slightly aggressive dog

[carrie]

Once you see the strong effect feeding Oz this way has on his confidence you will find it easier to remember to move his empty food bowl off the floor as it is a basic part of the feeding ritual.

Feed Oz behind a closed door if possible and leave him totally on his own for the ten minutes (timed) that he is allowed to feed - then remove the bowl from his reach and the whole problem has disappeared. Stand outside the room preventing anyone from going in if you have to!!

You do not put Oz's bowl on the floor until it is his turn to eat, you leave it on the counter while you eat your little mouthful. A sit stay would be acceptable later on after the ritual is established.

I have studied animal behaviour all my adult life and especially canine behaviour and psychology and am qualified in both animal and canine behaviour and canine psychology. This method has grown over the years and has been influenced by almost everything I have ever learned!!!!! It never stops!

[carrie]

Sorry - I missed a bit.......

If you start the process at a time when you both enter the house at the same time (you and hubbie) say, after work, then the dog has a chance to understand the way things have changed before the next morning. He will need to be convinced of your new found leadership and will ask to go out as usual - if you have a garden then you can open the door to allow him access to the garden without looking at him or giving any vocal command. Be SURE that you step out first though - as pack leader it is your responsibility to make sure the outside is safe for the pack!!
If not then continue to ignore him until he has settled for the ten minutes - by the morning he should be getting quicker at doing what is required.

As for books - anything and everything is useful to read. Most have something to offer and you can't make up your mind unless you have as many points of view as possible.

I am happy to say that there is a growing number of people using these methods now in this country.

Jan Fennel has written two books that you can get from Amazon.com that explain the basics behind the theory and how to put it all into practice. She is very easy to understand although I know of many behaviourists that have been using these methods for some time longer than we have known about Jan Fennel !!

[Dog Days]

Purely Positive Training is a book that I am currently reading and it was recommended by our vet (a homeopathic vet) It is a really good book so far!

Good luck and good for you! I know personally how hard it is to raise a pooch with tonnes of baggage. I does get easier and it is all soooooo worth it, you just have to be consistent - always!

Cheers,
Lisa & Talus

[mel55smiles]

okay i know this sounds stupid and its probally not the case,
but here goes, could it be that this is a trust issue??
i mean he trusts you, french girl, but he might not trust your hubby, and it might take him some time to get used to the fact that when your hubby puts him in the kennel he will take him out, and not leave him in all day, like it could have been with the man who beat him.. and when he growls maybe he thinks when things get loud, he or you might be beaten like it could have been at his prevoius home??

[carrie]

Sorry to jump in here - but yes....and no to the last post!!

Yes it is a trust issue, - for a dog like this to be able to live a stress free life it needs to TRUST the leadership it is given.

And NO... putting the dog in the cage and then letting it out again will only show the dog that you will put it back in the cage after you have let it out. It makes no sense to the dog.

For the dog to trust you .......you have to do the best you can at speaking the same language at all times.

Sounds easy.....I have not managed communication at the level I consider attainable yet and I have been working on it for over fourteen years.

In this instance I would like to say again that losing the crate would be a fine way to start - as a pack animal the dog does not need his own space - a bed (dog bed NOT human!)will soon be abandoned so the dog can lie in the correct place.....IN RELATION TO THE LEADER...when the dog feels secure in it's place within the pack.

[mel55smiles]

I DIDN'T MEAN THAT WHEN HE PUT'S HIM IN THE CRATE 5TO TAKE HIM OUT TO SHOW HIM THAT HE'LL TKAE HIM OUT AGAIN.
I MEAN'T that the dog doesn't know that he'll tkae him out later.

[lizbud]

Mel55smiles,

Do you mean the dog relates "putting him in the kennel"
to when his previous owners "put him in the kennel" ?
Like the dog associates the kennel with bad stuff? I would
not use the kennel at all, unless there was no other way
to keep him away from harm outside.

[mel55smiles]

YES, LIZBUD.
THATS WHAT I MEAN'T.

[frenchgirl]

In answer to the question of abuse.

We know for sure he was kicked, punched and slapped. We know for sure he was dragged around by his collar and yelled at. We know for sure that the kids in the house used to bang his kennel and poke things at him through it. We know that he was neglected and fed next to nothing. We know this because the previous owners have been charged in the past for animal abuse and it was cited the things they did. Also he displays passive responses to any of the above mentioned things if it occurs.

I have decided we are going to start on the food issue this MONDAY. We started (as soon as we got him) on entering and leaving the door FIRST. He is mostly good at that except when he knows he is going to the offleash park. Then he gets the border collie focus on THE PARK and thats it. his focus is just park,park,park,park,park....you can see it in his eyes. I never tell him where we are going...he just knows. He is a smart cookie...the mood in me probably tells him we are going to the parkk...theres not much i can do to change that!!


Barry works at home and i go out to work. what usually happens is when i come home i take him out for a walk and then we will start the feeding schedule. Just to clarify carrie...when i put our dish of food down next to his bowl and barry and myself eat off of it...where should Oz be while he is watching this? I got the just about feeding him for 10 minutes in another room and thats it, but where should he be when we start this excersice??

He has also developed a seperation anxiety towards me. He gets quite frantic when i step away from him in social gatherings...the vet's yesterday...i was 8 feet away talking to an old client and oz was just screaming at the top of his lungs and lunging toward me. Barry had to basically sit on him to prevent him from going anywhere. Oz could SEE me but he was freaking out. He has done this before. At obedience when we were doing the sit/stay and walk away, Oz would start whining and yelling at me even though I was just accross the room. He would still sit/stay, but let it be known to everyone that it wasn't ok with him. When we gave the "come" command he flew accross the room like he had wings. Is there anything I can do about this or will this start to downplay itself when we start addressing the feeding issue....will his self-confidence in some capacities return?? I hope so. I know it will take time but with consistency I am hoping he will calm down in many area's.

Michelle

[carrie]

When you start the feeding routine with Oz the MOST important thing to do is to ignore Oz. Sounds odd, I know and especially when for decades the emphasis has been on controlling the dog at feeding times.
As long as you are not looking at, talking to or holding on to Oz it really doesn't matter where he is.
Totally ignore him all the time you are putting his food in his bowl and your food on your plate. Totally ignore him as you eat the little bit of food you have and clear away the plate. What Oz is seeing and probably getting excited about is that it is food time but things have changed!! He is no longer the focus of attention....suddenly the FOOD is! The very fact that you are concentrating on food and not the lower ranking member of the pack says a LOT to the dog about your ability as a leader and your confidence and therefore his safety and how secure he is.
When you are ready, do not rush - no matter how frantic the dog gets - call ,"Oz." ( He is probably jumping up and down in front of your face....but you haven't noticed him!!!!!) Pick the bowl off the work top and ask for a sit if you like or simply put the bowl on the floor and walk away.
He may decide after a while that he is going to ignore the food prep time.....that is great! It does not mean that he doesn't know what is going on - just that he is willing to wait for his turn and that makes you a good leader!
All areas of seperation anxiety and control behaviour will reduce quicker than you would of believed if you can feed and follow the ignore rule when you come into a room where the dog is.
The first day is the hardest and it is exceptionally hard without support from a person (me) actually in your home with you for the first couple of hours.
If you can do it I promise you the results are worth the effort....you have to adjust your thinking a little to think dog.

[lovemymaltese]

I also can not offer any advice, I just wanted to say bless you for saving the little angel from a terrible fate. You did a great thing, that's a lucky dog. I hope that everything works out okay.

[lizbud]

Frenchgirl,

I don't think you need to put your plate & Oz's
dish on the floor for this exercise. Fix his dish
on a counter top and put your plate next to it
on the counter top, then eat from your dish while
Oz waits for his turn to eat. Then you put his
dish down wen you're ready to feed him.