the bedroom door.
Yoda is not a stupid dog, he is extremely smart! He listens very well to us, he just has those trust issues that we are working on, and hopefully with training and communication we will never have another bit again!
Do you have an aggressive dog? What are somethings you do to keep your dog from reaching his breaking point?
Note: I am only a dog owner trying to save the life of a pet that has aggression issues. I am not an expert in behavioral problems when it comes to dogs. If you have a dog with behavior problems educate yourself by contacting a dog trainer, vet, or researching ways you can help your 4 legged friend.
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