VickiandKev
Fishaholic
A while ago my partner and I rescued a dog, a Pyrenean Mountain Dog with no name, who is now called Bear. We think he is about 4 looking at his teeth but his body tells a sad story.
We know he was a dog used in illegal exploits as his previous owner was arrested and deported and cannot return to the UK. His teeth are very bad, he is covered in sores and he has stiff hips. He was a bag of bones when we got him with matts in his fur and he was severely depressed.
Our pack consists of three other dogs besides him, all youngsters and smaller breeds. When he first came home, he didn't want anything to do with us or the other dogs and slept alone in the other room or hallway. He wouldn't come to call or respond to anything much. He would go 5 mins on his walks and then turn around and pull for home. He was terrified of rain.
In just 3 short weeks he is learning his new name, he will sit and down on command and is slowly learning his recall.
He is excited to meet new people, although aloof outside of the house, and he has a very waggy greeting reserved specially for us
He has filled out, his coat looks glossier and silkier, his sores are healing one by one and his hips are much less stiff after a few weeks on glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM in his food. He's excited for his walks now and does more than plod along. He will walk in the rain with a bit of encouragement.
Bear is 100% better than we expected him to be, BUT we do think he has been encouraged to be dog-aggressive. He is only around our dogs with supervision and has gone from growling when they get within a metre of him to allowing them to lie near to him and being totally relaxed. He will guard any food though (or plates on the kitchen side) and this causes some tension between him and Skye, our most dominant dog out of the others.
He has attacked a dog on a walk and is now muzzled whenever we are out of the house. He is uncastrated and dominant towards other entire dogs ... leading to aggression if not immediately checked.
We have already made improvements with him, but have found he's a very growly dog at the best of times. Skye is also growly but it's just vocalising for her, 9 times out of 10, Bear is simply vocalising his displeasure at having to obey a command. We correct him with noise and touch, and force him to submit by body-blocking him into a corner and waiting for him to relax. We have, once or twice in extreme situations, made him submit on his side and relax before allowing him up.
Being a 60kg+ dog, we thought it paramount that he immediately learns he must submit to us and obey our commands, hence the hardline approach with calming his aggression.
We do use a lot of treats and constantly positively reinforce his behaviour, we only negatively reinforce when necessary.
Here's Bear:
When he first arrived:
Looking thin
And just this morning
This is the rest of our pack.
Skye - 18months neutered sheepdog *****
Shiloh - 11 months neutered sheepdog dog
Ruby - 9 months entire rottie x *****
Unsurprisingly, Ruby has befriended Bear and has, on occasion, cuddled up to him. She will be neutered in the next month.
We plan to get Bear castrated as soon as he has settled a bit more and his sores have healed up a little, but for now, we have to work on his behaviour as it is.
Some days, he is brilliant and we can see how far we have come, other days he seems to go ten steps backwards and we seem to be spending the entire day correcting him, and sometimes he'll even growl or curl his lip at my OH. He does not do this to me, but I tend to obey all the maxims for being pack leader, including not kissing him or allowing him to demand fuss in my face.
We do not let him mark on his walks, he has to do his wee all in one and then get walking ...
I basically wanted advice from anyone who has experience of this breed, of rescues at this age with similar problems or any knowledge that could help us to make this transition easier for Bear.
We know his behaviour is not his fault, and are patient in teaching him a different way to be but some days it's disheartening, I guess I'd like some reassurance that we are doing things right, and if we are not doing things right, some advice on what to change.
We know he was a dog used in illegal exploits as his previous owner was arrested and deported and cannot return to the UK. His teeth are very bad, he is covered in sores and he has stiff hips. He was a bag of bones when we got him with matts in his fur and he was severely depressed.
Our pack consists of three other dogs besides him, all youngsters and smaller breeds. When he first came home, he didn't want anything to do with us or the other dogs and slept alone in the other room or hallway. He wouldn't come to call or respond to anything much. He would go 5 mins on his walks and then turn around and pull for home. He was terrified of rain.
In just 3 short weeks he is learning his new name, he will sit and down on command and is slowly learning his recall.
He is excited to meet new people, although aloof outside of the house, and he has a very waggy greeting reserved specially for us
He has filled out, his coat looks glossier and silkier, his sores are healing one by one and his hips are much less stiff after a few weeks on glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM in his food. He's excited for his walks now and does more than plod along. He will walk in the rain with a bit of encouragement.
Bear is 100% better than we expected him to be, BUT we do think he has been encouraged to be dog-aggressive. He is only around our dogs with supervision and has gone from growling when they get within a metre of him to allowing them to lie near to him and being totally relaxed. He will guard any food though (or plates on the kitchen side) and this causes some tension between him and Skye, our most dominant dog out of the others.
He has attacked a dog on a walk and is now muzzled whenever we are out of the house. He is uncastrated and dominant towards other entire dogs ... leading to aggression if not immediately checked.
We have already made improvements with him, but have found he's a very growly dog at the best of times. Skye is also growly but it's just vocalising for her, 9 times out of 10, Bear is simply vocalising his displeasure at having to obey a command. We correct him with noise and touch, and force him to submit by body-blocking him into a corner and waiting for him to relax. We have, once or twice in extreme situations, made him submit on his side and relax before allowing him up.
Being a 60kg+ dog, we thought it paramount that he immediately learns he must submit to us and obey our commands, hence the hardline approach with calming his aggression.
We do use a lot of treats and constantly positively reinforce his behaviour, we only negatively reinforce when necessary.
Here's Bear:
When he first arrived:
Looking thin
And just this morning
This is the rest of our pack.
Skye - 18months neutered sheepdog *****
Shiloh - 11 months neutered sheepdog dog
Ruby - 9 months entire rottie x *****
Unsurprisingly, Ruby has befriended Bear and has, on occasion, cuddled up to him. She will be neutered in the next month.
We plan to get Bear castrated as soon as he has settled a bit more and his sores have healed up a little, but for now, we have to work on his behaviour as it is.
Some days, he is brilliant and we can see how far we have come, other days he seems to go ten steps backwards and we seem to be spending the entire day correcting him, and sometimes he'll even growl or curl his lip at my OH. He does not do this to me, but I tend to obey all the maxims for being pack leader, including not kissing him or allowing him to demand fuss in my face.
We do not let him mark on his walks, he has to do his wee all in one and then get walking ...
I basically wanted advice from anyone who has experience of this breed, of rescues at this age with similar problems or any knowledge that could help us to make this transition easier for Bear.
We know his behaviour is not his fault, and are patient in teaching him a different way to be but some days it's disheartening, I guess I'd like some reassurance that we are doing things right, and if we are not doing things right, some advice on what to change.
