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Dogomania

Please help !!!


Guest Anonymous

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Guest Anonymous

I have 3 dogs . One is an older terrier and I have a brother and sister which are mixed black labs. I hand fed the labs since they were 3 weeks old , they were born in 2001. They were never very well socialized because we lived in a rural area and they were never around anyone but my husband and I .My labs are named Duke and Bella and the terrier Cory. Last year Duke started to show signs of aggression. We had a daushund that he had gotten in a fight last spring, we had to have Bo put to sleep last summer due to illness of old age(15). In november he nipped me after correcting him and everyone wanted me to have him put down. I told them no and I was hoping he would stop being so aggressive, but it has gotten worse. He is very territorial and goes ballistic everytime someone walks past our fenced in yard. He got so mad at someone walking past the fence that he ran up on the patio and jumped his sister. We have a 2 1/2 year old daughter that I will not even let him near, he is only allowed in one room of the house. He is housebroke and he does all kinds of tricks and has no food aggressions . He has never been neutered and I wonder if it may help. My husband has an appointment to have him euthanised on Saturday and I am trying deperately to talk him into neutering him instead to see if it helps with the aggression. I love this dog so much I can't stand to thought of putting him down but I have a small child to worry about . Please Help with any advice.

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Neuter him - this may take time to have any affect on his behaviour. Have a thyroid test done as hypothyroidism causes aggression in dogs. Further have a good once over done on the dog - dogs can be reluctant to show pain but it still affects their behaviour. A behaviourist would be good as well.

For the time being keep his environment calm:
- let him out when there aren't a lot of people around as often as possible
- try to have the home calmish and quietish
- don't let children play with the dog
- make sure he has plenty of excercise and quiet affection
- keep a routine

Is your dog an inside, outside or inside/outside dog?
Where does he sleep?
Does he play? How?
What does your dog eat?
Has your dog had any vet/health problems?
Do you trust your dog?

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Guest Anonymous

Thanks for the great advice. Duke , along with the other dogs are inside/outside dogs. I let them stay out in the yard during the day when it is nice and bring them in at evening. We have one room set up in our house for the dogs to stay in that is where they eat and sleep. I only let them in the rest of the house in the evening when the baby is in bed. I don't trust him around my daughter I am afraid she might pull his tail or an ear and get bit or worse. He is a huge dog and could really hurt her and she is more precious to me then anything. Duke loves to play especially fetch, he also loves for my 13 year old niece to play with him. He eats Kibbles and Bits and once in a while a special treat. I hope I can talk my husband into neutering . How long do you think it might take to see a change in his temperment once it is done?

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Neutering of adult dogs occaisionally will not make changes in behaviour (hence the desire to have them neutered in puppyhood.) With some dogs changes may begin to appear within a week, some dogs may take 6 months.
Keep in mind neutering alone will not always solve aggression problems. Your dog has already developed habits and habits have to be retrained. A behaviourist is a good step as no one here can observe your dog in person and a behaviourist is far better than we are at gauging a dog than we would be over the internet.
You may want to switch dog foods. It [i]might[/i] help. Kibble'n'Bits is low on usable or quality protiens and incredibly high in suger. If you fed this sort of food to a kid they'd be bouncing off the walls so it stands to reason the dog might calm down some if the diet changed. Look at something like Canidae, Innova, Wysong, Wellness, Eagle Pack, maybe Kirkland if there is a Costco near you and price is a concern.
Socialization and obed. classes would be good as well but start with the other steps and allow a short calming down period first.
Fetch is a great game, it doesn't play up on aggression or possesion issues and requires that the dog return an item to you. Maybe have a 20 min play session 1 to 2 times a day in addition to whatever excercise he gets from regular yard outings and playing with your neice.
You can also do a 5-10 min obedience session with your dog daily to reinforce his role in your family. Just stuff like sit, stay, down, shake, watchme etc are fine. Watchme is a good one for getting his attention when he is flipping out too. Consider NILIF as well.
And as much contact with you guys when the baby is safely in bed is a very good idea.

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