I "adopted" a yorkie that had essentially been abandoned at the vet by an owner that had very little/no time to interact with the dog because of her extensive traveling with her job. She asked to vet to be sure the dog got a good home....he mentioned it to a doctor that I worked with and I felt so bad for that unfortunate little dog, I jumped at the opportunity to provide a wonderful little dog a home and yard and other dogs to play with.
Well, this was a Devil Dog.....he tore into my poor little girl and almost killed her before I could snatch them apart....that was after cautious introductions, blah, blah, blah....so he could not be trusted with any of my other dogs. My mother had just moved into my home....and that dog would see her coming out of her bedroom and chase her back into her room......he would not allow her to come out of her end of the house, blocking her passage in the hall! Feeding time was an exercise in wild animal behavior....once that bowl hit the floor, it was HIS and you had better not DARE pass within 5 feet of that bowl or he would guard and growl and bare his teeth in warning....reach down for that food and risk loosing your arm up to the elbow.....
That dog had to go. Only dog I ever "got rid of" in my entire life....but this was the most mal adjusted, vicious dog I had ever tried to help....an anesthesiologist I worked with also trained dogs, so I let her have that vicious animal, with a complete and honest disclosure about his disposition, bad manners, and horrific attitude. She worked and worked with that dog, and while she SAID she was not going to give up on him and would keep him forever, she never was able to completely work thru this unfortunate creatures vicious disposition and according to her, they compromised in several areas.....it was either that or rehome the unfortunate dog and she refused to send that dog away again. She had no husband, no old people around, no children...it was just her and that dog, and I guess they worked out boundaries that neither crossed.
Good luck with this dog....dont get your face down where he can bite you in the face....watch him around your other dogs as he may try to kill them to establish dominance and Alpha position. I am not sure you can ever completely trust this dog....keep that in the back of your mind and take no chances....
I agree with you completely....you can not allow this dog to be Alpha in your home...THAT is YOUR position....I am not a proponent of shock collars, but drastic behavior often calls for drastic training measures, especially when you can not pay a professional trainer to work with that dog on a regular basis. Realistically, you can NOT sweet talk and coddle and kiss a vicious dog into being nice, and you had better not ever completely trust his behavior.
If I was in your position, I think I would contact a hunting dog club. They effectively train hunting dogs to retrieve birds, etc and they will be able to tell you how to effectively utilize a training collar.....please keep us posted with your dilemma....I am so hoping you can effectively help this little dog, whose horrific behavior is partially poor genetics, partially lack of training, perhaps some cruelty at an early age, and may benefit from behavior modification techniques. |