East Smithfield, PA - Maxx, B/T, M, 2 yrs (adopted)

[Jax08]

Did you have the raccoon tested for rabies? Yikes!

How is Maxx doing? How is your training going?

[snake321]

Good morning Jax

The coon tested positive for rabies.
He officially on 45 day quarantine
Nobody comes over because of him so it makes no difference.
He was up to date with his shot and went right in for a booster. He had to wear the muzzle because he growled at everybody. He just doesn't like new people and doesn't get to see enough of them. Cheyenne was here Saturday and I muzzled him, he gave her the quick growl and funny look. A minute later he had his head in her lap for a hug. The muzzle has less stress and lets him get over his fears faster.
He started being let loose in the house this week for work. Every thing is going well with that.

[Jax08]

What happened when you take him out places? Does the trainer have you doing that and keeping your distance to desensitize him to new people? What does he have you doing to help that? With what I saw of him, I believed this was something he could get over with work.

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Wow on the rabies. Holy crap. Fanning myself here before I get the vapors.

Yeah, definitely no one wants to get bitten by a dog that has been exposed to rabies, even though the staff has had the shots at the vet office.

http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/p...6%205%2008.pdf


PA (not sure if you are there) has had quite a lot of rabies: http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/p...MAP%202011.pdf

From http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/p...d=0&palid=129&

Glad he was vaccinated and is okay.

[Jax08]

No. He's not in PA

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Whatever state you are in OP, you can usually find your rabies stats and info by googling the state name with rabies. Good to know what you are dealing with in your location. Which unfortunately you do, first hand. Wow!

[snake321]

Originally Posted by Jax08

What happened when you take him out places? Does the trainer have you doing that and keeping your distance to desensitize him to new people? What does he have you doing to help that? With what I saw of him, I believed this was something he could get over with work.

He hasn't been out in awhile. He was getting so wound up about wanting to ride in the truck. It wasn't helping his invisible fence training near the driveway which is a real important spot.
He's been good with people coming over but he makes me nervous. My buddy came over a couple weeks ago, I had him throw the ball, all was well. A couple minutes later, Maxx ran at him and pounced at his feet, half growling,half barking and banged his nose into his leg. It scared the **** out of my buddy and me.
Late in the day, just before dark, I have to watch him because when I'm walking around, he sometimes growls and lunges at me, snapping his teeth near my arm.
Always the same time of day.
He is getting himself wound up and looking to get a reaction from me.The first time scared the **** out of me, now I know to look out for it and keep my hands and arms in.
He's getting better and better, but he has some crazy stuff in his background that he can't seem to shake.
I feel bad for him because I have a belief that all isn't gonna go well for him in the end or for me. I just have the feeling.

[Jax08]

Originally Posted by snake321

I feel bad for him because I have a belief that all isn't gonna go well for him in the end or for me. I just have the feeling.

I'm not quite sure what to say. The only thing I would like to point out is if you feel that way, perhaps you should think about whether you need to have a conversation with ACS about whether you feel he should be returned.

[snake321]

naaaaaa, it's not about giving him back.
We get along great, he learns, he wants to learn. The smartest dog I've ever had, by far.
He's gonna bite somebody someday. Maybe not viciously, but he's gonna. Either nervous aggression, somebody new, or just getting wound up, bullying someone for a reaction.
Hopefully, work and time will lessen those worries, but I just have the feeling.
Hard to get used to having the dog that is a baby in the house killing racoons in front of you.
Maybe he was protecting me, who knows....

[gsdraven]

The thing about those kinds of feelings is that they sort of become self fulfilling prophecies. You need to be more proactive and work on getting yourself (and him) comfortable around strangers. If you're nervous about how he will act, then he's going to act like he should be nervous. If you are confident in yourself, him and the training you've done together then there should be no need to worry.

That's not to say that you don't have to be vigilant but those fears aren't going to help you or the relationship.

Killing racoons is what natural predators like dogs do. Rarely does animal aggression translate to humans. Kaiser is my biggest sweatheart of a dog and I watched him kill a groundhug in my backyard one day and bring it to me as a prize. It took some time to shake off that feeling but I know deep down that it was instinct and he wouldn't hurt a person.

If you don't feel that you can trust him, the best thing to do is to give him back to ACS so that he gets to have a trusting relationship with someone without stress.