hunterr1950

Poor Baby & Poor you! I’m sending many positive prayers that everything will be fine with Cheech. Please let us know what you find out! Sending Mastiff Hugs & kisses your way Linda & Annie

No wonder the poor dog weighed 300 lbs! If he was fed 30lbs a day of food!! I can’t imagine any animal (even forced) that could put that much food down! My Angel Love (English) weighed 208 lbs & 32” at the shoulder. She would only eat about 2 – 2 1/2; cups of food a day. I would leave her food out all day to allow her to eat when she felt like it. Too bad it wasn’t “Angel” the anchorman was interviewing! I’d made sure he got the “slob” treatment for calling her a “horse”!! :evil: :lol: Linda & Annie

Yes! You could be right about Annie’s short fur & not “seeing” it standing. With her tail – it’s always wagging & up in the air, kind of curved towards the ceiling? Sometimes when she is in the back yard & sees something she doesn’t like – she will put her tail out like a flag – but it’s not wagging. So stupid me :cry: - thought this was the sign I had to look for “before an attack”! I might have misled everyone in thinking that Annie recently attacked before the “dreadful” night. She hasn’t, it’s been about 2-3 months. But then again I was always on guard & paying attention! I might have mentioned at having a baby gate dividing Hunterr in front room & Annie in the kitchen. Hunterr learned how to open the dead bolt (on the gate) so I ended up tying the opening to the wall so he could open it. Last night when I got home - Both dogs met me at the front door! I am sure it was Hunterr – but he unhinged the gate from the other side. There were no signs of any fights, or any form of destruction. Even the Christmas Tree looked untouched. Thanks for all the help & the list of books I need to read! Linda, Hunterr & Annie

Thank you all for your help! I will definitely look for the 2 books that were recommended! Do you think I can find them on the internet? If not I’m going to see my Daughter next week in Columbus & maybe she might know where I can pick them up. I do love both my dogs, but don’t want to do something “stupid” to put either of them in any type of danger. I don’t think I could live with either of them getting hurt because I wasn’t smart enough to “read” the signs or understand what should be done to prevent it from happening. Sorry for being so emotional, but they aren’t “just Dogs”. They are my “babies” & will do anything to protect them. Oh, this is so hard. Thanks Linda

Thanks ‘pyrless” for the contact! Annie is the Neo & Hunterr a Belgian Malinois. O.K. now I know I can’t even read the body signs of a dog! On Hunterr – his tail would go down & so would his head – a little. Then I knew to “watch him”. On King (another aggressive baby that passed away) his tail would go straight out (sort of like a flag) & his ears would be sort of tilted back. Not flat to the head but maybe about an inch & ½ from being straight up. . With Annie I’m missing any signs that she might be giving out. Her nubby tail is waggy all the time & doesn’t seem to change even when she goes in for an “attack”. The more I read from this site – the more I understand how inexperienced I am with aggressive dogs! I don’t want to put either of them in a position that they could get hurt. I love both my dogs – probably TOO much! Right now – they are all I have to look towards when I return home from work. The training seems very hopeless since I can’t even read Annie’s body language & not doing the “right” things to protect Hunterr & Annie. Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. Sorry, I have a lot to think about. Linda

Angel would run in her sleep. Many times I would wake to having her kicking her feet into my back! Now that is a hard “wake-up” from a 208 lbs baby! Angel also would snore with her eyes open. It was scary to look at her (thinking she was awake looking at you) & then realizing she was still asleep when she let out a “floor shaking” snore. Linda & Annie

Hunterr is fine! He was a “little” shaky after the attack. What I mean – when he gets nervous his back legs will shake. But he “acted” normal otherwise & was happy to the point of running to grab his “Teddy” & wanted me to play with him! I don’t “think” Hunterr was even trying to retaliate in grabbing Annie back. Annie is so quick. There is never any warning such as hair standing, ears changing positions, & her tail is always up in the air!! One minute she acts like she is just standing there (or walking past Hunterr) & the next minute she had a hold of Hunterr’s neck. No – I’ve learned my lesson! This morning I let Hunterr out first, & locked him back in the front room. Then I let Annie outside. I was putting clean water in the “outside” bowl - no matter that I have 4 bowls of water around the house (I change twice a day)– they seem to like the cold outside water better. Ugg!! Hunterr tripped the dead bolt on the gate & opened the slider door up! I now have the gate tied so he can't get it open! Next thing I knew was Hunterr was trying to get Annie to play with him – taking an old toy & shoving it at her to grab. Which Annie ignored. I checked out a few sites for trainers & the only one that showed up was the person that already refuses to help. The closest trainer is 3 hrs away. I’m willing to drive the distance, but refuse to let them “keep” Annie while I’m not around. A friend turned her English over to a trainer that keep her for 3 weeks because of “being untrainable”. The poor baby returned being more aggressive to the point even friends are afraid of entering the house. Linda

I admit that the “attack” was totally all my fault!! Annie wanted outside around 3:00 a.m. I had left them both out around 11 (their normal time) but stayed up trying to get some book work finished. When I went to bed– Annie was still in the family room sound asleep – so I figured I didn’t need to go though the “hassle”. Anyway, normally I can let both dogs outside together to potty since Hunterr “hates” the cold & will get what he needs done – fast & runs back inside. Annie is a different story – sometimes she refuses to come in without a bribe of a treat. I know I’m reinforcing a “bad habit”! Last night Annie was very stubborn even when I showed her a piece of cheese from the door way. Hunterr was still in the kitchen, so decided to make Annie jealous of giving “her” treat to Hunterr. I was so $%#$ STUPID!! It was so cold outside & I was asleep on my feet & took the easy way out of getting her inside. Got Annie inside & was in the process of putting Hunterr on the other side of the gate (before feeding Annie) when Annie turned on Hunterr by grabbing him behind the neck – refusing to let go. It sounded horrible! I can’t even remember how I got her to release. I panicked! After separating both dogs, I tried to force Annie in a “down” position (one of the books I read) to make her submissive to me. It took both Missy (woke her up also) & me to get her down. Did I do wrong???? What would YOU have done?? Neither dog had any tears, puncher wounds – just a lot of soaked fur on Hunterr’s part. As I said before – being in a small “hick” town in the middle of Ohio I do not have anyone in the area that is willing to work with Annie. All local trainers have never “seen” the Neo breed let alone work with them personally – so they are afraid of the breed. Nor can I find anyone that will analyze Annie’s behavior. HELP!!! Linda, Hunterr & Annie

Annie thanks you all for the great comments. I think she was actually blushing. :oops: And Thanks for posting her pictures! I’m new at this – can’t you tell?? When I adopted Annie last Dec. she was great with both Angel (English) & Hunterr for about 3 months. When I was home, I could allow all of them loose without any problems. During play time outside, I would allow Annie & Hunterr out together & they played great even if Annie would get a little rough at time since she was still a puppy. Angel (being older - almost 8 yrs) didn’t enjoy the rough housing & had her “own” special time with me. Around Easter of last year, Annie started to “attack” Angel for no reason. Angel would either be sleeping by Jim or just lying around when Annie would suddenly grab her by the back of the neck – refusing to release! There was never any warning. Poor Angel would be s-o-o scared since she never had this happen to her EVER! Since Annie had hearing loss – I couldn’t get her attention to release unless I either threw water or grabbed Annie's mouth to force the release. Annie never tried to bite me or tear skin on Angel. It just sounded horrible & very frightening. After the second attack – I kept Annie separated from Angel. Later I “thought” maybe Annie could sense that Angel was in bad health & that was why she kept attacking her. Now that Angel is gone – Annie is now starting to attack Hunterr inside the same way! They both still play great outside & when Hunterr has had enough - can run away so I can let him back inside. I never allow them to be outside without supervision. I can take both Hunterr & Annie for walks together without any problems. It’s just the issue inside! Now I have to keep Hunterr & Annie in different parts of the house at all times. It makes it difficult in the evenings – trying to split my time up with each baby to make sure they get “my” attention. Another issue is that when I adopted Hunterr (Belgian Malinois) 3 years ago at 18 months- he was great with Angel. They would sleep together, & even share chewies. I thought I had a very loving, beautiful baby. Hunterr did have crate issues & wasn’t housebroken. Well, just say he was kept in a metal storage building most of his early life & only knew to do his “jobs” inside. He didn’t even know what grass was until I brought him home! He still “hates” stepping on wet grass! One day of trying to play with Hunterr & happened throw a ball overhand. (It happened during winter time & I was wearing my large insolated coat.) Hunterr had me by my arm & on the ground before I realized what had happened. I returned to the owner & asked if he could figure out why Hunterr would act like this! He said that the only training Hunterr ever had was just basic & that “he” couldn’t understand. I decided to get Hunterr into training classes only to find he was VERY people & dog aggressive! I finally found a very special friend & trainer that would work with Hunterr & me. After “she” was bitten by Hunterr on the leg (stepped on Hunterr’s paw because he wasn’t watching her) & needed medical attention - She finally told me the first day of “seeing” Hunterr she recognized him from shows she had attended -- but didn’t want to “tell” me. Hunterr had been in training for Police Attack! The owner (ex-cop) was doing the training. Hunterr did great on the “attack” but refused to “release” on command. That was why the owner was selling him!! Hunterr is now very loving towards people but still needs some work on his aggressiveness with other dogs. Or I should say – I still don’t trust him around other dogs! If Annie does her “attack” on Hunterr one of these days when Hunterr isn’t in the “mood” I’m afraid with Hunterr’s background I will have a major problem! I love both my babies & will never consider giving either of them up or having them “put to sleep” as has been suggested in the past. If I need to keep them separated forever (inside) – that is what I will do. I do not have many visitors coming to the house any more & none with children. My girls are grown & on their own. If anyone has any suggestions on making both dogs understand [b]“I’m their pack leader”[/b]! I would greatly appreciate it!! Where is the “Dog Whisperer” when I need him?? Linda, Hunterr & Annie Mae

Hi! I just found your site & was wondering if anyone could tell from Annie’s picture what breed she “really” is?? Annie was in a vet hospital where her previous owners decided they didn’t want her any more at the age of 18 months. She had been very abused to the point of hearing loss (my vet thinks to blows to her head because of old scars). The person that contacted me about Annie & asked if I would take her – the hospital couldn’t find anyone to adopt & were going to put her down. Said she was an English Mastiff. When they drove Annie to my home – I knew she wasn’t English! After checking with my vets – they seemed to “think” she was a Neo. I live in a small community in Ohio so even English Mastiffs are rare! But she doesn’t have the “extra” skin around her neck like most Neo. Old medical records list her only as Mastiff – Blue. While shopping with my daughter this weekend, we found a calendar of Cane Corso that “looks” identical to Annie! I am only wondering what her breed is because of behavior issues I am dealing with now. Annie has Alpha personality, aggressiveness towards my Belgian Malinois, extremely protective to the point of some what scary at times. I understand each dog, breed have their own personalities but it would be helpful in knowing some of the “normal” behavior traits if she is a Cane Corso instead of a Neo. Annie is “my” baby & will be here for the rest of her life! Thanks for any help you can give me! Hopefully i can post a picture. Linda, Annie Mae & Hunterr [url]http://photobucket.com/albums/v202/hunterr1950/annie/th_Picture020SmallWebview.jpg[/url] [url]http://photobucket.com/albums/v202/hunterr1950/annie/th_Annieinsnow.jpg[/url]