Challenging Male need help Adopting him out - Page 2

Echo, I too work at an animal shelter. I'm in charge of the local rescues in the area. I was able to convince my boss that the normal temp test don't work with GSDs and in doing so saved a lot of them from un-needed death. I have to admit though a dog as you describe would unfortunately be better off euthanized. He can become a liability for a new owner. Some of these dogs have been so traumatized that their brains shut down. They become unpredictable as you work with them and you think they're coming around and then out of the blue they snap. I've seen it hundreds of times. Too many good dogs get PTS because someone took in one like this and wasted their time and the other dog gets over looked and destroyed. There are just some dogs that sadly can't be saved. Good Luck with your decision. I usually say to myself. Do I feel confident enough to bring this dog home to my family and if not I let the animal go in peace.

Without actually seeing this dog's behavior, it is impossible to determine what is going on. However, I will tell you, very few dogs really have the type of dominance you are thinking of and it sounds to me that this dog is in survival mode which is basically fear driven (don't say I blame him at all) and could very possibly be a danger to people and as sad as it is, PTS may be the kindest thing you can do for him.... A really experienced person needs to safely be able to evaluate this dog and then if determined salvageable, a really experienced person needs to take him... hard criteria to fill We just got a 19 month old back from a previous breeding exhibiting similar behaviors, but since we know the breeding and have several littermates locally, we are pretty certain this dog was raised improperly and has learned that growling can get him what he wants.... we screened mercilessly as we always do, but ya just can't get them to tell you everything!!! Good luck with this poor guy

I really feel for you and this poor guy Echo. Ran across a similar situation a few years ago at a local Petsmart where a shelter was showing some of their dogs for adoption. There was an absolutely beautiful male GSD who just had the look in his eyes that said "Cross me and I WILL take you down." I would have taken him but I was traveling too much to give him the time that I know he would hve needed. But, there was something about him that still haunts me. He and I had connected. So, Max, if you are out there, I hope that you foud a good loving home that helped you become the dog you could have been.

Echo-- I'm going to shoot you. How do you come up with these questions? Now, I have to worry about some poor, abused dog 3,000 miles away that I can't even go and look at. (LOL) Well, we're all involved now. Is there someone you personally know who is dogless at the moment, and can take him in for a week before even considering any type of evaluation. He needs nothing but some quiet, (no shelter noisiness), down-time for awhile. Just gentle, kind interraction. No kids. topthat--You may be a dream come true, but the dog comes first, so I have to wonder---You're posts on earlier threads are of concern to me. You seem to be interested in extremely hard dogs--having a preference for them--even to the point of looking for a dog, 1-5 yrs. who would fight to the end. Echo--It's way too early to give up on this dog.

while i applaud your determination in helping out this poor beast, i would still like to insist on following through with charges against his previous owner. at the very least, this man should not be allowed to own another dog. perhaps one report will not acoomplish this, but at least you may say you did something about him. experienced animal cruelty workers will tell you that an individual never abuses "only" one pet, and more often than not, the cruelty escalates. if your concerns are justified, please do the world a favor and report him.

I'm not sure why you are talking about scores, bloodlines, or evaluation by a training director, but this dog in no way should be considered for sport. If what you say is true, the dog either needs to be kept in a very controlled sistuation by someone who has dealt with this before or it needs to be put down. Anything else would be unethical. Also, have charges been preferred against the abuser? The person who created this menace should be prosecuted.

Echo-- I'm somewhat in the dark as to how he came to the shelter. Was he a drop-off from the owner, or a reported abuse case that when investigated, the owner voluntarily surrendered? How did you come by the knowledge that the owner beat him to stop the barking?

Echo I think at only 14 months of age it would be doubtful this guy is a "hard dog". I realise some lines mature quicker but he is still a baby and most likely scared to death. It is hard to say if he could be turned around especially w/o knowing what he was like as a puppy (outgoing vs timid) before this jerk got ahold of him. Hard to go back to who you were if you weren't stable to begin with so to speak. I wish you luck with him and I hope the guy who had him reaps what he has sowed.

I agree with spook. I know it's not the dogs fault but safety of those dealing with him or exposed to him in the future must take priority.

LMH, yes, I, too, noticed that topthat likes very hard dogs, and wondered just why he would be so interested in this particular dog. I also think it would not be a good idea to used this dog for Schutzhund. The agitation would bring back all the bad memories of having been beaten. If he can be turned around, certainly he might do tracking or agility, but the protection phase of Schutzhund? NO WAY! I'm not big on treat training or clicker training, but I think it might be the best thing to try with this dog. to avoid having to use physical corrections with him that would trigger memories of the abuse. My German Shepherd, Tasha, was scared to death of men when I first got her. It took half an hour and lots of treats before my husband could touch her, then, a couple of days later, when he went to take pictures of her, she saw his camera tripod and thought it was a stick he was going to beat her with, so she ran and hid again. Once he unfolded the tripod, she decided it was safe to come out. It took awhile but he eventually became her best friend.