Leaving your dog crated or muzzled does NOT sound like a good idea to me. Is there at least a room where he can be gated off when your son is active and moving around the house?
Then, when Justin is just sitting around watching TV or something, have him wrap up in a thick quilt or blanket, and let Quincy out. Personally, I would have your son remain completely passive and detached....not try to interact with Quincy at all, and just ignore if he tries to bite him through the blanket...just quietly pull the cover over his head if Q goes for the head. The important thing would be for everyone to stay calm and neutral....personally, I wouldn't even correct Quincy.
I'm certainly no expert, and I could be giving you horrible advice right now, but to me it just sounds like Q has NO trust for your son, is feeling protective towards you, and is just panicked by the fact that there is always all this tension and aggression in the air.
So I would think the first step would be to clear out all the angry feelings in the room....J towards Q, you towards J, etc....and just let Quincy work out some of his emotions in a situation where J will still be safe. SURELY, I'm thinking, that after awhile Quincy will stop attacking when he feels like there is no threat being poised in return, and no negative dynamics between you and your son...and then hopefully he'd feel in control, and stop attacking.
When he calmed down, THEN you could just calmly and silently hand him a treat, and you could all continue to just sit there and watch TV. I know this goes against Caesar's approach, but in the cases he works with, there is at least a loving owner and some degree of trust between animal/human. With your son, who is not Quincy's owner anyway, it sounds to me like Quincy needs to feel like he DOES have some degree of control over the situation....and I bet that when he does, he'll calm down, and stop being so aggressive.
And of course, this will be contingent upon your son CEASING his own aggressive actions and attitudes, and also, I think, on relations between YOU and your son staying calm and under control (no shouting, certainly no hitting, etc).
I'd do that couch thing several times, until Quincy was used to it and didn't attack anymore...then maybe try removing the blanket...then maybe try your son beginning to move around more and more, as Quincy was comfortable with it, etc. It sounds like you have a tough row to hoe, and it's certainly not going to get solved all at once. I think you need to look at taking things one step at a time.
Someone else may come along and disagree with me, but the way I'm looking at it, it seems like Quincy needs to be able to feel like he CAN protect you, if necessary, before he'll ever be able to feel comfortable around your son. |