I really need some advice about my oes...please read...
We adopted an OES from an abandoned dogs home on Sunday. He is what you might call a 'jekyll and hyde' dog, which we are finding out more each day. He is approximately 2 years old and was castrated only last week. The problem is that he is becoming increasingly vicious. On Sunday, he was jumping up a few times and 'chewing' us...not biting as such, just nuzzling. This has become increasingly worse however, resulting in him biting me today, which was quite shocking and quite painful. I am becoming scared to go near him. I know this has nothing to do with exercise, as he is getting about 2 1/2 hours walking/running a day, not including 'fetch' time in the garden. I am guessing that it was to do with his new surroundings, he is trying to assert his authority and establish himself in the 'pecking order', combined with what I will call 'feeling frisky'. I have no idea how to deal with this. I have tried to calm him down by talking gently and trying to stroke him - the result of this was growling, and lunging, fixing his teeth on my leg. I have tried to restrain him, both by leash (which resulted in the growling and biting of both me and the leash) and by holding his collar (biting of my wrist and growling). We tried enclosing him in the kitchen because he would follow us round the house and jump and bite but this is making him worse. I just tried to take him for a walk to burn off some energy but had to turn back as he was growling and biting the lead and jumping up on me and trying to grab my arm. I wanted so much to be a good person and adopt a stray and give him the home that I thought he needed, but I am scared to go near him as he is so unpredictable. He has moments of calm but these are getting less and less each day - I am starting to resent him and don't want to be near him, which I think he can sense. I think I am going to have to take him back which breaks my heart - he is so gorgeous and such a great dog when he is calm, but this is awful. I hope nobody judges me for this, or thinks I am a bad person. If there is anything I could do to avoid this, please tell me. We have friends with young children and babies and it scares me that, if he can hurt and scare me (I am 6ft tall for crying out loud), it terrifies me what he could do to a baby and a two year old child. This is the worst day... |
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| Gill,
I have lots of questions??? Do you have experience with large dogs? And have you ever adopted before? Also, did the adopting agency give you any clue as to his behavior issues, or did they tell you he was a wonderful dog that was perfect in all ways???? I think the first thing I would do is take him to the vet and tell the vet the issues you see, how they are progressing and ask if there is any medical reason that they may know of that can cause this kind of behavior. I would also ask if medication for anxiety would help. I would also talk to a behaviorist to see if this can be “trained” out of him. The other things I want to tell anyone who adopts or even gets a puppy, you should always do your home work regarding the breed. A 2 year old male is like a teenager of about 16 to 19 years of age, and an OES at this age is a very strong dog. They are testing and trying to check boundaries. Training is essential to teach him who is in charge. You and your family must always remain the Alpha parties in the pack. Much like having a kid he is trying to figure out how much he can get away with and who will dominate him. He needs direction. But I also understand if you are afraid. When we adopted Kiera, I will say more times than not we felt we had made a HUGE mistake. She was aloof to us and mean to Tyler, she would attack him with NO provocation at all. She would bite at us when we tried to get her to do what we wanted and was generally a big problem. I took her to obedience class, she was horrible. She barked thru the whole session, every time we went to class and didn’t do anything that was required. I was so frustrated with her. Then the trainer would take her and do a demonstration for the class and she would behave like this perfect dog, go figure? Well, the issue is that the trainer wouldn’t take the crap from her and she knew it. In the beginning, you can’t be his friend. You have to take the alpha role and let him know that none of this behavior is okay. After you get the real dog to show up and this can be as long as 6 months, that is what it took with Kiera, then you can start the loving guidance part of his education. We have had Kiera for 18 months and she is the most loving and sweetest dog you will ever want to see. She still has a very bad habit which is the trash can raiding thing but only on occasion will she do that any more. I swear she is so affectionate and loving you would not believe it was the same dog at all. For her she needed to know I was the alpha bitch and I wouldn’t put up with her crap, and then once that was established, she could get all the love she wanted from me as long as she was a good girl. When she is bad, I ignore her and she hates it. I am not saying you should keep the dog or give him back, that is your call. I do know that a young dog needs consistency and to know what he can and cannot do. You have to be that person. Putting him in a room away from family is going to add to his behavior issues, not solve them. OES must be part of the family. Remember he is a teenager and all teenagers are testing at all times. Training may be the best thing and remember, dog training is a misnomer, it should be owner training. We all need to be trained on how to understand our four legged companions and what they need from us for them to be the best that they can be. All the best with what ever you decide to do, no one is judging you. Your family and children’s safety should always be the first concern. |
| There are many many posts on dog aggression on the forum. Go to the search function (near the top of the page), type in the search terms, click on "all terms" and click on "view as posts". You'll have a ton of good suggestions.
If he's THAT vicious, however, I personally would be in agreement with you -- safety of you and your family FIRST. Good luck. Please let us know if we can help out in any way. |
| Hi Gill,
I adopted Henry when he was one and had very similar problems with him. Here is what I learned: 1) Patience -- if you can stand it you will get through this time. I cried on the phone to Henry's foster mother, cried on the phone with a dog trainer, and had bruises up and down my arms. I have a great dog but it took at least a year, and after 2-1/2 years we still have issues. 2) Get a trainer -- immediately find a positive reinforcement trainer -- not one who thinks you should punish your dog but one who can start you on clicker training. Your dog doesn't know what to do so he is trying the only things he can think of -- he needs to learn what he can do (which brings rewards and attention) and what he can't (ignoring him.) If you can afford it, schedule some one-on-one training sessions. You need to train your responses to his misbehavior very quickly. 3) Muzzle -- I found a soft mesh muzzle at Petco. I used on Henry when he got too mouthy. He could easily breath, drink, and bark through the muzzle. It allowed ME to feel safe enough to be around him to train him. It saved my life and his. 4) Use this forum -- questions, fears, concerns, whatever. We are here to help and support you. 5) Don't feel guilty. If you are too overwhelmed to handle this dog, please contact an OES rescue organization who can place him. |
| Dear Gill, you certainly are not a bad person, you did a very generous thing by adopting a dog. This dog was in a shelter that sends a red flag. You are gradually becoming more afraid of him and say he is now vicious. Can you live with this? I would do what is best for you and dogs fit into our lives and aggressive behavior is not normal. Don't feel badly there might be another sheepie in rescue worthy of your love. Take care. |
| Gill, I'm really sorry to hear about the troubles youve had. There are a few of us on this forum that have been through the same thing and I think we can all offer you some great advice if you do keep your sheepie.
Walter is 16 months and has been going throught the Jeckyll and Hyde thing for about a year now. Weve come a long long way but have had many troubles getting to where we are now. I think there are a few key elements that some people already touched on: 1. consistent in home training 2. get to a behavior specialist at your vet asap. they can rule out medical causes for the aggression, possibly recommend medication and point you in the direction of a POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT trainer 3. get support... this website is great and im on an email list for k9 aggression that is absolutely fantastic, if you want i can give you the website for that as well. if you do decide to keep your sheepie, i would recommend leaving a leash on him around the house at all times so when the attacks happen you can have a hold on him. I know how hard it is to deal with the actual attack. walter is 80lbs and im 120 so its been really hard for me to control him when he goes for me. but i found that grabbing his scruff or his collar is the worst thing to do- it absolutely infuriated him and left me with some scars on my wrists. if he is food motivated then i would recommend getting some irresistable treats and leaving them around the house so you can grab them if a situation occurs... this way you can give him a command like sit and then give him a treat and remove yourself form the situation before it escalates. do you notice a pattern as to when he bites? please let us know what you intend on doing... no one will think you are a bad person either way! this is a very hard decision, good luck! |
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