Please Help!

[Sezy]

Another vote for Steve here.

[percyk]

nothing to add except to say good luck and good on you!

[Kaz]

So glad to see someone prepared to address the aggression of the dreaded SWF!

You say he will never be perfect, however with your obvious dedication and the right behavioural modification, I see absolutely no reason why your dog can't become a model citizen despite his age.

Good luck with it.... and of course another plug here for k9 Pro. (although I would certainly try your local behaviourist and see if his methods work)

[Alfie02]

Thanks so much for all the support , it really means alot to me that I didnt get flamed for having an agressive SWF, but instead got usefull adivce and recommendations.

Im actually a bit excited about this now, I cant wait to try a new behavoralist and help my boy become more comfortable and relaxed

[Kaz]

Swfs are just dogs like any other. An aggressive swf doesn't make me hate the breed but the owner who doesn't acknowledge the problem or thinks it's 'just so cute' makes me see red every time.

[Isabel964]

Just wanted to say I'm so sorry for what you are going through and I wish you all the best with him. You are doing the best you can and I congratulate you on that.

[Alfie02]

Thanks so much Sky, that means alot to me

Agreed Kaz, I love all dogs but hate it when an owner doesnt think aggressive behaviours are bad because their dog is little and cute. It just gives other small dog owners a bad name.

[chran]

Alfie, how obedient is the dog? Can you tell by his body language if he's about to bite? You said that he bit us (you/ family members) sometimes - which to me sound like a hierarchy issue.

[Adza]

I have no advice but good luck with Teddy hoping you get some improvements soon

[~*Shell*~]

I can't recommend Steve enough - Zero was horribly dog aggressive (he was a "red zone" case because he just had to see what he thought was a dog, or the shadow of another dog and he would lose it) and Steve was the only one who got even the slightest amount of improvement from Zero. I can now have him around other dogs and I'm not afraid to leave him with other people anymore. My dad (who lives in another state and has only seen Zero a handful of times) walked him around centennial park a couple of days ago and had lots of off leash dogs approach him without a problem - even with someone he doesn't really know, Z was absolutely fine.

The best part is that he's happier in general now - you don't realise how hard it makes the dog's life to have a problem like that. I don't think it's ever too late to work on a behavioural problem with a dog, especially if it's an aggressive behaviour.

[Alfie02]

Chran, he is quite obedient, but stubborn. We have had pack order issues in the past but have worked on that and felt that we had become 'top dog' and he hadnt bitten or challenged us in a long time untill recently. This is why we became very worried, as he had regressed/become worse than before. With us, yes we can tell when he is not happy and will snap at us, but with strangers or other dogs, no, he seems happy, wagging his tail like he does when he plays with our other dog and relaxed, and then he bites!

So the update is:

We took Ted to the vets yesterday and the vet said she doesnt want to waste our money on blood tests or anything before we have a behavoural assesment done by Dr Robert Stabler (this Dr works with the vet clinic and comes highly recommended). So we are making an appointment with him ASAP, but he is away for two weeks so have to wait for him to get back.

We are also having trouble finding a cage type muzzle for a dog as small as Ted, there are only greyhound size ones or material ones everywhere we have been. Where could I get a small enough cage type muzzle?

~*Shell*~ I have read alot about your time with Zero and am sooooo impressed how far he has come and how great you must be at following through with the information given to you by trainers. It makes me smile to know that this type of massive improvement actually happens in the real world . We are going to go with Dr Robert who is local as this is much easier for us than travelling quite a distance to see Steve at K9 Pro. However, if we dont see results with Dr Robert, we will definatley give Steve a call.

Thanks so much for the help everyone

[Animal Lover]

Maybe contact Delta Dog trainer behaviour specialist?

Delta Society

Muzzles for all dogs!

[chran]

Alfie, any update on Ted? I'm interested to hear what you get out of Dr Robert.

It's been awhile since you've posted, but last one seemed to indicate that he's trying to climb up the pack hierarchy. Don't allow this to happen (easier said then done). Be careful with the tail wag - there's an aggressive tail wag - know your dog and read his overall body language (not just the tail). When he bit, was there a bark/ growl/ snarl beforehand? Let the Dr know - especially if there wasn't!!!