Search
Not Logged In
0
Your Username:
Your Password:

[ sign up | recover ]

Discussion Forums » General Discussion
Page:  1  2 
Calling all dog owners
0 likes [|reply]
27 May 2010, 00:03
Lovin'MyLittles
Post Count: 322
I usually don't use the forums, but I need a variety of input, because I'm at my wits end with my dog.

I have a 2 year old German Shepard. I took him in when he was about 6 months old. We took him in from a co-worker, who didn't give him the greatest love, attention or environment to live in. He was kept in a kennel with about 6 other dogs, all about twice his size.

He has always been very timid but over time the timid has turned into aggression, barking and growling.

Our Vet suggested getting him neutered, and we did that in September of 2009. So it has been about 8 months now.. but I've never really noticed a difference in his personality.

What I've found is that since we moved in January, (5 months now), he has been having severe separation anxiety. We took him to our Vet again, and she suggested a variety of things. She suggested medications (I believe similar to Prozac) but said that if we noticed an increase in aggression to stop it immediately. We noticed a slight improvement after a few days but then a large increase in aggression, barking and charging after people and we immediately discontinued the medications.

The only other suggestion that anyone has given us is to take him in for obedience classes. I am a nervous wreck at the idea of taking him into a room with other people and other animals. I can't even take him for a walk without him going crazy on the side walk, how am I going to be able to take him in for obedience classes? I just envision a nightmare of things happening there.

Lately, with the weather being nicer, etc.. my daughter has friends coming over more and more.. He has been growling and barking at them, and to be honest guys, I'm getting a little worried about it.

If I leave the house and leave him in the backyard, he manages to escape out of our 6 foot privacy fence, and I'm terrified he's going to hurt someone.
If I leave him in the house, he tears things up (doors, windows, blinds, carpet, trash, etc) while I'm gone (again, the separation anxiety the Vet mentioned).
If I put him downstairs in our basement (which is a safe area for him, nothing dangerous for him to get into btw) - he sits at the top of the stairs and barks until .. well, who knows? And he has destroyed that door.. to the point of almost biting through the door knob on that side. I'm not kidding, and anyone who doubts me - I can provide a picture for your viewing pleasure.

So, I know a lot of people on bloop have dogs and deal with dogs on a regular basis.

Can anyone give me any advice? I'm contemplating getting rid of him, but I don't want to.. and I'm afraid that we won't be able to give him to a new owner because of his aggression. Who wants to put a dog in their home or their car who will do nothing but bark at them while they're near him?

My Mom suggested finding a personal trainer who can work with us more closely at home, etc - but that sounds so expensive and I have already invested so much money in this problem, and I don't want to waste any more money if it's going to be exactly that - a waste.

Just looking for some input. Thanks :)
0 likes [|reply]
28 May 2010, 18:53
*~Loving You~*
Post Count: 507
Get a crate and play classical music while ur gone and if u have a fenced yard then why worry if he hurts someone that goes to its terrirtory?

Call victoria steiwell! :-D
0 likes [|reply]
28 May 2010, 19:38
Lovin'MyLittles
Post Count: 322
LOL We bought a huge crate for him. 280.00 worth of crate to be exact LOL.. he tore it up in 10 minutes. TEN MINUTES. lol
0 likes [|reply]
28 May 2010, 22:06
*~Loving You~*
Post Count: 507
Maybe put him into doggy care? Like child care 4 kids

I got a x large metal crate for 50 bucks on CL but I dun remember ever seeing 1 for 280 :-/(brand new)
0 likes [|reply]
29 May 2010, 00:37
Lovin'MyLittles
Post Count: 322
We got one of the HUGE crates.. they're really for like outside kenneling.. and we put it in our basement for him. It was like 10 ft long by 5 ft wide and 6 ft high.. we thought it would be able to contain him to one area, decrease the anxiety, etc. Our vet recommended it and since we have a huge basement that we don't use, we figured.. why not? Haha.. he destroyed it. We were soooo ticked.
0 likes [|reply]
29 May 2010, 01:20
*~Loving You~*
Post Count: 507
Call victoria??? :-D
0 likes [|reply]
2 Jun 2010, 16:21
*~Loving You~*
Post Count: 507
found a solution yet? :-)
0 likes [|reply]
2 Jun 2010, 20:38
Lovin'MyLittles
Post Count: 322
Yeah. It's long winded though! lol

Okay, we found a trainer who lives about 45 minutes away from us. She specializes in german shepards and in dogs with high energy levels, anxiety and aggression.

We're going to be sending her to him for 2 weeks of training. It will be every day, all day training - and after the training is complete with her, we'll go pick him up and learn the training with her and him.

She really believes the reason he is being destructive to the house when we leave is separation anxiety and also a bit of boredom. She he is a high energy dog, and that the energy MUST be used or he will have excess adrenaline & cortisone which can result in hyper activity, etc...

So she is going to train him to be off of a leash and listen to us, so that he can visit the bark parks and use a scoop tennis ball toy - so we can launch a tennis ball 25-30 feet and do that 20 times a day and he'll burn off that energy. She's also going to work with him on loose-leash walking - so that his walks are easier for us and so that I can do it without my Husband there. That way he gets 45 minutes of activity in the AM and 45 minutes in the PM.

She said once we can establish who is "pack leader", the aggression will wear down. She said that he feels "over whelmed" as a dog right now - feeling like he's responsible for everything "in the pack" - even though the pack is human, she said animals have very simple brains, and they function in a very simple manner. There's no "gray" area - it's either black or white, it is or it isn't.

We have a lot of high hopes for this. If it doesn't work, we're going to call the local police department and see if they can take him in and train him as a K-9.

But I really believe what the trainer said - he has too much energy for himself and that if we can learn to walk him and exercise him (without it being a nuisance to everyone) then it might be better for all of us.
0 likes [|reply]
2 Jun 2010, 20:41
*~Loving You~*
Post Count: 507
good good :-) how much is it gonna cost you if u dont mind me asking
0 likes [|reply]
27 May 2010, 01:48
jessi bear(:
Post Count: 300
http://www.cesarsway.com/askcesar/

;D i love this guy.
0 likes [|reply]
27 May 2010, 02:11
Lovin'MyLittles
Post Count: 322
Thanks.
I emailed him and followed one of his links to a personal trainer.

A family member suggested having him put down - stating that it wasn't worth the potential threat to anyone else to keep him... It just breaks my heart at the thought, so Hubby and I are racking our brains trying to come up with some last ideas before we call SISCA. I might even call SISCA tomorrow to see if they can recommend a trainer in particular.

That's what it might take - a private trainer. I don't even want to know what that's going to cost :( :(
0 likes [|reply]
2 Jun 2010, 20:49
Lovin'MyLittles
Post Count: 322
About $1,000.00 for the entire 2 weeks. He'll get a remote collar, and it covers all of his food and insurances etc while he's there.
0 likes [|reply]
27 May 2010, 02:38
chelseaz
Post Count: 83
Well, if you go to an obedience class, I think everyone will understand. They're all trying to get their dogs trained. And it would probably be good for him to be around other people and dogs and get used to that. Also, have you ever watched "It's me or the dog" on Animal Planet? It's really helpful to watch her work with dogs and get them trained. One of the things she did for an aggressive dog was, once he started growling at someone, she put him in a crate where he couldn't see anything. With enough repetitions, he stopped being so possessive. *Shrugs* It'll take time and patience, but I think it's possible :)
0 likes [|reply]
27 May 2010, 03:27
Tommy Decentralized
Post Count: 506
I love dogs, I have 3 right now.

I had a couple of aggressive dogs in the past. and I gave them away. I cant have that here, to many kids around here, it's just not worth the risk.

I like the idea of a trainer. but i would also keep the adoption of adopting him out open. He sounds perfect for a junk yard guard dog. good luck
0 likes [|reply]
27 May 2010, 03:28
Tommy Decentralized
Post Count: 506
option*
0 likes [|reply]
28 May 2010, 02:40
Lovin'MyLittles
Post Count: 322
Tommy, I agree. We are really keeping the option of adopting him out. I've thought about calling SISCA but I'm afraid he wouldn't pass their SAFER test because of his aggression.
I mention getting rid of him and no one is really understanding the issue of having an aggressive dog around a child.
I contacted several dog trainers and one of them mentioned that "6 months might not be long enough to fix this problem" - what the heck?! If that's the case, then yeah, he goes.
0 likes [|reply]
28 May 2010, 05:22
Tommy Decentralized
Post Count: 506
That really sucks, tough decision, I know.

*keeps fingers crossed*
0 likes [|reply]
28 May 2010, 17:40
Transit
Post Count: 1096
Farmers/the police are normally the best place to take aggressive dogs.
0 likes [|reply]
28 May 2010, 04:20
Oprah Noodlemantra
Post Count: 300
My family took in a dog, half lab, half rott. She was beautiful, but her previous owners (my aunt and her son) never really disciplined her. She did kind of okay around adults, but we did not let her around children, because she was too rough. One day, she got into a fight with our dog, her brother, and ended up tearing into his throat. We had to have her put down at 5 years old because she was too violent, and we couldn't change that, no matter how much training we did. Her brother is still with us (at 13 years old). It breaks my heart that we had to do that, but after that incident, we could never really be sure that she wouldn't snap and hurt my little brother, who was only 8 at the time, or one of our many younger cousins who were always coming around.
0 likes [|reply]
28 May 2010, 13:24
Lovin'MyLittles
Post Count: 322
He has never attempted to bite anyone, child, adult, or animal. He loves kids, if he knows them - my 2 year old nephew, my 4 year old niece and my 8 year old daughter for example - but strangers that he doesn't know, he tends to growl and bark at, and he fluffs up his hair and kind of prances around funny. I don't know that he'd ever bite anyone or anything, but the thought of him being slightly aggressive scares me and I'm afraid that he WILL bite someone, and I don't want to take the chance anymore. It breaks my heart, the thought of putting him down, but I honestly feel that my options are very limited at this point, and I'm not sure that even a personal trainer would be able to help at this point.
0 likes [|reply]
28 May 2010, 19:11
Finally Mrs. Bailey
Post Count: 181
That's a tough decision. Maybe the personal trainer can help you, I mean, if you are really wanting to keep him. If it doesn't though, IMO, it's not worth risking keeping him, you never know if it could get worse. I don't want to suggest putting him down, cuz I'm an animal lover too, but def try to get him adopted somewhere. Someone mentioned the police, maybe they could take him and train him. It'd just be really sad if he were to bite someone someday and you had to put him down. :/
0 likes [|reply]
28 May 2010, 19:26
DivaAshley
Post Count: 242
One of the girls on another board just posted about a dog like this. He was aggressive, and barked at her kids (the neighbors dog), and she was always a little worried about him. Sure enough, the other day he some how jumped their wooden fence and mauled her 8 year old. She said the police and CPS were called, and it has been a mess. I know her neighbors went ahead and put him down before they were forced to. They had to show proof of Rabies and all that, and they are in some serious trouble because of it.
IDK, I totally understand not wanting to get rid of him, and not wanting to put him down. I just think, though, with dogs you just never really know what they're thinking and HOW they are going to react to different situations.

We had a German Shephard that we LOVED. He was such a good watch dog, but one night I was dancing around in the living room and I guess I did something he didn't like, and he came after me (I was about 4 or 5). Mom stopped him, but they ended up giving him to the Police in our hometown. He went on to be their most AMAZING Police Dog. He was always in the paper and on the news, and he lived a LONG happy life with a Bachelor Police Officer who treated him like his very own child.

I think if you try the personal trainer (I probably wouldn't, but if you want to spend the money, and the dog means that much), and it doesn't work, contact your local police.
0 likes [|reply]
28 May 2010, 19:37
Lovin'MyLittles
Post Count: 322
Do the police really take in adult GS's?! I never knew that. THANK YOU for that. We are going to try a personal trainer first and if that doesn't work, we'll go onto the Police. He'd make a great K-9.
0 likes [|reply]
28 May 2010, 19:41
DivaAshley
Post Count: 242
I believe Caesar was 18 months -2 years old when we gave him up. They were born when I was 2 or so, and we kept him and his sister (my parents bred GS's). So, I think if they're still under 2ish there's a good chance they'll take him.
It may be that the PD can refer you to the company that trains the dogs for them, as well. And, the company may take him to train as a K-9.
0 likes [|reply]
28 May 2010, 19:44
Lovin'MyLittles
Post Count: 322
I think we found a trainer that takes him for 2 weeks and then we go back and go through the training with him and that is supposed to help. She gave us a lifetime guarantee and all for this, so I think we might take that option. It sounds like it could really work for her, she specifically works with GS's.
Post Reply
This thread is locked, unable to reply
Online Friends
Offline Friends