Bad temperment - Page 9

Cheers Blitz, How are ya? Know what you mean but have a look at Charlie's outlook on number of good animals that make that final no-return trip to the needle. You wouldn't want to how Shepherd I had as a Kid was put away! Found cardboarded pup in woods not long ago - pretty glad I had a rescue service to take it to! Regard - P.

I have to say somthing maybe a lil off topic on the rescue group thing in answer to them being responsible for what they adopt out. sevral years ago a "rescuer" I knew of came to me knowing I had large breed love and experience she claimed she had a wonderful sweetheart well behaved rescue that needed fostering until a spot opened up in two weeks please please would i consider helping them? well I asked multiple times to three of the rescue personel about the dogs habits and temperment as at the time my eldest was a toddler. now of course I never let the dog around the child unsupervised. by fourth day I was relaxing around him he had shown good behavoir and no temperment problems. thing is until that day I had not needed to correct him. I came in from tossing trash out while cooking dinner he was paws on the counter sniffing at a bowl i took his collar to pull him down and give him a "no" all of sudden he whirled on me teeth expossed going for my throat. he was 120 pounds. a broom was in reach i grabbed it backed him down bracing it across his throat pushing away till got him near back door and shoved him out thank goodness screen popped open to do so slammed door on him before he could recover. I then called animal control when the officer came out come to find out this dog was sent into rescue for attacks after the old owners did not warn anyone when they gave the dog away he brutilized the folks who took him was to be put down. they were bleeding heart animal activists and were "saving" this dog from euthanasia!!! The original owners used to corect this dog by chokeing it till passing out with choke chain after every and any offense! that dog was going to kill me to survive thinking i was going to try to kill him! the worst of this is the rescue folks knew this all!! even worse is the original ownbers who had given him up when they feared for thier lives got a pit bull puppy and nobody did anything to them for any of this.If I had been as irresponsible as alot of rescuer recruits are "alot dont know any better" myself or worse my child could have been killed. on top of this I have seen one pup in my life that at 12 weeks old i sugested it be put down you could not touch it it would bite anything close enough to it in a way that you could not tell about its motivation to do so. This pup however had not been abused or neglected.

Hey Patrishap! You misunderstood me. I was writing to Chris. I wanted one of Chris' pups to go to these folks. But they were simply burned from the experience with the rescue. I don't think they want a dog for a long while. Partly out of guilt. That is what I meant. . . another good home lost to a good dog. I would not have wanted that dog in my household with a 3 year old. No way. But a nice dog from Chris, just perfect. Sunny

Liebe Fraulein, Check.

Sunshine said "It would be interesting to know how he interacts in the family"...well I wasn't there the first day these people brought the puppy in, but the trainer said they had scratches and puppy teeth marks all over their hands and arms. I'm not really sure EXACTLY how he is with family, but I have been told that this behavior started with the family. The man says he now is great at home and also plays with their grand kids, but I am doubtful about him being TRUSTED with these kids, being that he is so bad with strangers. If these kids would pull his tail or pinch his foot there is no doubt in my mind that he would come at them teeth first!!! I am also skeptical about HOW good he is at home. I think he might be just trying to show progress, since we always ask him. BTW: Grossman mentioned "muzzling him only adds stress to a pup who's already an emotional basket case" we realized this but it is the only way to try to get close and socialize him without getting our faces ripped off, but the muzzle is removed when puppy kindergarden begins so it is not a constant distraction and source of stress. Everyone knows not to touch him or get too close, he's not dog aggressive so it has been working out. Class is good for him though because it gives the owner plenty of chances to lay on the praise, which he needs to create a bond with the pup and so the pup has a desire to please him and respects his corrections. I am going to print this thread out and have the trainer read all your comments, and hopefully she will direct them toward a behaviorist or start planting the seed about having to euthanize him. Again, thanks to all.

Hi Sunny, yes, I remember you telling me that story. What a horror. Did the poor child recuperate from that? That goes to show you how important it is to find the right dog for a family with small children. And even then, I do not leave my three year old unattended with one. My seven year old daughter is a little different. She spends hours with our puppies by herself, just playing and holding them. That is they we bought her a playhouse and had the puppy play area fenced right behind there. She also started leash training them, but we sometimes have to rescue the poor dogs, lol. Sorry for the late reply, but sometimes I have trouble getting into the message board. Is that common, or is it just me? Chris

I still wish I could see what's going on with this pup in person.

I find these posts fascinating. I rescued a GSD mix (probably lab) about 7 years ago. She was about 1 yo and starving, weighed 40 lbs then, anout 70 now. I never had a gsd before, but always wanted one and hy husband and I both grew up with dogs. Within 2 weeks after the rescue she bit a friend's child, while "defending" our child from rough play. We learned from her, thought a few times about putting her down, but have learned how to control her, support her and keep her and others safe. She has never been aggressive with us, I can take a bone from her mouth. The key is dedicated owners, either with experience, or the willingness to learn. I have a dog who would die for me, and, except for residual leash aggression with certain neighborhood dogs, is very controlled. Dogs often have more sense of danger then people; if she thinks some one is dangerous, she is usually correct. However, when it was time for a new, young dog, we bought one from a reputable breeder, because temperment is critical. Maybe when I am retires, I will have the time and patient to return to GSD rescue. It is not wrong to put a dog down, we chose to keep and protect our bitch, and we have put a lot of work into her, but if i was not willing to do that, but i would have rather put her down then give her up to someone who would use her for "protection" or have no clue of her temperment.

At four months showing this type of behaviour is obvious to his future behaviour.The damage has already been done.The best scenario for this pup is to go to a home that allows freedom with a knowlegable hand so the pup can get a better format of trust and nurturing.I doubt that this type of behaviour is genetic.In true honesty..my feelings are that the pup needs to be put down unless you can find the right home which is highly unlikely..Even if you were to find the home...You would damage the dog more.What has happened cannot be un done...to this pup.