This has to be just a regular common problem that can be corrected by a good trainer.
Hopefully someone will step up!
Hopefully someone will step up!
Can this dog be saved? Suggestions please! (long)
I am reprinting an e-mail I rec'd from my local rescue group, please read through and any suggestions would be great...They really seem to want to save this animal. If you know of anyone in the NC area that can help, please advise! Thanks guys
Hi Guys,
you are receiving this email because I am out of ideas
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We were contacted by a woman who's neighbors have a 4 year old, unneutered, white male GSD...possibly mixed with something else but I'm not sure what. He's about 100 lbs!
Damien (yes, that's the dog's name) was owned by a young man who committed suicide infront of Damien when he was 2 years old (the guy shot himself). Damien then went to live with the guy's sister and husband, which is where he is now. According to these folks, Damien was never well socialized. After moving to the young couple's house he was also kind of segregated from other people mainly because his new owners didn't know a lot about him and I think were a little intimidated by him.
Soon after getting Damien the couple had a child. I believe at that time Damien got moved outside. The child is now 18 months and whenever Damien sees him through the glass door he goes ballistic. Barking, ramming the door, jaw snapping. Obviously the young couple are terrified that Damien might get the child one day.
So, they started looking to rehome him. They know he will be hard to rehome, and they are realistic and understand he may have to be put to sleep, but they are trying everything to help this dog. One of our volunteers assessed Damien and felt that he was a good dog, just poorly socialized. ***Bonnie feel free to email back with your own comments*** The couple brought Damien to our adoption event so more of us could meet him.
Two of us took him for a walk away from his owners so we could evaluate him. He was nervous and kept looking back to where his owners were. He relaxed a little and started sniffing around. I was able to rub his back and head and he would make eye contact with me. I got Rabecca (one of our most experienced dog handlers) to come up to meet him. Right from the get go he didn't like her. She went to run her hand down his back and he growled and snapped. She got me to try it and once again he was fine with me.
She then had me push it further and reach down to his flanks and the side of his tummy. He was ok but I could tell he was stiffening. I gave it a little more time and then reached over him to put my hand on his tummy. He growled, I removed my hand, I put it back, he growled..deeper, I removed it and tried once more and he made eye contact with me and whirled around and went to snap at my hand. I went back to patting his head and back and he was fine.
When I took him back to his owner I asked the guy to rub him on his tummy. He immediately got the growl and snap, but it wasn't as forceful as with me or Rabecca.
I guess our bottom land is that there isn't a place for him in the rescue. He is way too much dog and way too dominant. He needs to be brought back in line but I don't think we have the resources for that. He is definitely dangerous when pushed out of his comfort zone - and it really didn't look like fear - he was pissed off at us. He didn't want to be touched on his tummy and the way he was going to get out of it was biting.
That all said, I can tell that there is a GOOD dog in there. And I really admire how hard the young couple is working at trying to find a solution. Honestly, I am shocked that they are trying so hard..it would be easy to just dump him at a shelter or have him put to sleep without any fuss. But they really do care and I think they can tell that he's a good dog too - just way out of line.
My question to all of you is do you know of ANYONE or any facility that could work with this dog? There is no guarantees that he will turn into a reliable dog - maybe Jane or Sylvie could put their 2 cents in and say whether or not dogs like this can ever be trusted- but there is something about him that makes me want to try every avenue open to me. You all have a lot of experience and a lot of diversity in background, which is why I am contacting you.
ANY help you can offer would be so gratefully appreciated.
Hi Guys,
you are receiving this email because I am out of ideas
We were contacted by a woman who's neighbors have a 4 year old, unneutered, white male GSD...possibly mixed with something else but I'm not sure what. He's about 100 lbs!
Damien (yes, that's the dog's name) was owned by a young man who committed suicide infront of Damien when he was 2 years old (the guy shot himself). Damien then went to live with the guy's sister and husband, which is where he is now. According to these folks, Damien was never well socialized. After moving to the young couple's house he was also kind of segregated from other people mainly because his new owners didn't know a lot about him and I think were a little intimidated by him.
Soon after getting Damien the couple had a child. I believe at that time Damien got moved outside. The child is now 18 months and whenever Damien sees him through the glass door he goes ballistic. Barking, ramming the door, jaw snapping. Obviously the young couple are terrified that Damien might get the child one day.
So, they started looking to rehome him. They know he will be hard to rehome, and they are realistic and understand he may have to be put to sleep, but they are trying everything to help this dog. One of our volunteers assessed Damien and felt that he was a good dog, just poorly socialized. ***Bonnie feel free to email back with your own comments*** The couple brought Damien to our adoption event so more of us could meet him.
Two of us took him for a walk away from his owners so we could evaluate him. He was nervous and kept looking back to where his owners were. He relaxed a little and started sniffing around. I was able to rub his back and head and he would make eye contact with me. I got Rabecca (one of our most experienced dog handlers) to come up to meet him. Right from the get go he didn't like her. She went to run her hand down his back and he growled and snapped. She got me to try it and once again he was fine with me.
She then had me push it further and reach down to his flanks and the side of his tummy. He was ok but I could tell he was stiffening. I gave it a little more time and then reached over him to put my hand on his tummy. He growled, I removed my hand, I put it back, he growled..deeper, I removed it and tried once more and he made eye contact with me and whirled around and went to snap at my hand. I went back to patting his head and back and he was fine.
When I took him back to his owner I asked the guy to rub him on his tummy. He immediately got the growl and snap, but it wasn't as forceful as with me or Rabecca.
I guess our bottom land is that there isn't a place for him in the rescue. He is way too much dog and way too dominant. He needs to be brought back in line but I don't think we have the resources for that. He is definitely dangerous when pushed out of his comfort zone - and it really didn't look like fear - he was pissed off at us. He didn't want to be touched on his tummy and the way he was going to get out of it was biting.
That all said, I can tell that there is a GOOD dog in there. And I really admire how hard the young couple is working at trying to find a solution. Honestly, I am shocked that they are trying so hard..it would be easy to just dump him at a shelter or have him put to sleep without any fuss. But they really do care and I think they can tell that he's a good dog too - just way out of line.
My question to all of you is do you know of ANYONE or any facility that could work with this dog? There is no guarantees that he will turn into a reliable dog - maybe Jane or Sylvie could put their 2 cents in and say whether or not dogs like this can ever be trusted- but there is something about him that makes me want to try every avenue open to me. You all have a lot of experience and a lot of diversity in background, which is why I am contacting you.
ANY help you can offer would be so gratefully appreciated.
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Sounds like the dog just doesn't know what to expect from anyone or anything and he's erring on the side of caution and taking just about everything as a threat. The good news is that he isn't really unpredictable - I mean, he's trying to communicate his intent, rather than just going for someone. The growling, the stiffening, even the snapping (I usually assume that if the dog wanted to bite me he would have probably succeeded) are all him giving warnings to back off rather than hurting someone.
That said, it takes a really experienced handler to rehab a dog like this and most rescues can't rehome them for liability reasons. Possibly you might be able to find someone in rescue or the greater dog fancy who wants to adopt him themselves (and enjoys a project)?
Grace was like him when we got her. In her case she had a history of abuse and, as an intelligent dog, she'd decided people were not to be trusted and flailing hands near her head were bad news.
Now, of course, she's the Very Best Dog Ever.
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My general outlook is that if the dog is thinking (versus just reacting), and he clearly is thinking, then he's reachable. It's just finding someone with the time and energy to convince him to readjust his thinking on some things. It's hard when they're so big though because they have the potential to do so much more damage than a small dog.
That said, it takes a really experienced handler to rehab a dog like this and most rescues can't rehome them for liability reasons. Possibly you might be able to find someone in rescue or the greater dog fancy who wants to adopt him themselves (and enjoys a project)?
Grace was like him when we got her. In her case she had a history of abuse and, as an intelligent dog, she'd decided people were not to be trusted and flailing hands near her head were bad news.
Now, of course, she's the Very Best Dog Ever.
My general outlook is that if the dog is thinking (versus just reacting), and he clearly is thinking, then he's reachable. It's just finding someone with the time and energy to convince him to readjust his thinking on some things. It's hard when they're so big though because they have the potential to do so much more damage than a small dog.
Exactly. And the thing is, he's right. And my money would still be on fear rather than dominance but it basically comes down to the same thing - If something makes him uncomfortable, he growls and snaps, and the person stops. He's smart enough to have trained the people around him. What's so sad is that he's probably extremely smart and that same intelligence re-routed could make him the dog of a lifetime for someone.
I always say, it's a lot easier to mess up a smart dog than a dumb one.
I think what that really comes down to is if he can learn to trust people. If he can learn to trust people, than he can learn to be trustworthy himself. If he can't or his nerves are unstable for genetic reasons, then it's another story.
Re: Can this dog be saved? Suggestions please! (lo
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But I do admire people who want to help and save this confused dog that needs a real family.
Well, I do not really admire them. They've had the dog for two years and they know nothing about him. They didn't socialize him, kicked him outside, didn't train him, didn't neuter him, didn't do anything.
Re: Can this dog be saved? Suggestions please! (lo
Maybe they haven't done the best job ever, but gosh darn it, the woman lost her brother in a tragic way and took his dog in when she could have dumped him at the pound on her way to the funeral. Who are you to be so judgemental? And what good does it serve, anyhow?
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They also ended up with a dog they never intended to have, took him in during a period of extreme grief (her brother committed suicide) and probably did the best they could. These aren't folks who went looking for a dog and then failed the dog miserably. For all we know, they might never have owned a dog (esp a GSD) on their own and don't know a darn thing about owning a dog, including the fact that dogs should be socialized, should live inside the home with the family, trained to do more than sit and down, etc.Originally Posted By: GSD07Well, I do not really admire them. They've had the dog for two years and they know nothing about him. They didn't socialize him, kicked him outside, didn't train him, didn't neuter him, didn't do anything.![]()
Maybe they haven't done the best job ever, but gosh darn it, the woman lost her brother in a tragic way and took his dog in when she could have dumped him at the pound on her way to the funeral. Who are you to be so judgemental? And what good does it serve, anyhow?
Re: Can this dog be saved? Suggestions please! (lo
I agree, that doesn't serve any good and I don't intend to get into any argument here. If you reread what I posted you will notice that I just said who I admire and who I do not. I don't blame anybody and just hope for the best for the dog. Please also save your anger for a different occasion since I'd had enough of my own share of tragedies and had never used it to justify my ignorance. Sorry.Originally Posted By: 3K9Mom
Maybe they haven't done the best job ever, but gosh darn it, the woman lost her brother in a tragic way and took his dog in when she could have dumped him at the pound on her way to the funeral. Who are you to be so judgemental? And what good does it serve, anyhow?![]()
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