Nature VS Nurture/Tino's Evaluation PT 1 - Page 5

Nothing is wrong with that!  You just seem to come off as a person more concerned with the dog than your child.  And Blind people can read.  What do you think those bumps are on the top of your drink from McDonald's? 

roflmao don good point. No, I dont care more for the dog than I do my son. I do want him to be in the best possible situation. Nothing wrong with that?

Shandra,

Look at it this way. Your son does not have the whole family unit anymore (for whatever reason-not passing judgement). That's a huge loss even if it is unavoidable. Now it's just the two of you. And you're putting all of this physical and emotional energy into the dog. There is a tension in the house because of the dog. He is constrained, if not physically then in the atmosphere, of his own home. The fact that he is 15 and troubled is reason enough for all this energy to be funnelled to HIM not Tino. Add the ADHD on top of that and I'm not getting it.

So, you're still agonizing about what's best for Tino? What's it going to take for you to make up your mind that TODAY is the day to get this dog out of your house? Disfigurement for someone else because for one split second you put your guard down? I know you said you are taking precautions but all that precautionary energy should be channelled to your single parent son. Good grief, enough is ENOUGH. Maybe you feel you can't succeed with the energy you put into your son so putting it into the dog may be more successful?

I , more than many people, know that a child needs every ounce of energy you can give. ONCE YOU HAVE A CHILD IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU ANYMORE.  And it FOR DAMN SURE ain't about the damn DOG! Yeah, you said you were going to rehome the dog if you find the right place. SCREW the right place-just get him out of there.

Go back and read my post on the previous thread and you'll see I tried to say all of this politely. So did everyone else. Sometimes all of us get blinded inside of the situation. These are all people who have nothing to gain by telling you to put him DOWN or get him to a GSD rescue. They have experience with this exact situation and have the skills you don't for placing him appropriately.

Most of you are really nothing more than a bunch of swelled-headed ghouls.  The woman asked for help to try and find ways to handle a dog whose temperament she is unfamiliar with-----one of which I'm sure most of you and probably half the dog-owning populace has dealt with on a daily basis.  Yellow???? That clan of yours I'm positive has a couple of handfuls.......PowerHaus???? Seems to me, I remember you once mentioning a big, Croc male separated from others.  Yes.....Shandra could deal with the problem like Agar  by rehoming or the suggested pine-box method, but, personally, I prefer the remedies of Trailrider and Blitzen.

NONE OF YOU HAVE SEEN TIMO........but have the audacity to give a death sentence. (Oh, and BTW, I love the *boy before dog* approach---insinuating that the woman is an uncaring and insensitive mother.

Therese----IMO, you don't have Lassie, and ....well...I have some news for you.  Most GSDs, (even the best) are one-man dogs and must be diligently watched by their owners. For people  to judge your judgment is ridiculous.  Tino hasn't truly attacked anyone.  He's showing signs of aggression, but it says a lot to me that he's hasn't followed through.  As to your son------BALONEY!  He's a big, 15 yr old boy....who the dog has had enough time to become adjusted to------but HASN'T.  I'd wonder WHY??  I certainly would never think about replacing him before getting some answers.........This same scenario could be taking place a year from now with another dog being a key player. (Sure hope your son isn't reading this thread.)  

I can't tell you what to do.......it's your decision.  If it were me (and it has been), I'd try to make it work.  You've said the dog is showing a great deal of loyalty to you--------something not to be taken lightly.  I wouldn't put him in a situation where his sharpness would be so pronounced Have some more people evaluate him.  Work the dog. Work obedience. Continually and even exhaustingly give him directions throughout the day.  Put on a prong and a gentle leader (halter)....not really for corrections, but more for control.  Take no nonsense from the dog, your son, and IMO from anyone advising you to give up on this dog.  AND......most important......EXERCISE......wear him out.  Find a place to let him run.  Tie long ropes together if you're unsure of his obedience to come when called.  You're frightened and confused.......not a time to make a decision that you're not comfortable with........Good luck to you, your son, and Tino.

Of course, I could be wrong since I HAVEN'T SEEN TINO, either.......but, better, IMO, to not take the negative side on the dog's temperament.  No doubt, my choice of sides will never be the popular one to take, but I'm sure if he could speak, I would have one supporter. (P.S.---If you're breeding dogs, you're going to have to learn how to handle the tougher ones, anyway.)

Sometimes the problem with asking people for their opinions is -they give you their opinions. If she didn't want the opinions of people who had never seen the dog and were only going by her own words, I would suggest an online messageboard wouldn't have been the best choice.

Tut, tut, ADawg.  Some opinions have greater consequences than others. Just another opinion.

Oh, I see what you mean. Sort of like some innocent person being attacked by an unstable 90 pound dog being handled by an inexperienced owner? Something like that?

YIKES..........................................................................You got me ADawg.......I'm down.......Down for the count..........................You just keep counting...........................I'll get back to ya..............but it may be later rather than sooner.

Gee, seems like Tino isn't the only one with nerve issues.

LMH

"you have to learn how to handle the tougher ones, anyway."

Have you even read this thread and the one before?  Where do you get the idea that this dog is tough?  Maybe you mean difficult.  Do you actually classify a dog that pins his ears back, avoids and growls at her son, as tough?

I don't know Vickie's situation with the Crock dog, but sometimes dealing with a dog that is "tough" and one that is a fearful nerve bag, are two different things.  You said it yourself.  Without evaluating the dog in person, you cannot know 100%.  Then you give your two cents and it is more acceptable because you have taken the opposite position of EVERYONE else. 

How can you consider someone being concerned for the child, insensitive?  The kid is 15, not 18.  She says he will be gone in two years.  17?  Even if it is two years, do you think it is a safe and happy two years?  What kind of a life is that for the dog and child.  If you keep them seperated then they are both prisoners in thier own home.  Who does that benefit, Shandra?  It is one thing to keep a dog in a kennel if he is active for a good portion of the day.  If I am not doing sport, work, or heavy exercise, then I am not going to let a dog tor in a cage and i hate to say it, but walking a working dog two miles a day does not stimulate him mentally.