problems with my dog

Discuss everything else here

Moderator: ArcWolf

Post Reply
User avatar
Karl
Posts: 1664
Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:27 pm
Location: Singing Fortepiano

problems with my dog

Post by Karl »

Last year I adopted a dog from animal shelter. He's a very calm guy who always sticks with me. he spends 90% of his time with me and he follows me everywhere. But his previous owners gave him a lot of traumatic memories so I had to be careful with him to not cause him harm by mistake.
He does behave normal and he made huge progress in coming back to life. But he has some kind of trances where he becomes very aggressive and he has no idea what he's doing. He bite me two times when he had such trances, but after some time he snaps out of it and realizes that he harmed me, feels sorry and apologizes me.
But a lot of time passed since his last trance, I thought that finally we put an end to this and everything will be okay. But today it happened again. I was getting myself dressed to walk him out. He was on the sofa and was rubbing his back crazily from happiness, but I saw that he was about to fall down and I supported him with one hand. He got himself into trance, his gaze was distant, like he wasn't seeing anything. I tried to calm him down, but he was snarling all the time. Finally I wanted to leave the room with him and took him for walk. And he bite my hand very badly.
I don't know what to do anymore. I'm trying all the time to help him. He's a very good dog and he shows me every day how much he loves me. But those trances are becoming a real menace. I really need help in solving this. Maybe someone on this forum had a similar problem with his pet? Every help will be much appreciated.
I'm a bookworm!
User avatar
angelusbr
Posts: 1757
Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2010 11:26 am

Re: problems with my dog

Post by angelusbr »

Sadly, the best advice I can give is to give him a muzzler if you still want to keep the dog.
Shameless advertisement of my fanfics: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/880961/Angelus-alvus
User avatar
JeffCvt
Posts: 2854
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2012 5:33 pm
Location: Somewhere between 8:30 and the color red

Re: problems with my dog

Post by JeffCvt »

I really wish I knew.

My suggestion would be to see if there is anyone around where you live that may be able to help out. This really sounds like a problem that a professional should be asked about.
Jeff "Clavy" Civit
User avatar
RandomGeekNamedBrent
laughing maniacally
Posts: 21032
Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 10:42 pm
Location: an invisible, flying volcano over Virginia

Re: problems with my dog

Post by RandomGeekNamedBrent »

I'm with Jeff. try to find some sort of animal psychologist that may be able to help.
Paradigm Shift by me
I do not actually believe any of what I'm saying.
RP character sheets
0404

Re: problems with my dog

Post by 0404 »

I'm cat person and I can't really help you, but Ceaser Millan can.
Is he Neutered? I heared that that is big factor of dogs being aggresive.
User avatar
Beagle
Posts: 1650
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 10:09 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: problems with my dog

Post by Beagle »

I agree to seek an animal psychologist.
Also, did your dog have a past history of abuse with his previous owners or the shelter? That might be important to know.
Let me tell you about Homestuck.
User avatar
DingoVolf
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 12:17 am
Location: It was unwise to wake the 3-eyed cat, but we did it anyways, and now look at us. Whatever you do,

Re: problems with my dog

Post by DingoVolf »

No clue what exactly is going on with this trance you speak of, but generally a straight gaze, growling/snarling/stiff muzzle, and possibly a stiff body are all signals asking you to back off immediately. My rough guess is that you surprised him when trying to catch him, and he was really not ready to deal with that.

But definitely take him to see an animal behaviorist, preferably someone who has dealt with problem animals before. Your shelter may actually be a good source for a name or lead on who to talk to, and they may even have an experienced animal handler that can help. I advise against pet psychologists and anyone who primarily uses dominance techniques, but I hope whatever help you manage to find results in a better relationship with your canid friend. :)
User avatar
Karl
Posts: 1664
Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:27 pm
Location: Singing Fortepiano

Re: problems with my dog

Post by Karl »

texascat018 wrote:Is he Neutered?
No.
Beagle wrote:Also, did your dog have a past history of abuse with his previous owners or the shelter? That might be important to know.
The shelter I took him from wasn't eager to provide me any information. The only thing they told me is that he was suffering from hunger and they had to take him away from previous family. Also spending one year in the shelter added damage to his psyche. But yes, I'm certain he was being abused. I figured all of that by his behavior when I was doing something. He was curling up when someone was shouting or when someone had a stick in his hand.
I never spanked him. I tired to do things calmly to not remind him of suffering from previous house. I thought I made some progress because in year changes were great. But what happened yesterday surprised me.
DingoVolf wrote:No clue what exactly is going on with this trance you speak of, but generally a straight gaze, growling/snarling/stiff muzzle, and possibly a stiff body are all signals asking you to back off immediately. My rough guess is that you surprised him when trying to catch him, and he was really not ready to deal with that.
I didn't expect him to do that. This happened before and It wasn't like that. When he bit me, I tried to not move. After some time he calmed down and he returned to normal. But if this is happening, I'm worried when that might happen next. Those trances are unexpectable and they strike at any moment.

I'll try to seek a behaviorist in animal shelter. May be he will know how to get him out of this.
I'm a bookworm!
User avatar
Beagle
Posts: 1650
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 10:09 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: problems with my dog

Post by Beagle »

Karlos wrote:
Beagle wrote:Also, did your dog have a past history of abuse with his previous owners or the shelter? That might be important to know.
The shelter I took him from wasn't eager to provide me any information. The only thing they told me is that he was suffering from hunger and they had to take him away from previous family. Also spending one year in the shelter added damage to his psyche. But yes, I'm certain he was being abused. I figured all of that by his behavior when I was doing something. He was curling up when someone was shouting or when someone had a stick in his hand.
I never spanked him. I tired to do things calmly to not remind him of suffering from previous house. I thought I made some progress because in year changes were great. But what happened yesterday surprised me.
Yeah, he was definitely abused. Your dog was removed from the home by animal control on the knowledge of abuse, I am willing to bet. From what it sounds like, your dog was malnourished and beaten before he made it to the shelter and to your care. Abused dogs are very prone to having relapse memories like that. The shelter probably should have done a lot more to show your dog some love before he found a new home. Food doesn't fix a broken heart.

One of my dogs, who we got after he had already lived in one family for his entire life, was probably abused as well by his previous owners. He is very timid, so he doesn't have violent outbursts like your furry friend, but if I raise my hand to pick something off of the shelf, he'll oftentimes put his tail between his legs and cringe. This is when I just pick him up and hold him in a warm hug like a baby. But do NOT do that with your dog- your dog might seriously hurt you if you do that.
Let me tell you about Homestuck.
User avatar
Sleet
Bringing Foxy Back
Posts: 17291
Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2010 1:32 am
Location: Nephelokokkygia
Contact:

Re: problems with my dog

Post by Sleet »

There aren't rules in place that they have to tell you where they got it? It seems like it'd be helpful to the owner if they would be open with that.
Image
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Friendly banter? Feel free to click the "PM" button below!
User avatar
Karl
Posts: 1664
Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:27 pm
Location: Singing Fortepiano

Re: problems with my dog

Post by Karl »

Beagle wrote:One of my dogs, who we got after he had already lived in one family for his entire life, was probably abused as well by his previous owners. He is very timid, so he doesn't have violent outbursts like your furry friend, but if I raise my hand to pick something off of the shelf, he'll oftentimes put his tail between his legs and cringe. This is when I just pick him up and hold him in a warm hug like a baby. But do NOT do that with your dog- your dog might seriously hurt you if you do that.
Yeah. I tried to calm him down. he ususally stops that when I hug him. But this time it didn't work. Now half of my hand looks like a peach fruit. of course he apologized to me later for biting me, he hugged me and even slept with me in my bed. But it looks like until I find a professional help, I will have to do as you say, stay away from him when that happens and allow him to calm down by himself.
He's a very lovely dog. Very attached to me. But I must keep in mind that a lot of suffering happened to him and I must help him with getting fully recovered.
Sleet wrote:There aren't rules in place that they have to tell you where they got it? It seems like it'd be helpful to the owner if they would be open with that.
Exact information about his previous owners would help me a lot in his recovery. But they have this strange policy of not giving too much information. Management there is really strange. I'm even trying to make a photo documentary there and they're doing everything to keep me away from staff.
I'm a bookworm!
User avatar
Sleet
Bringing Foxy Back
Posts: 17291
Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2010 1:32 am
Location: Nephelokokkygia
Contact:

Re: problems with my dog

Post by Sleet »

Are there higher authorities you could go to?
Image
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Friendly banter? Feel free to click the "PM" button below!
User avatar
Karl
Posts: 1664
Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:27 pm
Location: Singing Fortepiano

Re: problems with my dog

Post by Karl »

The highest authority there is head director herself. She keeps saying that she supports me, but always sends me to head veterinarian who takes care of everything. While head veterinarian sends me back to director, telling he can't do anything. So it's a never ending circle. A weird one, I would say.
I'm a bookworm!
User avatar
Foxstar
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU
Posts: 1689
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:00 am
Contact:

Re: problems with my dog

Post by Foxstar »

So whatever happened with this?
Post Reply