Boerboel with major issues.......need help, at our witts end !!!

[kmay]

I'm new to this group and have posted my introduction in the introductions section. Thank you all who have answered and thanks for the welcomd. Now here is my issue:

We got our Boerboel when she was 4 months old. She came down with Parvo 4 days after we brought her home. The breeder said they all had their shots and he hadn’t heard of any of the others getting Parvo and the one he kept was fine, so she must have gotten the Parvo at our house. The vet says Parvo has at least a 10 day incubation period, so she had to have contracted it prior to coming to our house. Regardless, we paid the $1,300 and got her all better.
Once she recovered from that, she was integrated into our yard of elderly dogs and did just fine. The vet waited until she was about 10 months old to spay so he was sure she recovered well from the parvo.
When the Boerboel turned 1 yr old she attacked the Dane. Completely out of nowhere, and for what we could see, no apparent reason. My husband was petting the Dane, and the Boer just snuck around him and lunged at the Dane and grabbed her by the neck. Ever since then, the fights are at least a couple of times a week, and they are bad fights. The Dane has been to the vet to many times for stitches, lots of stitches. These are bad bad bad fights. The Boer usually comes out with a few scrapes and that’s it.
They are not allowed near each other anymore. We have to keep them separate so we built a 22 by 20 foot pen to put one or the other in. When the Boer is in, the Dane is out.
Then we went on vacation in 2009 for a week and had my daughter and her husband and my neighbor take care of the animals. While we were gone the Boer got out of the yard and was found over a mile away. Since then, we can’t keep her in the yard, she climbs the fence as soon as we leave to go to work or the store or anything. I’m assuming it’s separation anxiety. She was tearing the stucco off the house and clawing at the windows to get in if we left her alone.
She has also started freaking out when she hears thunder, a lawn mower backfire, or any loud pop at all. Even if the wind is blowing hard, Santa Ana winds, she will freak and jump the fence.
We have that part of it better controlled as the vet has put her on some stuff called Clomicalm. It works a little but not completely. If she is in the pen in the back so the old Dane can be out, she will scream and scream like someone is hurting her for hours on end until she is let back out or we put her in the house. It’s unreal.
She has just recently snapped at our old lab mix and our old Rottie. Now, if she were to attack one of them, especially the Rottie, he wouldn’t stand a chance. He is very old, his back legs are bad, and she would hurt him bad. So now she is completely segregated alone. If she is out front, everyone else is locked in the back. If she’s in the back, they are in the front. It’s very frustrating. We are just at a loss of what to do with her. As I said, she was raised the same as everyone else, trained the same as everyone else, and loved the same as everyone else, yet she is not getting along with anyone. Being raised with them is what makes this more confusing to us as to why she’s doing these things.
With people, she’s ok. Leary at first of strangers but is ok with them coming in the yard if you are out there to tell her it’s ok. Strangers pet her, and she’s there friend for life. She is very well obedience trained, so in that department we have no problems either. And, she LOVES cats. (and no, not for dinner, literally just loves our cats) so you can see, she’s really not a bad dog, I think she has some kind of mental issue.
Sorry such a long post, but we do love this dog and are just frustrated.

 

[Ripsmom]

boy..and i thought I had problems...I sympathize with you although i personally do not have the issues you have in my own home, i dog sit for a friend with the same problems in terms of aggression and it can be a royal pain in the butt and no matter how careful you are it's human error and one day there's an accident. I am by no means an expert on the Boer breed but from what i understand they are tough and if the breeder wasn't a reputable one... now you have even more issues. In my opinion your dogs are no match for her and as you said your dane has wound up on the short end of the stick a few times already. I think sooner or later you will have a dead dane if that continues to happen. In spite of the fact that she was raised with them...genetics always plays a significant part. It seems as though this breed has recently come into the spotlight and when that happens the general public starts acquiring dogs that are not suitable for the average dog owner. I've only met two people with Boers and both of them had to rehome their dogs for aggression problems and neither of them was capable of dealing with it. My guess is that with that breed like many others male/female companionship is better than female/female. It's good that she is responding to the clomicalm but the aggression is a real problem; if you have any intentions of keeping this dog you need to get a behaviorist who has experience dealing with tough dogs and even then I personally would never trust her with the other dogs, especially the dane otherwise ideally you might want to try to rehome her BUT now you need to find someone responsible, willing and CAPABLE of dealing with a dog like this SAFELY which I suspect is going to be tough and you would want to make sure that they are not going to use her as a guard/junkyard dog somewhere because that is not fair to her. Have you tried calling the breeder to see if he/she will take the dog back...in my opinion a reputable breeder will take their dogs back; you may also want to call the Boerboel Club to see if they do any kind of rescue with the breed. Maybe they can refer you to someone suitable. Personally I would not place this dog with other dogs.

 

[Bentley]

I sounds to me like she is very insecure but this needs professional help, you need to seek the advice of a large/giant breed specialist.

 

[Cody]

Yes, I would find a qualified behaviorist/trainer to work with you. Good luck, I really hope you can work it out
You have beautiful dogs

 

[ElJayBee]

I am a fellow boerboel owner, so perhaps I can help you here. As far as her temperament with people, she sounds perfect for the breed, so no concerns there. Very good that there is no unwarranted HA going on. That would be bad.

As far as her DA goes, it is not typically normal for the breed. These dogs were meant to be pack animal farm dogs, so it seems there MAY be some inappropriate genetic factor going on. And there is always a reason for the attack, there are many unspoken signals between dogs that can cause a fight, especially if one is unstable, like your girl. My boerboel Eisha can be dog aggressive IF another dog (especially an unfamiliar dog) is doing something inappropriate, comes too close to me, or is invading her personal space, so I have to be careful to always monitor things very closely and make sure I correct ANY signs of possible attack BEFORE they happen. This takes experience and knowing your dog. It's almost like I can feel the tension from her and once I do, I have to correct her IMMEDIATELY to avoid a conflict. It works well with me, but not everyone is capable of this. Sometimes once attacks with DA dogs have happened enough times, it makes it VERY difficult to overcome, which seems to be your situation. I have a question, what did you do during the times when she attacked? How was she corrected, if at all?

I guess my advice for you is to do what has been suggested above, contact your breeder and explain the situation and see what they have to offer you, contact a professional trainer to help you with your issues, and in the meantime ALWAYS keep her separate from your other dogs. Also, if you have to go out of town again, you should probably board her at a vet's office or other appropriate boarding facility to ensure no accidents can happen while you're away. If she's getting out of her pen still, you either need a taller pen or an appropriate chain set-up to keep her contained. A dog like this being free to roam is an accident and potential lawsuit waiting to happen.

I wish you luck with your girl. If for whatever reason, nothing seems to get better and you are not comfortable with having to keep your dogs separate, rehoming her is always an option. If you choose this, please let me know and I can help you.

 

[Mongo]

Yes, I would find a qualified behaviorist/trainer to work with you. Good luck, I really hope you can work it out
You have beautiful dogs

I agree 100%

Is there a reason you havent tried to consult with a professional? Couple of years is a long time to let this go on... endangering your other dogs. :/

 

[kmay]

We had asked our vet about trainers/behavioralists. He said it was a good idea to contact one so we did. We actually contacted 2 of them and they both were $250 an hr to help us. One of them even was charging $100 an hour to drive to our house which was 2 hrs away. Unfortunately we can not afford that amount of money not knowing how many times they will have to come.

We did contact the breeder and he assures us that none of the rest of the litter has any emotional or aggression problems and that 2 of them are certified therapy dogs. He also will not take her back then or now. He also said none of the others contracted Parvo as ours did. (for some reason, i'm just not believing him, especially that only 1 pup out of 9 got Parvo because no way could she get it at our house only 4 days after bringing her home)

As for boarding her at the vet, that won't happen. Our vet said because of her DA she is a liability for them and they will not board her for us. So we have found a place not far from our house and gone over and looked at it and talked to the people about boarding her if we ever need to leave again. The place is great, the man is really nice and they board police dogs there from as far away as an hr from here, they bring their dogs to them. The man himself has large breed dogs, and he seems to think she will be no problem for him to board when we need to.

As for her attacking the other dog, I got to where I could tell just by her eyes that she was going to attack and we would do our best to correct it before it happened. The Dane does not in any way provoke the fights. The Dane can be minding her own business and walk past her, and she will attack her. The only thing we can see is, oh i don't know what you call it, but it's when the Dane will come over to one of us, the other one will attack her when she gets near us.
They used to be on the front lawn playing, no one outside and us watching thru the door, and when someon stepped outside the door, she would turn on the Dane. It was like she owns us. That is the only thing we can figure out so far.

As for her and the Dane ever being together, that will never ever happen. We just found out this weekend that our Dane has cancer. She is going to start treatment this week to see if it helps, and if it doesn't help, we will have to do what's best for her as she is in quite some pain the past 2 days.

But we also will never let her near the other old dogs either.

And as for re-homing her, i'm not sure if i'm up to that. I would feel really guilty if I found a home for her and she hurt someone else's dog after we gave her away. She's just not mentally all their. I think finding her another home would completely freak her out. Just the past 2 days, the clomicalm isn't working, and she SCREAMING to get in the house at night and trying to get over the fence into our side yard. Don't know what to do.

So confused. (and i'm sorry, but we can not afford to pay that amount for training right now)

 

[Mongo]

Im apologizing ahead of time because I know this is going to sound rude.

Why do you have so many dogs (especially giant breeds that over all cost a lot more than a smaller dog) if you can not afford them? You bought this dog(most likely from a BYB) so hopefully there was SOME sort of planning before bringing her home. When getting a puppy/dog you need to think about all aspects of it BEFORE getting them. Food, Vet Bills(Routine & ER) Training(puppy classes, obedience, or behaviorist) Toys & Treats to keep them happy or entertained while your away. Crates or baby gates, boarding. They cost a LOT of money. If for some reason you have fallin on hard times, then you need to do whats best for your family and her. Have you tried looking for a home with someone knowledgeable of aggressive dogs? Someone who doesnt have children or other pets? Obviously you wouldnt want to bring her into a home with kids or animals. But there are people out there that are willing to work with problem dogs and have experience. You never know, maybe once she is out of your house, away from your pack... she changes.

Is she getting enough exercise? Like a GOOD RUN? Something to really drain her energy?

Once again, sorry if this was a little too forward

 

[Ripsmom]

you are right ... it does sound like she is possessive of "her" people, which can be difficult to deal with. Disappointed to hear that the breeder is so hands off...but not surprised. I completely understand not wanting to give her up but i am wondering if it is really in her best interest to be in your home... as someone else suggested above perhaps her anxiety would dissipate if she were an only dog (which obviously cannot happen in your house) some dogs just don't do well in a multiple dog setting. Do you have any family or friends that you trust that have taken a liking to her (without other dogs)? I hate to say this but without getting a behaviorist involved i would be surprised if she changes at all as far as the other dogs are concerned and even then it's iffy; if you insist on keeping her maybe you could start working her in obedience or agility... it would give her the time she needs with you and will also give her some structure...it won't help with her DA but at least she will be getting enough time with you, along with the meds it may be enough to take the edge off her anxiety

 

[kmay]

Your comment of (You bought this dog(most likely from a BYB) is not true. We did not purchase this dog, she was given to us. They were unable to sell all the pups (dog had 13 pups, problems at birth and after birthing, mom had to have major surgery and all pups were bottle fed due to mother being so ill and only 9 pups lived) but she was given to us because they were unable to sell all the puppies and could not afford to to keep all the 3 unsold pups and the mother. We heard about the pups from a friend and got one from her friend who owned the mother.

As for us having all large breed dogs, we love the large breeds and have always had them, several different ones, several different breeds and never had a problem with one single one of them. I consider us to be very experienced in the large breed dominant dogs, as that is all we have ever had with the exception of one little Rat Terrier and a Chihuahua.

We have acres of property, plenty of room to roam, and yes, she gets plenty of exerscise daily with my son, so none of my dogs are lacking exerscise.

We have not fallen on hard times, we have plenty of love and money to take care of and feed our animals the way they should be cared for.

As for why we have so many, I am a foster parent for our local no kill shelter. I have taken in over 75 puppies and 50 older dogs in the last 13 years to foster for them. We take care of them until they are spayed/neutered and had all their shots, then they go back to be adopted.

Our Great Dane was on her way to the dog pound, so my husband took her from a family member. Our Rottweiler was one of my foster pups and he had some major issues with his back knees, so we decided to adopt him for ourselves and give him the surgery he required to live a long healthy life (he is 12 now) The Rat Terrier was also a foster pup who came from a puppy mill with issues with her front legs being crooked. She was looked over several times for adoption because she was not 'perfect' so we again, adopted her.

So yes, we have several large breed dogs, we live in the county where we have plenty of room and ability to keep these dogs, and we enjoy them. We have very well rounded dogs, no fighting, no human aggression, no dog aggression, no problems, everyone eats together, sleeps together and plays (not now that they are so old) together.

And if you read my last post, we are even going so far as to do cancer treatments on our Dane, that right there should prove that we love and care for our dogs very well and can afford them.

I do not think you were to forward in asking questions, but i do think for you to say [Why do you have so many dogs (especially giant breeds that over all cost a lot more than a smaller dog) if you can not afford them?] was a little presumptuous to assume we can't afford them.

No where did I say that I can not afford my dogs, I said I can not afford $250 an hour for one dog to have training. Personal opinion, that's way to much money for anyone to charge, so maybe saying I can't afford that, I should have used different words as in I will not pay that much.

As for rehoming her, I will feel guilty if she did something after we gave her away. We contacted SEVERAL rescues last year and none of them woudl take her because of her aggression towards other dogs. We even contacted a Boerboel specific rescue, and they also turned us down.
Now my husband has gotten quite an attachment to this dog because have a very unique personality and is a very loving dog when she is not around other dogs, and my husband wants to do what he can to help her get thru her anxiety and issues.

---------- Post added at 06:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:53 PM ----------

AND...........since our older dogs are all over the age of 10, this Boerboel is the last dog we will have for a while.

With the Dane having cancer, and the Rottie being so old and his knees are giving out due to the surgeries he's had, we will be losing those 2 dogs by the end of this year and have no intentions of bringing in any other dogs while she has these issues.

I am not an irrisponsible dog owner, quite the opposite.

 

[kmay]

AND...........since our older dogs are all over the age of 10, this Boerboel is the last dog we will have for a while.

With the Dane having cancer, and the Rottie being so old and his knees are giving out due to the surgeries he's had, we will be losing those 2 dogs by the end of this year and have no intentions of bringing in any other dogs while she has these issues.

I am not an irrisponsible dog owner, quite the opposite.

 

[ElJayBee]

I'm sorry to hear about your Dane. Losing one is never easy, so I just hope that her passing, when it happens, is as painless as possible.

I have a suggestion that may help if you want to work on being able to have your boerboel integrated with the rest of your pack on some occasions. Perhaps you could try getting her used to wearing a basket muzzle. Make it a positive experience for her so she doesn't think of it as a punishment. After she gets accustomed to wearing the muzzle and has no problems wearing it, then at times you can allow her around some of your other dogs (i would still not allow her around the Dane or the rott, due to their health and frailty) under supervision. this way, if a situation does arise, you can work on correcting her for it without anyone getting hurt. i would begin maybe by taking her on a nice, controlled walk with you and some of your other pack members. walking is a wonderful bonding process with not only you and your family, but the other dogs as well. It gives a sense of equal membership and togetherness. Not to mention the added benefit of training and exercise. Maybe try this for 30 minutes to an hour 2 or 3 times a week and see how it goes. if things go well, you can add more time and more days. if things continue going well, you can maybe have a group off-lead time (with her still wearing the muzzle of course) at home for 30 minutes to an hour. just take things slowly. if she begins to act tense or shows any other signs that she is about to attack, of course correct her immediately for it. if she doesn't respond, then correct harder or maybe a different type of correction that will get thru to her. it helps if you can have two people on hand during these training times. i would make her continue to wear the muzzle anytime she is around any other dogs (and also sometimes without being around other dogs so she doesn't begin to associate the muzzle with the presence of other dogs) for AT LEAST 6 months AFTER she has been together as a pack with your others with NO incidences. it will be a long process that will probably be frustrating at times, but if you stick with it and are consistent, you may have good result.

it sounds to me as if she has a major dominance issue (along with being insecure, a bad combo) with your other dogs and thinks of you as her "possession". before she came along, do you feel that your Dane was the more dominant or leader of your pack? this might could explain why your BB has such a problem with her. does she usually leave the more submissive members of your pack alone? do any other members of your pack have any issues that might be causing her to be uncomfortable around them or cause her to perceive them as having a "weakness"? im just trying to understand your situation completely to better understand why your BB is behaving this way.

anyway, i hope this helps...

OH, and here is the type muzzle i am talking about. it is one of the most comfortable to wear and allows them to pant and move their mouths more freely than others.

 

[Mongo]

Ok you missed my point. Im just wondering why you wouldnt pay that money to help relieve stress and tension from your other dogs having to deal with this for the past couple years? They are older which is worse.

I love large breeds of all kinds! Im happy that people love these giants too. And its good that your looking for advise. But these people cant help you like a professional in person. I would HATE to be a dog in your house having to deal with a huge pain of a dog who is unstable. Its not fair to the other dogs that have lived there a lot longer than her. ANYWAYS... Thank you for rescueing and fostering. But since you dont want to pay for training b/c its not worth it and your just going to wait for the others to die off, then I have nothing else to say.

 

[kmay]

The other dogs in my house do not deal with the BB, she is in a separate yard from her at all times. We no longer have fights in the house becasue she is segregated on her own.
When she is out on the acreage, the others are either asleep in the house or they are in the back.
I wouldn't hate to be a dog in my house, I would love it as my dogs are very well taken care of. I will not pay $250 an hour for training as I think that is a rediculous amount of money with no guarantee?
I have to pay for treatment for the Dane's cancer which reared it's ugly head this past weekend.
I am not just "waiting for the others to die", that's a rediculous thing to say. We are doing what we can for this BB along wth the vets medication. It is not just the dog aggression she has, it's also the total panic that she lives with.
If we take her for a walk, the dog will completely FREAK OUT if she sees a flag flying in someone's front yard. If a bird flies out of a bush, you would think that the boogie monster was out to get her.
So it is not just OUR yard OUR dogs and her not liking being around other dogs, there is something wrong with her.
I have never owned a dog in my life that was scared of a yard flag, bird, or anything like that.
I don't mind your opinions, but I do mind the way you say them. I came here to ask if anyone has had these problems before and had a way around them, not to be berated and pushed away.

 

[kmay]

It was suggested to us before to get a muzzle. We just can't find one in any stores around here and i'm still loooking.

We have taken the BB on several walks with the Dane and our old Lab, we used to walk them daily together, they did very well on walks, we have no problems there, she doesn't even loook at the Dane while we are walking because she is to freaked out about things around her.
When we are on a walk and happen to run into a stray dog, or a dog comes running out from an open gated yard, she has absolutely no problem with those dogs. She will look at them, sniff the air, and keep on walking her walk with us and totally ignore them. No growls, nothing. Even at the vets office she has no problem with any other dogs that are in the waiting room, she ignores them. (I swear, it seems like her only problem is the Dane, although i would never even think of letting her loose with other dogs not knowing)

Right now, the Dane can't go anywhere and the Rottweiler can only walk about 2 houses down before he's exhausted. We can take her for a walk with the Lab, and she loves him. No problems with the two of them at all, never has been. The only dog in our yard that she really can't be around is the Dane and i'm not sure if that's because it's female to female. She snapped at the Rottie one time not long ago, and for that reason alone, we keep him separate from her also, just to be safe.

Her obedience i think, is very good. She is completely obedience trained when it comes to sit, stay, down, crawl, drop it, all those good things. (she does the comando crawl on command and it's very cute to watch) she plays fetch and drops the toy, she absolutely listens to everything you tell her to do and she is also trained by hand commands, not just voice. We have spent a lot of time with her to train her well.

As for having a more dominant dog in the yard, I can't really say. The 3 oldest ones have all grown up together and are within a year apart of each other, and they have all gotten along perfectly fine. My lab mix is the one that all the others run to when they hear a firetruck, and they all look to him to see when he's going to howl. So maybe he's the boss? Again, can't say really because they have all gotten along so well, never a problem with any of them. The Dane is actually the most submissive of all of them in my yard, very laid back, very much a lap dog (she thinks) and she's a very quite a well rounded dog. They all are.

The BB spends a lot of one on one with us, my son walks her almost daily and when she's out in the bigger part of the property, he runs with her, throws toys, does some sit, crawl, etc. things with her. She is very much attached to "her" people and I firmly believe that is most of her problems.

As for her being a nut case when she hears things, i have no clue what that's from. She hears wind, thunder, backfire, small pop from a firecracker, she goes completely nuts and tries to get in the house or out of the yard. If she sees a flag flying in someone's yard while we are on a walk she will look at it and almost freeze in her spot and and you have to hold on or she'll bolt !

Just don't get it. We are trying all we can right now without having to put out $250 an hr for a trainer, that's an unreal amount of money to me.
We do really want to keep her and despite what other people on this list think, we are NOT just waiting for our others to die off, and i take great offense to that comment.

 

[Ryan Davis]

First lets cover the whole parvo thing first the vet told you its 10 day incubation period. Well thats much disputed in dog medicine world everyone has a different opinion I have heard 3 days 10 days blah blah quite frankly they dont know. Parvo comes from eating feces how many other animals do you have running around you can't say with out a doubt the parvo didn't come from your place. The aggression issues should have been addressed at first sign of trouble they weren't addressed properly so now you have a worse case. Separating the dogs only is adding to the problem. You need to be able to read body language of your dogs to see what is causing the fights. Ur comment that she attacked for no reason tells me you are not qualified to handle the situation. There is always a reason be it what Cesar Millian would call red case or the other dog is causing her to attack. Seek professional help before she turns on someone and its only a matter of time if it goes unaddressed. You come here looking for help and when someone says something you dont like you take offense to the comment. Heres one you probably wont like either you created the mess you clean up. And the sob story about I cant afford a trainer cause im paying for its cancer meds blah blah blah. Another fact each dog cost money some more than others if you cant afford the treatment of each individual dog then you have to many its that simple paying for a trainer that the dog needs is no different than paying for cancer treatment for a dog that needs it. Next time you ask for advice be sure you really want it cause most of us wont sugar coat it for ya.

 

[Cody]

Okay, really? Why are people being so insulting? This person is doing their best.
Comments like waiting for dogs to die? And "You created the mess you clean it up"? You don't know that. There are also genetic issues that can affect a dog that have nothing to do with socialization. That training CANNOT fix. Issues that have nothing to do with "pack leader" or "red zone", but hereditary disorders.
I know that skittish/fearful behavior is common in many of the large breeds and is INCORRECT as far as temperament but many breeders ignore the problem and continue to breed GENETICALLY UNSOUND DOGS! They pass fearful temp off as rustic or guardian breed...
Too many people are experts based on WAY too many episodes of Cesar Milan. Remember when you are quoting Mr Milan, the dogs that can't be "fixed" DO NOT make it onto TV
So how many of you that are passing judgment would pay 250 $ an HOUR for a trainer? Seriously? 1000$ for 4 hours? The poster is looking at other options, that is not a reason to insult. Do I think asking for it over the internet is the best way? No, but they are reaching out. There will be more people here with more BB experience that may be able to step in and offer aid. I do commend them for wanting to keep trying, many would not.
I don't think they are taking offense to the opinions, just the condescending, arrogant tone and the lack of respect that is being expressed with them.

 

[Bentley]

First lets cover the whole parvo thing first the vet told you its 10 day incubation period. Well thats much disputed in dog medicine world everyone has a different opinion I have heard 3 days 10 days blah blah quite frankly they dont know. Parvo comes from eating feces how many other animals do you have running around you can't say with out a doubt the parvo didn't come from your place. The aggression issues should have been addressed at first sign of trouble they weren't addressed properly so now you have a worse case. Separating the dogs only is adding to the problem. You need to be able to read body language of your dogs to see what is causing the fights. Ur comment that she attacked for no reason tells me you are not qualified to handle the situation. There is always a reason be it what Cesar Millian would call red case or the other dog is causing her to attack. Seek professional help before she turns on someone and its only a matter of time if it goes unaddressed. You come here looking for help and when someone says something you dont like you take offense to the comment. Heres one you probably wont like either you created the mess you clean up. And the sob story about I cant afford a trainer cause im paying for its cancer meds blah blah blah. Another fact each dog cost money some more than others if you cant afford the treatment of each individual dog then you have to many its that simple paying for a trainer that the dog needs is no different than paying for cancer treatment for a dog that needs it. Next time you ask for advice be sure you really want it cause most of us wont sugar coat it for ya.

There is a huge difference between not sugar coating and simply being rude and I think you should consider the language you have used in this post. The inferences that you have made in the statement above are of deliberate neglect and you really should think about the language you have used.

 

[Mongo]

Okay, really? Why are people being so insulting? This person is doing their best.
Comments like waiting for dogs to die? And "You created the mess you clean it up"? You don't know that.

AND...........since our older dogs are all over the age of 10, this Boerboel is the last dog we will have for a while.

With the Dane having cancer, and the Rottie being so old and his knees are giving out due to the surgeries he's had, we will be losing those 2 dogs by the end of this year and have no intentions of bringing in any other dogs while she has these issues.

Then I must have read this wrong ?

Where did the 4 hrs of training for $1000 come from??? You dont necessarily need 4 HOURS.... 1 or 2 would be good enough to get you on the RIGHT PATH. Having a PROFESSIONAL TEACH you the CORRECT and/or methods that work for you and your dogs. Is this the ONLY behaviorist youve called? With how serious this issue is you should be calling every single behaviorist within your city and surrounding areas, it would still be worth the drive. If your having a hard time finding someone call you vet, petstore, training center, dog walker, other behaviorist for referrals. I have an appt. with a behaviorist this Thurs. $175 hr with follow up calls free for a year. For my pup who is also skittish/fearful. So NO I do NOT have empathy for someone who has let this go for so long. Most likely your dog was fearful/skittish as a pup and do you know what that turns into if not treated? Fear/aggression. This should have been fixed a LONG time ago. And I agree with Ryan that they obviously do not know how to read dog body language because dogs do not attack for "no reason". You NEED professional help, no matter what advice for treatment people over the internet give you. You need someone to show you, someone to show you what signs to look for. How to use your own body language.

But wait! She is not here for advice on the BB aggression issues after all

She gets a lot of attention from us, and is never left out. She goes on almost daily walks with one or more of us, and usually another dog. My husband takes her for rides in the truck to Home Depot, to get gas, wherever, because she loves to go for rides.
She is never left out. We have figured out that she is very possessive over "her" people. That is causing a major problem. As long as she is on one side of the property and the Dane is on the other, we seem to have no problems. It's mostly her anxiety issues that are causing us problems. Her fear of noises and fear of flags in people's yards. She even has a fear of birds when they fly out of a bush!

So why are we here giving you advice if you cant make up your mind about whats the problem?

No Im not being rude or insulting. Forward yes.

 

[Gemsmom]

I am sure that I may not be as qualified as those who have already posted, but.. I think to own a large breed dog, any dog for that matter, a responsible owner needs to know the signals that precede a fight or attack whether it be on another dog or a human. This is my first mastiff and she is only 7 months old, so I am no expert.. But you can bet I did my research prior to purchase. I made sure I was ready, that I could handle her, and that I was purchasing from a very reputable breeder. I met her parents, watched them interact, made sure (via their vet) that their temperament was tested and good. As a bully breed owner (I also have an american pitbull terrier) it's crucial. The situation you have is not fair or fit for any of your dogs. By segregating her, you are compiling stress and anxiety. Having her there with your other dogs, when you cannot contain her as you mentioned above, you are putting them, as well as your neighborhood, in danger. To be a responsible owner you have a choice to make. 1. Invest in your dogs health and quality of life by bringing in a trainer to educate you and help your dog. or 2. Surrender her to an individual qualified and in a position financially to meet her needs and get her the help that will improve her quality of life. What is written in the other posts isn't an attack on you, it's confusion and disbelief regarding your situation. Dog aggression is serious and needs to be dealt with as soon as it happens. You cannot wait, like you have, to obtain help. I mean think about the dogs quality of life over the past couple of years.. How would you rate it? A dog is supposed to be part of your family, living day to day with your companionship. Your dog depends on you for everything she needs, she trusts you to take care of her. She lived with you and your other dogs for quite a while from the sounds of it without issues of DA. An incident occurs, and obviously wasn't dealt with as it should have been, and she finds herself alone, segregated, and as you say screaming. What will you do when she decides she is done with segregation and no longer trusts you? These are powerful breeds, far to powerful to not be trained appropriately or corrected when necessary. You are at a point that without the help of a professional you really only have one responsible option. I sincerely hope you make a responsible decision and that your situation improves.