hugapitbull wrote:. Bob smacked him on the muzzle. Duke jumped up, stood erect facing Bob and snarled, teeth bared. He clearly was taking a stand. I held my breath, I thought Bob was in serious trouble.
Today Bob found a rough place on a dew claw and was trying to check it out. Duke growled. Bob scolded him and tried again. Again Duke growled. Bob scolded him and tried again. Duke growled and did a slight lunge. Bob smacked him on the muzzle. Duke jumped up, stood erect facing Bob and snarled, teeth bared. He clearly was taking a stand. I held my breath, I thought Bob was in serious trouble.
amazincc wrote:What happened afterwards??? How did Bob handle it? How did you guys correct Duke for "taking a stand"?
I think there is a HUGE difference between an HA dog and a dog who clearly didn't appreciate getting a smack on the muzzle/being touched/woken up/moved off a favorite spot, and gave a somewhat dog-appropriate "warning" when he felt threatened/encroached upon?
I'm no behaviorist by any means, but having been owned by a truly fear-aggressive dog who would NOT hesitate to bite without any warning... Duke doesn't sound like that at all.
How is he at the vet? Has he done this w/anyone else?
It sounds to me like he has issues w/being touched/handled, and he is telling you to back off the only way he knows how... I also think smacking him on the muzzle was not a good idea, and Duke took offense and got ready to defend himself. If he wanted to bite Bob... he very easily could've done so.
Shanna
I spoke with Sandra tonight about Duke. I was under the impression he was to live out his life at the kennel in Ohio. (this is what Angie had wanted) I was unaware she had passed away, and feel terrible about the whole situation. Duke has been back here before and trained and Angie took him back and said he was doing great. Right before I last heard from her, she told me about the kennel. I am sorry you have had to deal with his problems. I would kindly suggest he be put down. Angie had contemplated it herself, and to be honest I dont know why she didnt do it before she got bad off. She assured me he was fine and had no problems. He is a mix of amstaff and APBT...his litter was a complete accident occuring when my new husband accidently let his amstaff out with my rednose female. I hate it for everyone involved including Angie, Duke and you. Please keep me posted
He is a mix of amstaff and APBT
amazincc wrote:hugapitbull wrote:. Bob smacked him on the muzzle. Duke jumped up, stood erect facing Bob and snarled, teeth bared. He clearly was taking a stand. I held my breath, I thought Bob was in serious trouble.
What happened afterwards??? How did Bob handle it? How did you guys correct Duke for "taking a stand"?
I think there is a HUGE difference between an HA dog and a dog who clearly didn't appreciate getting a smack on the muzzle/being touched/woken up/moved off a favorite spot, and gave a somewhat dog-appropriate "warning" when he felt threatened/encroached upon?
I'm no behaviorist by any means, but having been owned by a truly fear-aggressive dog who would NOT hesitate to bite without any warning... Duke doesn't sound like that at all.
How is he at the vet? Has he done this w/anyone else?
It sounds to me like he has issues w/being touched/handled, and he is telling you to back off the only way he knows how... I also think smacking him on the muzzle was not a good idea, and Duke took offense and got ready to defend himself. If he wanted to bite Bob... he very easily could've done so.
Have you been able to contact a behaviorist to evaluate Duke?
I am sorry you guys are still struggling w/him... and, of course, if you are afraid and/or uncomfortable around him maybe you do need to look at other options.
However... labeling him HA is surely a death sentence, and I would do everything in my power to have him evaluated by a competent, knowledgable behaviorist first.
Maybe he will do better in a different home... not all dogs click w/all people, and it has nothing what-so-ever to do w/the owners, so PLEASE don't take offense. It could just be a "personality" thing or Duke needing to be an only child, or whatever.
If I can help w/anything PM me.
mnp13 wrote:... wow ...
She suggests that you put him down without even speaking to you directly?
and this:He is a mix of amstaff and APBT
makes no sense at all to me.
pitbullmamaliz wrote:Knock it off - you guys did NOT fail Duke. You saved him. You have given him a good life and shown him love. If his temperament is off it is NOT YOUR FAULT. Whatever you guys do, I support you.
hugapitbull wrote:
He is not wonderful at the vet, he has to be muzzled if they need to restrain him for any reason. He will not allow his nails to be trimmed, I had to have him sedated to get his nails clipped. I did speak to them this afternoon and the girl I talked to admitted he is a handful for them. When I picked him up yesterday it was a tussle to get him under control. The tech commented that he was really upset when they took Trouble out. (I asked them to bring her out first because I knew she would not bolt out of the car).
He has lunged and growled at one other person, a good friend of mine (ours). Bob had him on leash during the introduction, Duke allowed Maureen to pet him and then growled and lunged. I was not in the room at the time, that's all the info I have.
Duke has been back here before and trained and Angie took him back and said he was doing great. Right before I last heard from her, she told me about the kennel. I am sorry you have had to deal with his problems. I would kindly suggest he be put down. Angie had contemplated it herself, and to be honest I dont know why she didnt do it before she got bad off. She assured me he was fine and had no problems.
airwalk wrote:Well I'm going to put this out and you guys can poke, but I understand exactly where Shanna is. For 10 years I managed a highly small animal aggressive dog (120 lb Mastiff mix). I loved him dearly, but that meant I couldn't miss...I couldn't get lazy...I couldn't misread a cue, because if i did something small was going to die.
While I did it every day until I lost him to cancer...I don't ever want to have to do that again and i won't make the choice to. If I end up with a dog that behavior pops up I will deal with it, but I won't choose to do it again.
It is very hard (Christine and Michelle you guys know this). It is a lifestyle - it governs what you can do, when you can do it, how you can do it and with whom you can do it. Whether he is HA (which maybe not) or just having lots of anxiety issues - either way this is a long process that may never be good, just managed.
It would be wonderful if a home that is able to handle him and is willing to handle him can be found...but i can tell you from personal experience of trying to place hundreds of dogs with "issues" every year...those homes exist but it's a bit like looking for a needle in the haystack and there is still a dog and his issues to be handled in the meantime.
Shanna if you and Bob are not comfortable with him, he will know it and respond accordingly. This will undoubtedly cause Trouble a lot of anxiety, at the least, and could cause her to respond in an attempt to protect which could be very troubling (pardon the use of the word). I know what it's like to have a disruptive dog in your house, remember Magic...I know how hard it is to train and manage dogs you love...let alone one you are not comfortable with and grow to not like very much. It is not a good place and nothing I would ever recommend to anyone.
Shanna, you and Bob know your house and your lifestye and what you are feeling. If you think you can work on it...wonderful...take all the advice you can get. If you don't feel you can handle it and you can't find that proverbial needle in a haystack...then do the right thing and euthanize.
There are far worse things in the world for a dog than humane euthanasia.
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