I have one question and I would be very glad to hear any suggestions regarding this matter. Here is the thing: a guy at my agility training class has a croatian shepherd Nero (black, curly-coated, mutt-like shepherd of a medium size, kind of a border collie size), just over one year old. He has been having problems with him right from the beginning - the dog constantly barks at him, demands action from him, jumps on him and bites him in the arms and legs... Tthe owner kept asking me, why is the dog doing that. I tried to tell him that the dog is the alfa in their relationship, that he controls him and demands him to do things by biting him, as many shepherds do. Nero also doesn't allow any dog to come near the guy and stares at people when doing so, too. Again, I tried to tell him that he sees him as incompetent and so he is doing his job (at least Nero sees it that way). But the guy didn't listen to me and is still wondering why does the dog act this way.?
Anyhow, yesterday we had training, they where running and the guy kept making the same mistake, so I wanted to show him the right position. I ran to the point where he did the mistake and as I passed Nero, he jumped and gave me a nasty bite in the thigh? . (Another dissappointment - the doctors at the E.R. are no George Clooney? ) Now the guy is freaking out and I don't know what to do. I know why the dog bit me - he was in full drive and I was the escaping sheep - and I can even understand him, but it doesn't mean it is ok. Now finally the owner realizes he has a problem. I had a similar problem with Sambo when he was young, but it wasn't so bad and he never really hurt me - I got bruises all over my legs, but he never once bit me. So I don't have any smart advice to give to the owner - but he HAS to do something, and do it a.s.a.p - what if the next 'victim' are one of his children or someone who won't be as simpathetic as I am? And such a problem doesn't just fade away...
So, if you have any suggestions to make this situation better, bring them on!
Thanks in advance, Ursa
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''If sometimes you feel a little useless, offended and depressed, always remember that you were once the fastest and victorious sperm in your group.''
I used to have a dog like that (Tervueren). I got expert help here in Sweden and it actually turned out OK. But it is really hard to explain how to do the process on a Forum (for me).
She told me, you have to put him down to earth, otherwise you have to put him down to heaven.?
Then she showed me how to do it, its a long process but work out at the end. It is actually one way of pretentas the dog, not beeing agressive towards the dog in any way, because it would only make it worse.
Anyhow, try to contact Milo? Kovač in slovenia, he is very good!
hunden
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The truth is out there, but so are the lies. - Dana Scully
How old is this dog? Is this the first dog of this man? Did he train basic obedience?
It sounds that the owner needs to be re-educated and introduced into the world of the dog. In doing so, the dog will also be re-educated.
I agree with Hunden, it is difficult to give advice over this forum but one thing is sure, something needs to happen very quickly or he himself will end up being bitten.
I agree on one thing with you: no George Clooney's in the ER or in th rest of the hospital for that matter (and I visit hospital for a living). I hope the bite wasn't too bad.
Saskia
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He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
Hunden, he said he would talk (this time seriously) with the main instructor in our club, she's a really experienced woman. But I'll mention Milos to him also, he didn't come to my mind.
Saskia, the dog is just over one year old as I said (I think he turned one year in April). I suppose he is his first dog, I think he did basic training with him, but as you know, one thing is making the dog obey some basic commands and another thing to put him in the right place. Their relationship from the very start is a wrong one.
The owner gets bitten all the time, but as I was with Sambo, only bruises. I'm really curious what was going on on his mind. I don't think he tried to injure me, but I don't know whether it was just bad luck that he caught me with his tooth or that he doesn't have a 'bite break' (don't know how is it called in English, the feeling dogs get as puppies in litters already and then at the new owners that they mustn't bite too hard). I suppose it is the latter and that the owner just didn't taught him correctly that he can't do that.
Saskia, thx for your concern. The bite... well, the really nice but not Noah Wyle doctor said it wasn't really pretty and my personal doctor today agreed. It is a triangle bite, about 2x3; he put one stich on each side just to prevent the triangle piece of flesh (that almost got torn out) from falling off. Sounds good, huh?? The anti-tetanus shot was another bright point today. It is a dangerous world we live in...?
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''If sometimes you feel a little useless, offended and depressed, always remember that you were once the fastest and victorious sperm in your group.''
one thing is making the dog obey some basic commands and another thing to put him in the right place. Their relationship from the very start is a wrong one.
When I taught first time owners and young dogs, I always tried to provide the owners with enough information to be able to do this and succeeded most of the time.
Of course this doesn't mean that they listen to what you say. Some people's insight will never develop further than "this is not normal" and then when you ask what happened at the time the husband, wife and the 2 childeren were nastly bitten (the circumstances so you can explain why the dog behaved the way it behaved), and believe it or not it actually happened with an English Cocker Spaniel, they always took the blame for it. And in a way they were because the dog ruled the household.
Saskia
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He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
Teus, you better believe it; I'm injured, spent a horrible night and now I can't even decide what hurts more, the leg (hope it doesn't get an infection? ), which still bleeds, or the arm because of the tetanus shot. Not fun at all...
Saskia, one of the problems is that I'm there as an agility 'instructor', making suggestions and giving advice more than anything else. I'm not such and expert that I could say I can teach agi to anyone. But I do know a lot about dogs and I can read them very well. But the guy is a guy (men's ego etc), he's about 40, so 20 years older, I don't have any big shot results, so why should he listen to me?? Obviously this is his opinion. And as I said, I'm there for the agility part and I can't be rearanging their relationship all over - which is what he should and must do, and although I try to help, I'm the one who gets scre... eeeem, bitten, as Raven said.
I think the owner should be prepared and see in advance when the dog will jump on him, grab him firmly (but calmly!) and tell him that is forbidden. The thing is the guy is a very nervous type of person, so when he gets angry at the dog because of the barking and biting the dog jumps around him, but out of reach, so he can't even punish him at the right time. I think that if he could calm down and be strict, the situation woulb be better. But as we all know, the relationship must be set all over again...
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''If sometimes you feel a little useless, offended and depressed, always remember that you were once the fastest and victorious sperm in your group.''
ooh, I hope your arm will be ok? . I have been bitten by dogs several times, but once really bad in my face and arms when I was 14. It hurts like hell ofcourse? .
As far as I`ve herd, this dogs are little creazy and hard to handle in general, I can`t get how a first time dog owner decides to get a dog like that for his first? .
Anyhow, good luck in trying with this "ego man", I know how they work. Hope everything will turn out better.
hunden
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The truth is out there, but so are the lies. - Dana Scully
But the guy is a guy (men's ego etc), he's about 40, so 20 years older
This explains a lot. As I said you can try to teach people all you know and they can hear you but that doesn't mean that they listen.
Hopefully all your pain isn't in vein and he will do something about it.
Saskia
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He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
But new info!!! Today we had an agility trial in my city, our capital. I unfortunatelly couldn't compete, because the wound started to infect, so now it's even worse than before. Damn that dog, and especially the owner . But hear this - I was told that this particular dog has already bitten another agility person (a friend of the owner) and has bitten the owner (who bleeded a bit) twice also. So I was NOT the first one to get bitten, unfortunatelly only the first one who got bitten seriously. Now I know it wasn't just bad luck, but the result of serious stupidity from the part of the owner. Uhhh, I would get them fixed, both of them ...
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''If sometimes you feel a little useless, offended and depressed, always remember that you were once the fastest and victorious sperm in your group.''
But hear this - I was told that this particular dog has already bitten another agility person (a friend of the owner) and has bitten the owner (who bleeded a bit) twice also. .....? but the result of serious stupidity from the part of the owner.
This always can make me mad: the onwers are aware of the problem having with dog but closing his eyes and not taking his responsibility. Those people are a crime for dogs and dogworld.
I hate that !!!
Teus
((be sure you recover and be more wise and nice soon? ))
News - apparently it's MY fault that I got bitten, because I 'jumped and waved my hands' . Hmm, interesting. As I wrote the first time, I ran away from the owner and the dog (without hopping and waving), and even if I would - I have the right to boogie, do somersaults or perform a belly dance without getting seriously injured, or don't I? Ah, and I want to make money out of this, of course!
(the dog is, of course, completelly innocent, he isn't dangerous at all and the owner is doing a great job educating him)
Pissed-off Bambi
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''If sometimes you feel a little useless, offended and depressed, always remember that you were once the fastest and victorious sperm in your group.''
Dog world can be cruel - lesson number one. It is NEVER dog's fault anyway, only owner's - lesson number two. Don't care what they say, you know what and how happened - lesson number three.
Author
. (Another dissappointment - the doctors at the E.R. are no George Clooney? 
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Obviously this is his opinion. And as I said, I'm there for the agility part and I can't be rearanging their relationship all over - which is what he should and must do, and although I try to help, I'm the one who gets scre... eeeem, bitten, as Raven said. 
.
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As I said you can try to teach people all you know and they can hear you but that doesn't mean that they listen.
))
