anyone else have a Jekyl Hyde??

[phonodel]

Ok, I an in need of some serious advise. Do any of you believe a dog can have mental illness the same as people can? I have a 8 mo old neutered male. He is very lovable, loves people no matter what shape, size, color, sex etc.... He is not fearful of anything I have exposed him to so far. I have had him out in light, dark, rain, around fire trucks, different sirens vacum cleaners, you name it, nothing scares him. My guy loves cats, I have two. He also gets along great with my two Dachshunds. Here's the problem. He is an absolute psycho when it comes to other dogs. As soon as he makes eye contact, it's all over! Pounching, biting growling, pure aggression (really scarry). He has been in two obedience classes and always is the difficult one that has to be segregated from the others. He is very smart and usually is the best in his class as far as all the obedience commands go. I have had him with two trainers, one said he is purely dog aggressive, the other said he is fear aggressive. Both trainers have been able to get him to walk along side another dog after 10 minutes of psycho behavior that usually leads to pure exhaustion and foaming at the mouth. Evrything is fine as long as he is not able to make eye contact. Each time I feel we are making headway, that is until the next class and he is back at square one. I just don't understand the dog psychology of this. If he was really aggressive, would he love everyone but hate dogs?? Would he allow my two weiners to get into his bowl while he is eating and not even care? Is he mentally ill? By the way, he has been this way since we got him. The first time I witnessed this behavior he was only 10 weeks old. My one trainer said there is no way he could be exhibiting aggression at that young age, therefore he felt it was a fear thing. He has not gotten any better nor any worse, it's just much more difficult to control at 65 pounds. Should I just give up and accept that he will never be able to play nice with other dogs at parks etc... I do have a nice big backyard but I was really hoping to have a dog that could go anywhere with me and not be confined to his own property and limited to walks on restaint. I also have the fear of liability if he were to ever get out and come across another dog. I would feel just horrible if he were to hurt another dog. Any ideas or similar experiences?

 

[hanley]

Your dog doesn't have a mental illness, dogs are pack animals, your cats & Dachshunds are a member of his pack. He may never be able to integrate with other dogs except on his own terms. I have one the same way & she is very dominant, but loves & controls her pack.

 

[phonodel]

Your dog doesn't have a mental illness, dogs are pack animals, your cats & Dachshunds are a member of his pack. He may never be able to integrate with other dogs except on his own terms. I have one the same way & she is very dominant, but loves & controls her pack.

Thank you for the reply. You are the first to actually admit that he may never be able to integrate with other dogs. I would hope that these trainers I have sought out would have his best interest at heart but since neither has ever suggested this possibility, I wonder if it is somewhat about the $$$$. I have spend a fortune so far. I would love to get any advise from others as far as continuing on or giving up on the idea of doggie harmony. At some point I have to ask myself if all this repeated training(which gets really hairy at times) is really just turning out to be cruel to my guy. When I say "hairy" I mean flopping around, heavily panting at times even gasping almost and severe frothing at the mouth. At times his eyes have even become bloodshot. This can't be pleasant! Even worse.... it's not working or even beggining to work.

 

[ELubas]

Your dog doesn't have a mental illness, dogs are pack animals, your cats & Dachshunds are a member of his pack. He may never be able to integrate with other dogs except on his own terms. I have one the same way & she is very dominant, but loves & controls her pack.

Me too. Got her at 9 weeks and she was what she was. I will say she has never inflicted damage on the rare occasions she has gotten to a strange dog but to hear her you would think she was killing it so I would never trust her off lead with a strange dog. She can make friends if the intros are slow and over time . She has a group of dog friends now that she does fine with. She is very dominant and very "packy". I gave up on dog parks and the like a long time ago and am happy to see her with dogs she knows acting like a dog. They are all different so I just accept her limitations and enjoy her for who she is-and she is a sweetie Good luck

 

[villamonster]

Hi,

I have a mixed boxer boy that is the same way; or should I say *was* the same way (touch wood). He's a rescue and was returned to the shelter 4 times for being "uncontrollable" - that's when I found him. His reactions were full blown tooth and nail tantrums. He would scream, spit, lunge, snap, and spin if he saw a strange dog and the theatrics lasted until the other dog was out of sight. With my husband and I and our 2 cats, he was/is the best of the best.

I've been working with him for 1.5 years. I've desensitized him to strange dogs and counter conditioned a "watch" command when he sees one coming. We are now working on teaching him proper social skills and it is going really well. He is able to safely mingle at the dog park now. It's a big job, but it can be done. The biggest hurdle is convincing him that you are in charge and if you say a dog is OK, then that dog is OK. He doesn't need to *like* the other dog, but he does need to be civil.

I didn't spend much money fixing this problem; I did the training myself. Some good, 100% positive resources: "Fight" by Jean Donaldson & "Feisty Fido" by Pat McConnell.

Hope this helps.