I hate to do it but she's gotta go

[Rnichols]

Her name is lulu she's 15 months old and I've had her since she was 6 months old she's akc registered The bad is she is leary of strangers. Wife took her to the vet and she nipped at the vet. Good dog when it's just us as long as no one comes around She needs a good home and someone to spend time with her she's awesome with us but when we travel she doesn't do well at another persons house. I hate to let her go but the wife insist and it's probably best she is a smaller english madtiff 110-120 lbs I'm located in kingsport tn

 

[irina]

Poor baby. I hope she finds a more deserving home. I wish you had done your research prior to getting her, because it is not at all uncommon for any type of mastiff to be suspicious of strangers. It is also not uncommon to have dogs muzzled when going to the vet. I also hope, if you ever get another dog, you will teach your child(ren) to be more respectful of them. Because letting your toddler climb on the dog like that is an accident waiting to happen. If the child were to get bitten, the dog would be to blame, of course.

 

[Oscar'sMom]

This is so sad. Poor Lulu. Have you done any training with her. She deserves a home where someone is willing to work with her. I hope she finds someone. I agree with Irina.

 

[Ginurse]

@Rnichols: You adopted her at kind of an older age...it takes some time for a dog to trust a new owner/home? I wonder if having her go to a trainer would be an idea? I don't find it surprising that she has problems at other people's homes; it looks like she may have already been re-homed, and I would imagine a strange new environment would be stressful. I feel so sorry for her, because it sounds as if she had been dealt a bad hand from the start. Poor baby.

If there were a way to get to her (we are in NC), I would adopt her in a second.

 

[Rnichols]

Well great news we are taking her to obedience training the 1st of April I am working with her as much as possible and I did my research guess just wasn't as prepared as I should have been and I'm trying all I can. She is sweet and I'm trying to provide the best I know to do. None the less she's our baby and I guess I just never had to muzzle a dog and never really considered it.

 

[musicdeb]

Good to hear that you are giving her more time. It can take a rehomed pup 8-12 months to fully trust the new family.

Titan has to be muzzled when he goes to the vet, he doesn't like men he does not know. It's not his fault. He was not socialized or trained by first owner and first owner hit him and kept him locked in a room for 10-12 hours a day.

I've had Titan for 3 years (got him at 2 1/2 years of age) and we've gone through a lot of training for both of us, humans require more training than the pups. He now listens to me and we finally bonded after 2 years together. The first 12 months were hell but it was well worth it.

Consistency in training and LOTS of patience is key.

Please keep us posted on her progress.

 

[Ginurse]

I am so happy to hear it! She's a beautiful girl that probably just needs some time and patience. Good luck and enjoy her.

 

[Rnichols]

Yea I love her we are trying our best and I agree we need to train ourselves as hell as her I will post progress

 

[musicdeb]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here. I just noticed the 3rd pic of the child laying on top of the pup. I would recommend not allowing that to happen since the pup is not doing well. All it takes is for the pup to be having a bad day and the child jump on top of the pup and you know what happens next.

 

[Boxergirl]

I'm going to go further than Deb and say that the child should NEVER be allowed to lay on the dog like that. Not just because you are having a problem with her right now. Your child should be 100% supervised with the dog and never, ever left alone. Dogs are dogs. Kids do things that aren't intentionally mean or hurtful. I'm not just regurgitating what I read - I can show you the scar by my daughter's eye from when our very trustworthy dog had a bad ear infection and my then five year old accidentally knocked into her head. Greta snapped and caught her by the eye. I was in the bathroom at the time. Dog didn't mean to do it. I came out and Greta was already in the back of her crate. She knew teeth on a person was a no-no. I didn't correct her, I just calmly closed the crate door. I took care of my child and took the dog to the vet where they diagnosed the ear infection. Dogs are dogs and even those with great bite inhibition can make a mistake if they are hurt. Please be careful. You have a lovely child and a lovely dog, don't put either at risk.

BTW, nice poster Deb. I hand that one out all the time. Most parents toss it in the trash. It's a shame that they think it can't happen to them or with their dog.

 

[DeeWill]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here. I just noticed the 3rd pic of the child laying on top of the pup. I would recommend not allowing that to happen since the pup is not doing well. All it takes is for the pup to be having a bad day and the child jump on top of the pup and you know what happens next.

View attachment 52353

I love this! I am going to share it on my FB. I have several FB friends who share lovely pictures of their children 'riding' their dog. It gets me un-friended when I point out how dangerous AND unkind it is. They're dogs, not horses. If you want your child to ride a horse, purchase a horse for your child!!
My own 12 year old daughter has had an issue with getting in dogs faces since she was very young. She has been bitten but I have to continually tell her to stop putting her face in our dogs faces. You can just see they don't like it, even if they don't react badly.

Thank you for sharing this.

 

[DDSK]

All good advice, I wish more people knew this info!

 

[Rnichols]

I will work with both of them she usually lays down when he walks up to play but I will work on that she's never been aggressive with him but good point. Lol if you want a horse buy one we have three I didnt look at her as a horse and him riding her anyways all good advice and thanks I will post progress and hope that training for both of us will teach us both a lot between traing and the good info here I think we will be in good hands thanks for all te help. Maybe this is a better pic

 

[Ginurse]

Awww. That's a beautiful pic.

 

[rangermom]

Glad to hear you're working with her. Keep us posted on updates.

I am currently working with dog on fear aggression as well. I'm not considering re-homing her, but I understand how frustrating it can be. Let us know if you find something that helps. I'll try anything at this point.

Good luck!

 

[CeeCee]

Well great news we are taking her to obedience training the 1st of April I am working with her as much as possible and I did my research guess just wasn't as prepared as I should have been and I'm trying all I can. She is sweet and I'm trying to provide the best I know to do. None the less she's our baby and I guess I just never had to muzzle a dog and never really considered it.

Great news! As someone who chooses to muzzle my dog when we are in certain situations, all I can say is that I LOVE this tool!! It took me a while to get over the whole idea of "what would people think, but I am SO glad I did! It keeps everyone safe, my anxiety is waaaaay down - if not non existent - and it allows my boy to learn, make decisions, and for me to watch and see exactly what is happening rather than guessing at what he might have done.

We went through a 3 week training protocol where he discovered that the muzzle was a great thing that contained wonderfully yummy treats. As a result, it does not shut him down or change his behavior - it just is...like is collar. I am happy to share it with you if you're interested in it.

 

[enzo_canecorso]

CeeCee I would love to hear your training protocol! My corso is still a pup and hopefully wont have any issues, but its always better to know how to do something before the situation arises

 

[Boxergirl]

CeeCee, would you maybe make a separate post about your muzzle training protocol? I think a lot of people would benefit from it.

 

[karennj]

If you can get your pup to be comfortable with a muzzle it can be a very good tool to keep everyone's anxiety down. A dog totally feeds off the energy around it and if your anxious they will react. At the vet practice if anyone feels uncomfortable with a dog we automatically stop and muzzle. The dog may have no bite history but the last thing it needs is someone who is nervous holding and working on it. It can make a dog who is usually fine very uncomfortable and reactive.

 

[DeeWill]

CeeCee, would you maybe make a separate post about your muzzle training protocol? I think a lot of people would benefit from it.

agree! Please share. My girl will more than likely have to be muzzled at the vet. She is terrified of people she doesn't know, particularly men...and the vet is a man. Better safe than sorry.