Im glad to hear that things are improving, what a great idea to use a spare room as a "crate" area, it will allow your daughter and her guests safe freedom through the house, yet keeping Diablo calm and out of the way.

Please keep in touch, particuarly if you are after advise/ suggestions/ experience. More than happy to share with you what we have done that has worked with Kato

it's kinda late for my reply anyway its nice to meet you..welcome to the forum..

That's wonderful! Fabulous news, Kerisb! So happy for you! :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

Hi. I'm sorry about the trouble with your dog, I really am. I know you say you're a petite woman, [I]however[I] if a dog attacked me, I don't care how small I am, it would be on! It's either you or the dog. You do what you gotta do, that would mean picking up whatever is in your reach and defending yourself. Of course, the same goes if the dog were about to attack one of your children or someone else in the house.

The dog sounds like it has been possessed. I don't know what to tell you, except I agree with those who say you need to contact a behavior specialist YESTERDAY.

[kerisb]

Ok so for my latest update on Diablo. Happy to say he is doing well. He lives with my daughter in her new home, but comes to my house every second weekend or whenever they need a babysitter. We have been disciplining and training him more and trying not to spoil him, but there are little things that I spoil him with (just between me and him, like special treats and hugs....when I ask for them,not when he wants them).
I am so glad so far that we decide to not put him down he is such a joy to be around. We have starting to reintroduce him to people again, always with the muzzle on of course, then if all goes well we take the muzzle off.
I find at my house if I put himout in the kennel and let the people in first and they are in sitting down before he comes in he is fine,however if he is in the house when they come in it seems he gets protective.
My other daughter came down a few weekends ago and we were concerned cus we didn't want to have to keep the muzzle on him all day and night, so he wore it for the first few hours and while in the vehicle,but then my daughter wanted us to take it off him and see if he would be aggressive towards him...........well very happy to say that he was extremely loving towards her and no threat at all to anyone. He also met some other people and it seems as long as they don't show fear he is great, it is the ones that show fear that he gets nervous around.
He has even gotten my husband to do a complete 360, he regarded him as just a dog, now he is finding that when Diablo is not around he misses him. And my other dog gets depressed when Diablo is not around but the minute Diablo comes through our door our other dog (Pepper) acts just like a teenager lol. And me of course I love him to death when he is here and miss him terribly when he is gone, but I go on the web cam with my daughter so I can atleast see him.
And in true fashion he is like an angel here,but my daughter says he is bad when she gets him back from our house.......lol just like a child lol.

So allis good for now!!!!!!!!!!!

[reeskujo]

That is so great to hear....I'm really happy for Diablo,you and your family.

Glad to hear that things are going well! Im still thrilled that you chose to give this one a go, it can be worth it in the long run. I suppose I should add now that our boy too is settleing down a bit, and is allowing more strangers close approach without getting cranky about it.

Seems with time and persistance we both have a chance to bridge all the gaps, and teach tolerance and acceptance.

Thanks for the update, Keris. Glad to hear things are working out!

Recently I heard of another case that made me think of you... some other people in my community have an akita. Last spring, when I met them, they had to muzzle him around other dogs because he was aggressive. They had him in a class to help him socialize better, etc. I bumped into them again last month, and he was fine, not muzzled. I commented, and they told me it turns out, he had a broken molar, causing him a lot of pain, and making him irritable! They got it fixed, and he's like a completely different dog, they said. But I recall you saying Diablo's had all kinds of veterinary/health evaluations. Still, the case reminded me of your trouble with Diablo, and makes me wonder if perhaps the vets haven't missed something small, like a dental problem?

[kerisb]

Sorry I haven't been on in such a long time! Hope everyone is doing well.

Update on us and Diablo.......he is still with us!!!
My daughter is living back with us and Diablo is here also. He is a funny, charming, handsome gentleman with us. However he does NOT like children at all, therefore we are very careful around children and muzzle him.

There are not many children that ever come here so not that big of a deal in our household however we are trying to get him to be more tolerant of different people.

I muzzle him before people come in and so far that has worked great.

However one thing des puzzle me........my other daughter who only comes down about 3 times a year........when she comes down we muzzle Diablo, and he is always happy to see her. After a few hours we take the muzzle off and he treats her just like a part of our family......he loves her to death!

The last time she was down though.......she has a tendancy to constantly be wanting Diablo near her and to play (he is use to us being around but not constantly bugging him). Well guess she bugged him enough that at two different points he kinda just gave a very quiet little growl out of him and moved away from her. She took offense to tis but we actually took it to be a good thing.....like he gave her a warning and then he moved away.

He has never ever given warnings........and never decided to move away. So hopefully as he is maturing he may develope a sense of backing down and being nice.


I am also finding that when we use to have company he would stay right with us and watch the people carefully, now I am finding that after a few minutes he will lay down and fall asleep.

He is listening very well to his "come here" "sit" "lay down" and "stay" commands so things are improving.

Just wanted to drop a line at keep you guys updated on Diablo's progress!!


Ttyl Kerry

[german sheep]

Hello kerisb,

as you said: to give a warning and then leave the situation in which he feels uncomfortable is a good sign, a very good sign, because he has learned to regulate himself. Now he knows there is no need to go foreward as if there is the possibility to go away. That is a very important step.

What you should do in future is to praise that warning. But not to praise (maybe with a treat) but show him actively what he can do better when he leaves the confrontationed object.
Be with him. A dog just uses aggression when he feels overstrained.
So to lower the stress level he needs the owner by his side for orientation.
Maybe you can show him to lay down on his place where he normally lays down or to come straight away to you.

In future he must know that if he is directly next to you there is no fear to be eventually touched by a third person. It is your responsibility to give him this safety.

And a dog which sits by a person (a guest of mine) does not neccesarily show the allowance to be stroked. Maybe he just controlls the human as if to have a look at what someone is doing or how much potential danger goes out from this person.

So always be carefull and I hope that there will be no more negative situation for you and the dog.

Take care
gs