I've had Kody for about 4 1/2 years. I adopted him from the city shelter. He was about 70lbs and had extremely high positive heart worms. My vet didn't think he would survive the treatment, but he did, he's healthy and 130lbs now. He had severe behavioral problems when I first adopted him. He marked everywhere (even on people), he wasn't housebroken, he had SEVERE food aggression with my other dog, and he was pretty aggressive to people who came into "his" territory. Especially men.
It took awhile, and a LOT of hard work, but he's become an absolute wonderful dog.
We're having some setbacks now, though. About 6 months ago, I had him in the car getting ready to leave my aunts house. The man that rakes her leaves asked me if he could reach in and pet him. I told him absolutely not...he did it anyway and Kody bit him. He didn't break skin, it was more of a "I've already warned you not to mess with me and now I'm warning you again...do it again and you'll lose an arm." I fussed at the guy, he was very good natured about it, and let it go. Although it did worry me. Now, whenever I have people over...again, it's only with men, Kody acts very aggressive with them. He growls, snarls, barks, and tries to bite them. It's ONLY men. They don't do anything, but it's almost instant...as soon as they walk in. It's not everyone though...only certain people.
I know I have a problem. I've talked to a trainer in my area, but she's out of town until the first of the year. I plan to start with her as soon as she gets back. This only happens in his territory. He has none of the dog aggression he had when I first got him. We can walk right by another dog and nothing happens. Men can walk up to us when we're out on walks with no problem. My vet is a man and Kody is very docile with him. It's only inside the house or in the backyard. He also generally, even in his territory doesn't show aggression if I have him on a leash.
Again, I know I have a problem. I also know that if something does happen I can't say "I didn't think he would bite". Would it be a good idea to muzzle him when I have company? If so, what kind should I use? Do you have any suggestions as to what steps I should take until I can start working with our new trainer? I'd also like to point out that he has never shown any aggression to me or to those people that he knows. Another thing- about a year ago he did bite a man who was yelling at me and grabbed me violently. Kody was on his leash at my side when this happened and as soon as the man grabbed me, Kody bit him. He was "cleared" of any wrongdoing.
It took awhile, and a LOT of hard work, but he's become an absolute wonderful dog.
We're having some setbacks now, though. About 6 months ago, I had him in the car getting ready to leave my aunts house. The man that rakes her leaves asked me if he could reach in and pet him. I told him absolutely not...he did it anyway and Kody bit him. He didn't break skin, it was more of a "I've already warned you not to mess with me and now I'm warning you again...do it again and you'll lose an arm." I fussed at the guy, he was very good natured about it, and let it go. Although it did worry me. Now, whenever I have people over...again, it's only with men, Kody acts very aggressive with them. He growls, snarls, barks, and tries to bite them. It's ONLY men. They don't do anything, but it's almost instant...as soon as they walk in. It's not everyone though...only certain people.
I know I have a problem. I've talked to a trainer in my area, but she's out of town until the first of the year. I plan to start with her as soon as she gets back. This only happens in his territory. He has none of the dog aggression he had when I first got him. We can walk right by another dog and nothing happens. Men can walk up to us when we're out on walks with no problem. My vet is a man and Kody is very docile with him. It's only inside the house or in the backyard. He also generally, even in his territory doesn't show aggression if I have him on a leash.
Again, I know I have a problem. I also know that if something does happen I can't say "I didn't think he would bite". Would it be a good idea to muzzle him when I have company? If so, what kind should I use? Do you have any suggestions as to what steps I should take until I can start working with our new trainer? I'd also like to point out that he has never shown any aggression to me or to those people that he knows. Another thing- about a year ago he did bite a man who was yelling at me and grabbed me violently. Kody was on his leash at my side when this happened and as soon as the man grabbed me, Kody bit him. He was "cleared" of any wrongdoing.