re post #8 - sarah
Quote:
...one day we saw a Rotti off-lead no-owner, and i didnt think anything of it, Dalton was onlead, walking with me; He went Ballistic, the Poor Rotti ran, Dalton was almost standing on his back leg. Didnt give GSD's a good rep that day let me tell you.
I didnt enjoy that, and i was holding onto him for dear life, he was immensely strong that day.
|
those moments can be
terrifying -
and they seem to last forever, too.
good thing the Rott legged it, as even if the poor thing had just hung-about minding
their own business, Dalton probably would not have stood-down, he was too intensely over-aroused.
a former-client did his dog-reactive GSD
no favors, the muleheaded git -
he insisted
despite my written warning on putting a SHOCK-collar on his dog-REACTIVE (not aggro!) 6-MO pup.
at the time, the dog was
only reacting when On Leash, and to other DOGS - worse with Ms than Fs.
i had him in a Gentle Leader, he was doing fine; the 110#, 5-ft tall wife could safely walk him in the headcollar,
and interrupt anything before it became a full-blown reactive event.
the
6-ft 6-inch 280# husband did not LIKE the headcollar, and preferred to haul the dog up by his tag-collar
and forcibly restrain him, vertical, while the other dog(s) were in sight.
this technique did not leave Max with a happy memory of seeing another dog,
being half-strangled and told-off while dangling. so he was getting worse - growling, lunging, hackling.
so hubby put Max in a shock-collar.
oh, right! that'll fix it, throw some more aggro on the fire! 
a year later, the dog was reacting to:
* all dogs and all pups above 8-WO, on or off leash
* all men encountered on leash
* diesel engines in any vehicle
* all children over 5-YO with lunging and barking
* skateboards, bicycles, motorbikes, and skaters
* any eye-to-eye contact, even glancing
so now i was handling or pet-sitting a dog who was clearly dangerous -
his SOLE exception on-leash was
women who were dog-friendly - he still liked them!
but i fully expected to be added to his bad-list, any day...
he was a tornado when he went off, oy, i had to be hypervigilant when i had him out, and it was not a fun thing.
zapping the #$%&@! out of him when all he did was bounce + pull (at the beginning) obviously did a LOT of good ---
Not!
poor Max died under mysterious circs at just past 3-YO - a drunken period, followed by apparent resolution,
then lethargy, inappetant, seizures, and death, all in 3 days time.
i think he was poisoned by antifreeze -
deliberately, as his owner insisted on allowing him 24-7 access to the yard via a flap, and he was a chronic nuisance barker.
he was a gorgeous dog, but a bad series of decisions doomed him.
best regards,
--- terry