30# of Bones !,,and a beef heart,, - Page 5

I would normally not recommend a strong correction or a come to Jesus meeting with a dog or handler that I thought was "insane."  However, knowing the story of prince and Deanna as well as I do, that is what this dog needs.  He needs a firm, fair, no nonsense handler to straighten him out.  This dog is not Cujo, but a cocky, assertive dog with a fairly strong temperament.  I don't think he is the hardest GSD out there nor the most aggressive.  He absolutely is the hardest, most aggressive dog that Deanna has ever owned.  So far, you ahve done a great job with him and I know you love him and won't give up.  It won't take all that much to straighten him out, but first you need to see the light and recognize what you have.  Prince is  well bred dog, with a fairly strong, stubborn temperament, he's a little sharp but not super hard.  Many people would love to get a dog like him.  You are lucky enough to own him, now you just need to train him and our family a little more. 

As usual, be very careful with the advice that you get on internet forums.  Talk to Kevin, Kelly or give me a call if you need advice, support or help. 

And, ditto (as usual) everything Jim wrote/advised.  There is nothing "wrong" with Prince that cannot be guided/corrected.  Prince's mother was harder than many but certainly no "Cujo" either and should have been a fine pet or working dog.  Prince, as Jim alluded, is no different.

But, Deanna's mindset must change to get a handle on it.  This may mean taking a deep breath as you come in to "role" much like an actor often presents himself as something he is not.  In your (Deanna's) case that would be a leader who won't tolerate one inch of nonsense that is fair and loving ONLY when not being challenged.  

Jim is also right that Prince will be MUCH more relaxed when he understands and believes that it is YOU who seems to run the world (his and others) and everything in it.

There are an innumerable number of scenarios you and your husband could set up to convince him of just that....

Kindest regards,

Kevin

Hey Ruger1,

I didn't mean Prince was insane (clearing this up for the peanut gallery). I won't give advice on a dog I have never met and especially giving advice sight unseen over the internet. Take care and as always I support you as a friend would.

My 2 were not insane either, both were rescues one would not take a correction period and the other had been abused and hated men and had problems with kids. Huge liability and in no way the same situation you are in with Prince.

Good luck and I would put more weight into advice given were the person actually met you and Prince or a least had first hand experience with these lines.

As always waves and hugs to you.

Ruger

I never give my dogs cooked bones,

   gouda

~~I didn't mean Prince was insane (clearing this up for the peanut gallery). I won't give advice on a dog I have never met and especially giving advice sight unseen over the internet. Take care and as always I support you as a friend would.

 My 2 were not insane either, both were rescues one would not take a correction period and the other had been abused and hated men and had problems with kids. Huge liability and in no way the same situation you are in with Prince.

 

~~I have owned a couple of dogs that were completely insane and no Jesus moment would change their behavior. Had one that would and did become more aggressive.

No need to clear things up for me, I am not the one who is in the peanut gallery nor confused.  In your first post you said, and I qoute "completely insane."  in your second post you back peddled and qualified your dogs as "not insane either?"  Ok, what ever, it's what you posted on a thread about behavior and offering advice...........................

As I have said many times, not all dogs do well with harsh corrections, some will redirect to the handler.  Especially, a handler who is not as strong or as skilled as they should be.  I'm making a general statement, not directed at Ruger1.  A weak, unskilled handler that resorts to pain induced corrections will often get bit even by a weaker dog and definitely by a stronger dog.  A stronger more experienced handler rarely has to use corrections in that manner as they demand respect by presence alone.  For a dog to not "take a correction period" means the wrong approach was used.  Corrections come in many forms and levels just as praise and reward does.  Withholding rewards and praise is a form of correction.  I have taken GSD's and rehabilitated them that other trainers or 'Animal Behaviorists" were afraid of.  They would absolutely be aggressive to some one who was afraid, unsure or handled them incorrectly.  One of the best dogs I have ever one was just like this.  She growled at me once when I first rescued her because she didn't want to go out side.  I simply opened the door and put her out.  No yelling, no screaming, no violence but there was a clear message that I was in charge.  It tooks months but she was an outstanding loving dog that I did Pet Therapy with. 

Deanna,
You know I have your best interests at heart.  I hope I didn't offend you by being blunt, but I don't think dancing around the issue is going to help.  I'm done with this thread, if you need any help you know how to contact me.  Best of luck with Prince, he's a good dog and will not be that hard to straighten out. 







 

Keep up the good job, Deanna. It's a lifetime commitment. My "bad boy" had to be kept away from most people for his entire adult life. I didn't have the expert help you have.  It was a lot of work, but he never bit anyone other than me and my husband. Not good of course, but at least no one else was injured. I think you are going to do a lot better with Prince that I did with Blitz.

Jim, great posts....agree 100%...if Prince was my dog we would have had a come to Jesus moment long time ago...
Deanna i think for some of us (me including) its hard to completely understand YOU because either we are "harder" people and would have never had this happen to us more than once, so please dont take offense its like if i was posting issues i was having with a wound and how hard it is to keep clean and how it constantly gets infected, you would have been like, just do this, do that, simple...same here, i can tell you take that bone and make him work for it, let him smell it and take it away, it is yours to give and take back...when Dozer started growling when i touched him one day when he was eating, not only did his food was taken away he was fed last and he ate from my hand and even now years later i randomly come up to him and make he sit, take his food and hold it while he tried to sit, down, everything he can think to do to earn it back...some dogs must be reminded daily where they stand....i am not telling you anything you dont already know...i am just sorry that this dog does not know how good he has it and you are not teaching him that all this will be taken away and he has to earn his priviledges.

LF,
It's not quite that simple.  Prince can be a very serious dog and not to be taken lightly.  He is a dog that I would definitely pick my battles with as Ruger1 has done.  I would however, set him up with a few winnable scenarios right away. 

I still remember the first tough dog I had, and all the lessons he taught me.  I'm sure I still have some scars from that dog.  He was dog aggressive, people aggressive, handler aggressive and very high drive.  I made a ton of mistakes with that dog,  looking back my approach probably made the battles worse and at times heightened his aggression.  This dog was no joke and was seriously sharp.  He was nicknamed "lawsuit" by a friend at 6 months old.  The dog was trained every day, some days standing on the platform at the Long Island Railroad station at 6PM when the commuter trains arrived.  The dog was put in a sit and fed hot dogs and praised every time he didn't try to attack a random person.  He was surrounded by hundreds of people when the train doors opened.  The dog was taken to the mall and put in a long down while people walked by him to go to Macy's.  By a year, he was a well behaved, calm, socialized animal that knew his place.  By four he was a hot SchH 3.  He still had his super high drive, loved tracking and OB and was awesome in bite work.  I traveled most of the country with that dog and he was outstanding.  He was always dog aggressive and at times handler aggressive from a hard correction.  I was able to change his behavior, but you can not change the nature or temperament.  You can only modify it.  I wish I had that dog as a puppy now and could raise him again.  Thanks to that dog I learned a lot about aggression and what to do and what not to do.  Each dog I have owned I have since that one I have made changes and it is all for the better.  I made a vow to myself to never make those same mistakes again and to be a better handler and owner.  My current dog is even stronger and harder with out any of the issues.  Prince and Deanna were matched up for a reason, he is there to teach her and she is there to love him and care for him like few people would.