30# of Bones !,,and a beef heart,, - Page 3

No one wants to believe they can not handle their dog, but when  your dogs over powers your life you have to do one of three things. 1) Get RETRAINED how to handle the dog now, 2)  Find someone who can handle the dog, or 3) Get a real good lawyer.

I have a real good idea that you love this dog dearly, but he is WAY too much dog for you and you need to do what is best for the dog, and it is not what you have been doing. I am very sorry to say this but if or when someone gets really hurt by this dog it will effect many many people other then yourself. GSD have a bad enough rap as it is, this dog needs to be in capable hands.

The worst bite I got in my life what by a dog the got out of his muzzle.

The best dog I ever owned choked to death on a knuckle beef bone.
 

I've lived with a "problem" GSD. I wish Ruger1 the best. It's not fun.

Paul,,I do realize that in many ways I can not handle Prince in the same way you, Jim, or even Bee can. There are many things I avoid just because I am not equipped to handle certain situations should they arise,,I am aware of my limitations for the most part..I did use poor judgment in letting Prince #1 have free roam while muzzled #2 Experiment with the raw bone in the particular situation I did,,

You are correct about my affections for Prince,,I do love him very much..I do not believe that that Prince is better off anywhere else Til death do us part I suppose,,.His temperament would not be any different with anyone else at this point..Had he been raised by someone more experienced most likely he would have turned out differently, but no use crying over spilled milk...He is what he is now . I am again reminded of my bad judgment regarding my handling of Prince....But I will continue moving forward,,

I would definitely not like to be the bad GSD poster child. Just the idea makes me feel very badly for all the deserving well tempered GSD and their capable handlers,,,,Whether Prince is in capable hands with me is subjective,,I know I am not one of the great dog handlers on this forum, but I will have to suffice..Thank you for your input..

Blitzen,,Thanks .:)





 

~~, I am always delighted to hear from you..I do appreciate every bit of your advise,,I don't really like your post above I have to admit, but I respect it very much...,I guess I am confused as to why you think that I do not want to change or modify Princes behavior..I have been working toward that end for a long time; at least I thought I was,,,I realize I have made a couple more serious mistakes lately,,I have known for a long time that Prince is a liability,I take that very seriously which is why he is always muzzled around anyone outside the family..
 I get the moral of your story, but I need it spelled out a little more clearly,,What are you actually suggesting that I do?..Throw Prince out of the helicopter,,or better yet jump out of it myself,,:(  kinda joking, but not..

 

Deanna,


I think the crux of the issue is that you have made progress with Prince and he has responded.  But, when things go well you sort of let off the discipline.  First, remember that Prince is not a cute cuddly puppy anymore, he's not a sweet dog, he's not an overly friendly dog.  Sure, he is sweet and friendly with you and your family.......when it suits him.  But, he is not the dog you take to the family picnic, he is not the dog that strangers or friends get to fawn all over.  I know you have tried to work with Prince and you have done a great job.  I have a lot of respect for the effort that you have put into this dog.  Here are the issues that I see from your recent posts.
1) Prince is out with friends but muzzled, that in itself is ok if the situation is handled correctly.  to be continued.................

Grrrr, as I type my sentences get erased.  Weird stuff happening here.

Ok, I'll try again.  This has happened several times tonight on here.

Nevermind.............half way through my post it keeps getting erased.  It's too frustrating to try any further...............................

1) Muzzled dogs can be very dangerous as Paul correctly pointed out.  You had a golden opportunity to correct Prince when he attacked your friend, if he wasn't muzzled your friend would have probably needed a trip to the ER.   What should have happened is your husband should have realized the severity of the behavior and immediately taken action, he should have seriously corrected the dog, to be clear....Your husband should have knocked the daylights out of prince for inappropriately showing aggression and going for one of your friends.  This should have been swift, very severe and very harsh.  You both had the upper hand because Prince was muzzled.  Prince should have had a come to Jesus meeting right then and there courtesy of you or your husband.  There should have been no hesitation, but immediate action and the dog should have been thinking about what happened for weeks.  Never, ever, never wanting to go through that again. 

I am trying this in bits and pieces..................

Regarding the muzzle, I use muzzles often in training to teach dogs how to fight a man, to increase aggression and rage.  It is a great training tool but can be very dangerous.  We have a pretty thorough procedure that we follow before any muzzle work begins.  First, we use good, strong leather agitation muzzles.  The muzzle is placed on the dog very tightly and is checked by the decoy and the handler.  The muzzle has to fit and be tight enough that the dog can be practically lifted off the ground with out the muzzle slipping off.

It is doing this stupid crap again....grrrrrrrrr