[Mdawn]

We have been thinking for awhile about taking both Uallis and Eddie through obedience training. We decided to get a trainer to come to our house instead. Eddie's food aggression has gotten worse to the point to where he is starting to growl and snap at us when we get near him while he's eating. I've been hand feeding him most of his meals the past couple of days, but not really seeing any improvement, though I doubt that I would this early. Anyway, regardless of the food aggression, Eddie has a lot of little issues that I want to get taken care of before they get worse. He CAN be a little unpredictable around strange dogs. Sometimes he barks and pulls like crazy on the leash. Other times, he doesn't and he seems happy with other dogs and reacts well to them. When I graduated college and I lost my job at the same time, we put getting him neutered on the back burner until we had more money. We don't have any female dogs at all for it to have been an issue. However, we have always planned to do it. I think that we are going to have to make that more of a priority. Especially, after an incident that we had today. A neighbor that lives a ways down the road came to our house to see if we wanted any tomatoes. He brought with him his female yellow Lab that isn't spayed and was in heat. I have NO IDEA why my neighbor would do that considering he knows that we have an intact male. Apparently, he forgot about Eddie or didn't care. Talk about stupidity!!! Eddie was almost uncontrollable and the neighbor had the nerve to think it was funny watching my boyfriend and I trying to control Eddie enough to get him in the house. Also, he didn't even try to do anything to control his own dog! I had NO IDEA that Eddie was that strong. Anyway, Eddie is on total lockdown for the rest of the evening, if that would even matter. I don't really know how it works, if Eddie would still be able to smell the female's scent and would continue to act crazy. I don't know, so I'm not taking the chance. I really think that making his neutering a priority and getting him this training is going to help him immeasurably. The trainer said to call her next week to schedule a time for her to come to our house so she can "observe" him and Uallis. However, I'm thinking that it would be better for her to work with both of them separately? I think that if Eddie and Uallis do well with this, then we still may take them through obedience courses when they are offered again. The organization that has them here only does it once a year. So I'm feeling pretty good about my decision and wanted to share.

[TooneyDogs]

Good for you! And just so you know, a dog can smell a female in heat anywhere within a 5 mile radius which sometimes explains why intact males seem to go off the deep end and the owners are bewildered as nothing changed in the house. Good luck with the training!

[Mdawn]

This was the first time Eddie has even acted this way...ever. I don't know if the female dog had just gone into heat and that's why Eddie didn't act any different previously? When I saw Eddie outside with her (I know the dog and have actually caught her when she escaped from this neighbor and returned her to him, so I knew she was female) I ran out of the house like a madwoman yelling, "He's not neutered! He's not neutered!". And he says, "Well, she's in heat". So I immediately ran toward Eddie while yelling for my boyfriend. I love my dogs, every single one of them, more than anything in this world, but I DO NOT want Eddie to breed! He has a questionable background, I highly doubt he came from a reputable breeder (otherwise why wouldn't he have been returned instead of dumped?), no papers that I know of, and not the best temperament. Just an all around bad idea for him to breed. I'm JUST WAITING for this neighbor to call and ask about breeding them. He's the type that's all about making a buck! I guess it doesn't matter because Eddie's getting neutered anyway!! Now I just have to find the money somewhere considering I lost my job in June and STILL haven't been able to find a job!! GRRRR! I guess when it rains, it pours!!

[sheltiemom]

Seeing as they're both labs, is your neighbor the type of person who would bring his bitch in heat over in hopes of an "accidental" breeding? I would hope not, it just seemed like an odd situation.

I've been thinking about a trainer too, since I got Penny. She has a few behavior issues, nothing serious, but I am undecided if I want to have someone come to my house, just take a class, or see what I can do with her on my own first. I just don't want to try too much myself and mess up or make things worse. Her problem is also growliness around food, and she and Ripley are both guarding toys. She has also growled at DH twice and submissively urinates sometimes when he approaches her.

[Mdawn]

I know that my neighbor does take his dog around with him a lot. He has a lot of property in the area, as a matter of fact, he bought some of our property, and I see him and his dog a lot while he's cutting brush or whatever. That's how she disappeared from him, because he was out with her and doesn't keep her leashed. She wondered off and I saw and caught her because while we live in a rural area, dogs do sometimes get hit by cars out here and I was worried for her. I don't really trust the guy to be honest. He's all about money and looks for any chance to make more. He knows we have Eddie and that he's not yet neutered. I don't know what his expectations were, but in the end I guess it doesn't matter because Eddie is supervised now and he's getting neutered. Because whether he wants HIS dog to mate or not, I DON'T want mine to. It's just too horrifying to think about..."little Eddie's" running around...

[Ella'sMom]

Lol @ "little Eddie's running around". This guy sounds very irresponsible.

[Mdawn]

Originally Posted by Ella'sMom

Lol @ "little Eddie's running around". This guy sounds very irresponsible.

Eddie can be a very sweet and lovable dog. Where Uallis is my "baby", Eddie is my buddy and my best friend. It's just that he can be so crazy sometimes. His mind goes a mile a minute and he's always all over the place doing something, getting INTO something...He is so impulsive. I really think with a professional trainer, he will really enjoy the challenge and thrive and hopefully be an easier dog to live with. I trained him the best I could with the very limited knowledge I have. The issues he has are way beyond my capabilities.

As for the "little Eddie's" comment--While I love Eddie to pieces, even I have to admit that he can be a little "off" in the head.

[poodleholic]

We have been thinking for awhile about taking both Uallis and Eddie through obedience training. We decided to get a trainer to come to our house instead. Eddie's food aggression has gotten worse to the point to where he is starting to growl and snap at us when we get near him while he's eating. I've been hand feeding him most of his meals the past couple of days, but not really seeing any improvement, though I doubt that I would this early.

I hope you're doing this away from the other dogs.

Anyway, regardless of the food aggression, Eddie has a lot of little issues that I want to get taken care of before they get worse. He CAN be a little unpredictable around strange dogs. Sometimes he barks and pulls like crazy on the leash. Other times, he doesn't and he seems happy with other dogs and reacts well to them.

Implement NILIF with all the dogs, and establish a daily routine with structure to include brief (5-min.) training sessions throughout the day with each dog individually, and all 3 together.

Teach down/stay, and do daily 30-min. down/stays on a matt.

Include quiet time in crate with a chew bone or Kong, along with naps.

Walk Eddie separately, so you have better control. If possible, work on counter conditioning him w/respect to other dogs. Stay w/in his comfort zone range (before he lunges at and reacts to other dogs), because each time he reacts aggressively toward other dogs, this behavior is being reinforced, so will be harder to stop/change. If you're close to a pet store, use their parking lot to do this. Reward quiet/good behavior w/tasty treats (I used braunsweiger) when other dogs go in and out of the store w/their owners. Over time, you can gradually get closer and closer, until you're at the door (in a sit) while dogs enter or leave.

A neighbor that lives a ways down the road came to our house to see if we wanted any tomatoes. He brought with him his female yellow Lab that isn't spayed and was in heat. I have NO IDEA why my neighbor would do that considering he knows that we have an intact male. Apparently, he forgot about Eddie or didn't care. Talk about stupidity!!! Eddie was almost uncontrollable and the neighbor had the nerve to think it was funny watching my boyfriend and I trying to control Eddie enough to get him in the house. Also, he didn't even try to do anything to control his own dog! I had NO IDEA that Eddie was that strong. Anyway, Eddie is on total lockdown for the rest of the evening, if that would even matter. I don't really know how it works, if Eddie would still be able to smell the female's scent and would continue to act crazy. I don't know, so I'm not taking the chance.

Eddie's behavior is normal, given this bitch was in season, so he's done nothing wrong, just responding to natural instincts. The neighbor should be in lock down! LOL An intact male will act insane, break through doors, and do whatever is necessary to get to a bitch in season.

Good luck with the upcoming training sessions - remember to keep training fun, and rewarding to the dogs!

[Mdawn]

Thanks for the advice poodleholic!

I do feed Eddie separate from the other dogs. Eddie has growled and snapped at us on 3 occasions. I just walked away from him on those occasions. That's what I did because I am unsure of what to do. Walking away seems like its reinforcing that behavior and that its ok to snap at me. But if I punish him for it by taking his food away, also seems like its reinforcing him because I'm proving him "right" in his fear that I will take his food away. Not to mention, he could bite me. So up to this point I've just left it alone, which isn't acceptable either in the long term. While I don't expect my dogs to eat out of the same bowl, it would be nice to get to the point to where they can eat in the same room. Now that just isn't possible.

Since I've been hand feeding him, I've been making him "work" for each bite. I make him sit, lay down, putting the food on his paws until I release him and start over with the sit. I don't know if that is helpful either, but it breaks up the boredom of just handing him every bite.

I make both dogs (Eddie and Uallis) sit before going out the door and sit before coming back in. I haven't been successful though in getting them to wait for me to step outside or inside first though. I make both dogs sit for their toys when I give them to them to play. The toys can't be left out because Eddie will pick a favorite and guard it, like he does food.

I've trained Eddie as best I can, but I'm unexperienced in complicated matters and unsure of what to do when situations come up, like food aggression. So we decided to get a trainer to help.

Dan isn't really apart of this because I'm not putting him through the stress of trying to train him to do anything. I don't think he could do it. He's too old (around 15 years) and mostly blind and deaf. We just want him to be comfortable and enjoy whatever time he has left, which sadly probably isn't much

I really like the advice of the parking lot. Although, I would have to adapt to the park where I frequently take the dogs (not together of course) I never walk both dogs together.