OK, I promised to keep you kind folk up to date with Shandys progress. At my last posting Shandy had bitten my wife and my son. Both required medical attansion but my son had to have his hand operated on! At last we were in a position to see the recommended behaviourist (Mr Mat Ward) and he came to our house and spent ages questioning us and observing Shandy. He also pointed out other factors which we had not really picked up on and all made sense. After many hours of advice from Mat, he left and then furnished us with a most impressive report which the family are going to digest bit by bit. Although we are not kidding ourselves that it could not happen again, we feel more confident and ease with him given the new understanding of what is required from us. While I am dead against the use of muzzles and it will break my heart to put one on him, Mat also did not freely recommend muzzles except in cases where injuries could happen. So, I am going to buy a muzzle and bit by bit use it to socialise Shandy to people in the hope he learns that nobody is going to hurt him if hes with me. We have already started the training of Shandy and ourselves. I do not expect a sudden miracle but do feel with Mats advice and help we will reach a happier plateau. Right, he and I are now going for a walk in the hills and hopefully we will both loose some weight !!!!!!!!.............John
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better Hi John, rely glad that you have been able to get some in-person advice It sounds like you have a plan of action, which is great. What kinds of things did the behaviourist recommend?
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better Ah I've thought about you and the family John,thanks for coming back with an update x
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better Really glad you've got some help. Do let us know what kind of things are in your plan to tackle this, and how you get on.
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better Hi John, lovely to hear from you and so glad you have been able to get some advice from a behaviourist. It would be interesting to know what those factors were that he picked up on. Please keep us posted as we all think about you. Good luck with your training with Shandy x
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better Some of the observations of Shandy were; Is not well socialised. Possibly due to his background he is emotionally unstable. Could also be quick tempered. Regards myself as a number one resource and is not prepared to share. Can be an affectionate dog and is able to learn. There are others but I have not studied up on them yet. We are going to try and reduce his dependancy on myself. I think this has already started to happen as he now sleeps on his cushion in the lounge after I have gone to bed. Before, he would sleep on the floor right next me. Be more aware of his warning signs like ears right back, lip licking, wide eyed etc and not create a situation where he feels the need to display these signs. I am going to purchase a muzzle and am going to use it to introduce him to people. Often people want to stroke and pat him when I'm out and about and I have had to stop them. If he has a muzzle on, I will explain to the person his problem and give them a treat to give to him. I'll make sure this is done very slowly and a bit at a time so he does not become overloaded with this. I'm also going to walk him on a shorter leash and gain more control. The forty foot leash simply lets him run and suit himself most times. Around the house, I will do more training with him, just the basics such as sit, lie down, on your bed. I will also carry on with the training of getting him to sit and wait before he can jump out of the car or exit the houses front door. He does these pretty well at the moment but its more when he feels like as opposed to he must do it. Same again, we will do this slowly and gently. He is quick to learn (when he wants to) but we will have to be patient. My wife will also be involved. Hopefully she will be able to do a little bit of walking soon so we can do small walks together. I've also cut back on his food, was getting about 100g dry food and 300g wet food twice a day. I am now feeding him the same food but 50g dry food and 250g wet food. If anybody has any advice on this I would appreciate it. We have noticed that in the last 3 weeks he has started going back to my wife. After the bite he stayed away and would not allow her to touch him at all. So, she's taking it slowly and waiting for him to make all the moves. Today he actually started to lick her hand and rubbed his head against it. Shes still not reaching out to pat or stroke him. That will come with time and patience. Once we feel real progress has been made, we will contact Mat again for further assistance. He really has given us insight and made us more confident in what we are doing. If anybody has any other advice and guidance I would appreciate it. Thanks to all........John
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better Sounds great. I had a look at Mat's website. I liked what I saw there - seems like a good person to be getting advice from
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better So glad you have good advice, and lots of detailed points to work with.
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better This is really good news. Thank you for updating us, and good luck going forward. Please keep us informed!
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better Thanks so much for this update. Sounds very positive and you sound more confident about it all, which is great. The more relaxed you are around Shandy the better he will do as well. I agree about the muzzle, it will help to keep you relaxed when meeting other people and will give Shandy a chance to learn that people aren't threats. Hopefully you will be able to phase it out before too long.
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better sounds like you are on the right track it is very hard work to change a behaviour and needs lots of work good luck
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better It's so good to see you feeling so positive and the gradual improvement with Shandy, particularly with the developing relationship between him and your wife. Step by step you'll get there as you have a really good plan to work to and a great behaviourist. Good luck and look forward to reading more on Shandy's progress.
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better [quote author=Oberon link=topic=10111.msg148169#msg148169 date=1425842928] Sounds great. I had a look at Mat's website. I liked what I saw there - seems like a good person to be getting advice from [/quote] Me too. I like the 'Long-ish stay' video too.
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better Glad to hear you are making good progress and feeling more confident. With the good advice to work on and your own hard work and patience I'm sure Shandy will respond well over the next weeks and months
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better A big set back today. I took Shandy into a forrest today where I thought there would not be anybody else. I had him off the leash and all was going well until he suddenly stopped dead still, looked in one direction and took off like white lightning! I just saw him disappear in the trees and no matter how much I shouted there was no sign of him. Then.........I heard him growling and somebody shouting like hell and I too took off in the same direction. What I came across somewhat shocked me. Shandy was busy attacking this poor chap who had been cycling. The cyclist managed to keep the cycle between him and Shandy until I got there. I managed to pull him away and apologised profusely. Luckily the cycllist was not injured. I sat down and almost felt like crying. For the first time I must say the attack was vicious, sustained and dangerous. My heart was absolutely broken. Shandy then proceeded back to the car ( on leash) as if nothing had happened at all. Now I feel I just cannot trust him after this incident. I have a muzzle but it would break my heart to have to have it on him all the time when we go out for a walk. Any ideas???
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better So sorry that you had this awful experience I can totally understand how shocked and gutted you must feel. It must've been very scary. I guess Shandy must have chased the bike and then it escalated... I think that the muzzle is a good idea, even though I understand why you do not want to use it. You want everything to be normal, and to walk Shandy just like any normal walk. Unfortunately Shandy is not that kind of dog, at least not at the moment I would also use a long line or lead. You definitely don't want to have this experience again. How are things going at home with Shandy and your family? I'd also contact the behaviourist who you have been consulting and ask his advice - in particular the chances of rehabilitating Shandy.
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better I am so very sad to read this. I completely understand how upsetting it must be for you - I can tell that you love Shandy very, very, much. [quote author=Shandyboy link=topic=10111.msg153981#msg153981 date=1428015077] I must say the attack was vicious, sustained and dangerous. [/quote] You just cannot risk Shandy hurting anyone like this - it's just not fair, and it's not right. I'm so very sorry to be a bit straightforward about it, but in your own words you say Shandy was dangerous. You must seek professional help again, go back to the person that was advising you and tell them what has happened. In the meantime, you have to make sure this cannot happen again. That probably does mean a muzzle, and he stays on leash.
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better So sorry to hear that you're still having problems with your much-loved dog. I can tell how heartbreaking it is for you. I agree with the other two; you must put him in a muzzle to prevent him harming others and arrange some serious time with your behaviourist to see what can be done to save him; if he continues like this, there's a real risk of something very, very bad happening.
Re: A Sad Story....But getting better Do go back to the behaviourist as soon as you can. You obviously love Shandy very much and need further help with building up trust, not just for yourself but for Shandy too.
