patriciag

For those of you who remember my ongoing saga about Logan that I started last January, I do have to tell you how proud I am of him. We have been slowly gaining ground with Logan. We really don't have to worry much with immediate family now. He will still bark, but as soon as he see's who it is, he stops and starts wiggling for a pet. He is still very leery of strangers so we watch closely if someone new comes to the house. But, my brag - We planned on having about 22 people for Christmas Eve. We had agreed that Logan and the two little dogs would stay in the bedroom so we would not have any incidents. It became so busy that I forgot when the lesser known family started to arrive. Next thing I knew, Logan was moving through the guests, smelling, wagging his tail and being very good with everyone. We watched him closely, and asked our guests to let us know immediately if anything was not well. Logan behaved himself all night, enjoyed the festivities and was a great dog. All of our guests were adults - no children. Everyone knew not to try to hug him or lean down into his face. We had one small incident when my niece (47) went to hug her grandfather. Logan does not want anyone except us touching him (he is the 94 yr old that Logan has decided is his responsibility). All he did was walk between her and grandpa. She realized right away what he was doing and stepped back. Not one growl, teeth showing or anything. We will have Logan one year in January and he has come a long way. Hope all of your holidays were as good as Logan made my Christmas eve. Patricia

We were having to bathe Logan quite often because he would come in from playing outside, covered with mud. His tail was so black we could not tell it had ever been white. Then we finally got the bright idea of fencing off the muddy walnut tree area that he was always diving into when chasing the ball. We put up a temporary fence and now we have a fairly clean dog. I hope the bathing becomes less frequent. However, Logan itches constantly. When we first got him, I felt he had a chicken allergy so switched him to a "Taste of the Wild whitefish" diet. He seemed to do better. Lately, though, he itches no matter what. The vet gave us some spray and advised a benedryl at night. So far, neither makes much difference, except that the benedryl makes him sleepy so he does not start scratching until the next morning. We keep flea stuff on him (frontline), and I give him a capstar once in a while if I find a flea on my little dog. Husband takes him to "Pet Extreme" which has a "do it yourself" doggie wash. Very clean, but I am wondering if it may be the shampoo they have on hand. So, next time around we will use shampoo from our house and take it with us. Trial and error, I guess.

Thanks, everyone. Have a great holiday.

Thanks, TDFoster, for checking in. I really appreciate everyone on this forum. Logan is doing great. We are still cautious with him around strangers, but he is really calming down around friends and family. He is a funny dog. We still play with him every day at least 2 times for about an hour a day and it seems to keep him from getting antsy. My husband has had so many health problems. He just had another small stroke right before Thanksgiving and had to spend the night in the hospital. It affected the peripheral vision in his right eye, so I have been his driver for a while. Then we had a small fire in the motorhome. He turned on the heater in the motorhome to keep it from freezing now that it is winter and getting colder at night. Some critter drug a rag into the duct work. I have no idea how, but it caught on fire. Thank goodness our son was here and was able to get to the duct work and put the fire out. So we have to have the duct work replaced and hope we can get the smoke damage out. I bought an ozone generator to help with that. So, I will be glad when 2014 is a memory. It's been a rough year. However, our doggies are our blessings and I am glad we kept Logan. He is a good dog and tries very hard to stay that way. I have become very close to him, being his main source of entertainment. That cold nose tucks under the cover in the morning telling me to get up and get going. Logan loves to go with us in the car or truck. He is very well behaved, doesn't bark or chew up things, just watches until he see's us come back. He really likes it now because it is cold or cool all day and so he gets to go more. He seems to know when my husband walks over to his wallet and phone, and he runs to the door and puts on this sad face. I hate to tell him no if we can't take him. But he is good and minds when we tell him he has to stay home. Now he is getting my little Ruger to want to go with us. Ella won't go. She is a homebody. That's where we are. I am so surprised at the length of this forum topic. So many have been so good to help and I really appreciate all of you. Pat

Hello Camdens mom. Thank you for asking about Logan. I don't peruse the forums as I did before but I get an email on any posts on my subject. I haven't posted because I wasn't sure if the "Logan" subject had worn people out (lol). Anyway, Logan is still here. He is part of our family now and although I still have doubts about him I do care deeply for him. He loves my husband and has become very attached to me. I still do not trust him completely. He is very affectionate and loves to get in my husband and son's face (son is 44), and give them nose kisses. He tries with me, but I am not crazy about him getting close to my face. However, we are good buddies. I feed him, play with him, and we go for very long walks together. He is very good with the little dogs and wants to play with them all the time. This is good, but he gets too friendly with the little male (nose on butt a lot!), and the little guy gets tired of it and then gets snappy with Logan. Logan then leaves for a while. I'm not sure what to do about this, not sure if there is anything to do, so I just pay attention to what is going on. Logan and little guy (Ruger) play with the soccer game. Logan chases ball, Ruger chases Logan. It is good fun and I hope some weight will eventually shave off Ruger. We have had Logan to the vet a couple of times and he has behaved pretty well, although the muzzle has to be on because the vet knows his history and is not trusting of him. As far as strangers go, he has not changed, but minds much better. It is still a battle to get him to leave the door and sit or down/stay, but he eventually does it. I am much more strict about it than my husband is, which bothers me. I feel if we both really make him mind, he will get in line but if it is a family member he starts barking wildly until the door is opened, then he sees who it is, then calms down. I want him to sit/stay or down/stay until I tell him to get up, so it is a work in progress. If husband knows who it is, he doesn't make Logan sit/stay so the signals are mixed. Logan is much better with people when they are in the house. We have had no more growling, jumping, snarling at people. However, he does not want people to touch our little couch potato, Ella. She owns the couch and if someone sit's next to her, she moves over to get a pet. Logan has challenged my granddaughter, her other grandmother, and our renter when they pet her. I have gotten to him immediately and told him "NO", and down/stayed. Then he is okay with it. He doesn't get bad, it is just a little growl that says "don't touch". He also was very upset when my step grandson gave me a hug on his birthday. He started barking like "stop that". He doesn't understand the touching part at all. So, again a work in progress. So, we are here, Logan is here, and most days are great. I know triggers that set him off and avoid them. I am always cautious around strangers. My husband's health is poor and so I have become a main figure in Logan's daily life. So, I am the feeder, walker, player, and authoritarian when necessary. I do have to be tough with Logan. I never hit or threaten, but I do use my voice loudly when he is doing something that is threatening. He behaves well. I can put him in a down/stay for at least 15 minutes. After that, I start feeling guilty. He is great in the house, not tearing around and sleeps well. I don't think I will ever trust Logan completely because of our history, but I do love him and I know he would protect me or my family at all costs. He is a very protective dog, which causes problems, but he is doing a job. He still cares for my father-in-law, following behind him in the house or yard, watching his feet at all times. My father-in-law teases him with his toys, which I don't like, but we keep telling him and he stops, then does it again. He is 94 and has dementia so he forgets a lot. However, Logan never minds. When he gets tired of it, he moves away. My FIL has a cane and he uses it to get Logan's toys from him and sometimes he uses it to tease Logan. I hate this and tell him to stop, but Logan just gets up and moves away, but stays close enough to watch him if he get's up. He seems to take "taking care of grandpa" very seriously. I have rambled enough so I will try to post once in a while. Thank you again for asking. You guys were so supportive that I don't think I would have gotten through this without your support and advice. Also, Logan's itching has calmed down a lot. I switched him to "Call of the Wild" pacific stream with no grains or chicken and it seem's to help. The vet put him on an antibiotic for a short time and gave us some spray, but said food allergies would take time to figure out. So I thought take away the chicken, take away the grain. It seems to be working. Time will tell. Pat

Thanks to all of you. You have made my journey much easier with all of your input and advice. We keep working. I know we have a way to go, but I feel like Logan is now part of my family. One thing I forgot to ask - this guy has the strangest bark. It goes right thru you. It isn't a staccato bark (bark, bark, bark), but rather a one long bark that starts out loud, then pitches up kind of like a hound. Are all barks similar in the BCs or is it an individual thing? He never barks unless he thinks someone is at the door, and usually take's his cue from my little male aussie who hides behind the couch and barks when someone comes.

Just an update on Logan. He is becoming quite the comedian, making us laugh with his antics. We are doing well with the walking. He still pulls but I can handle him with the no pull harness. He is learning not to pull, but when we first go out he is too excited. We met a man with a dog that was taking a lot of interest in us and it made him nervous so I redirected him to a bush with his back to them and told him to "smell", my cue for letting him smell, pee, whatever. It worked very well. They passed us and went on their way. I kind of fell off the wagon on the "room" command. I've been very sick and just didn't follow through, but am starting up again tomorrow. We have had two good situations with "strangers". First my sister-in-law came over again. He barked when she knocked, but my husband had him sit down and then let her in. He told her to just let him sniff her and it went very well. Within a few minutes he was going back to her and letting her pet him. He did get nervous when she was talking and moving her hands a lot, but he went over to her and she just spoke to him and he was okay. We were watching very closely. Then he took one of his toys to her to throw. The other one was my son's stepson. He is 20 and very large and came over for dinner. He just walked in with the rest of the family and Logan was a bit surprised to see someone he had never met standing there. He smelled him, then let the stepson pet him. Before the night was out he was in the back yard playing soccer with the boy. He is doing down/stays in the back yard for a long distance. He is starting to come whenever I call and we are bonding quite well. My husband is still "top dog" though. But Logan listens to me and minds me quite well. Sometimes he gets too focused and I have to block him from the door, but he ends up sitting down before I open the door and not getting up until I tell him. So, progress. Logan hides behind the trees in the yard and fake rocks we have out there when we are playing soccer with him. It is quite funny. Does anyone know if this is a BC trait or just him? He waits until I walk up to the ball, then runs and hides and as soon as I start to swing the golf club, he takes off in a big circle then attacks the ball wherever it lands. Sometimes he catches it with his two front feet in the air, other times he gets it on the ground, then rolls it like crazy with his two front feet all over the yard, up the fence, in hiding places, through the garden mazes. It is very funny to watch. I'm so much more comfortable around him and feel confident if he is naughty that I can handle him. So, there we are for now.

Thanks to both of you! I don't feel like a rock star, rather a nervous child performing at a school concert! Anyway, yes, we can do that with the Kong. I'm trying to think about the food and the "room" concept and getting them confused, so went back and reread. Feeding him bits at a time is for mental stimulation. The "room" is to put him in a safe place when "strangers" are over. So we have two things. The kong will come in handy when the "room" is being used also, giving him something to do. And, yes, I can call or email her anytime. We will reschedule another consult in 2-3 weeks to see progress. I wish I were rich, but am not, so I feel good about this path, because 1 - I can afford it, 2 - as many consults as I want 3 - I do like her style and how she was around, and how she handled Logan. Everything was calm and no "I am dominant over you". She asked who the trainer was that Logan had such a reaction to. She said he was a good trainer, but definitely did not use +R, and always had that dominant way. He can work with a lot of dogs that are friendly for training, but with one like Logan that has issues, it went wrong. I don't blame him at all. His method just didn't fit us. Also, she said him asking us to put the leash on for the first greet was not a good method. When we took Logan in, he was on leash from the car to the building. As soon as we got inside and Marvin was holding him back and he was nervous, she told Marvin to take off the leash and let him check everything out. He became so much better off leash. My issue/question today is: I'm trying to get all of the dogs outside in the yard together in the mornings because my girl has been spending way too much time on the couch since Logan came. My little boy will go outside and chase Logan if I am out there playing with Logan. They seem to be okay with each other and I have become less nervous. I may be repeating, but Logan has only "corrected" Ruger once, when Ruger was barking and jumping at Logan's haunch. The small thing he did, make a nipping motion, about at least 5 feet from Ruger was it. Ruger backed off. Now, if I think Ruger is getting out of hand in the chasing, I call him off. The girl, however, won't go out if Logan is playing. So I am putting her on a long lead and taking her out. Once she gets out there, and I am acting happy and playing with her I take her off the lead and she seems okay, but she and Ruger get to wrestling and chasing each other, playing. This happened today and even though they were playing, Logan took after them at full speed. It scared me, thinking he would hurt them, and I forgot everything and was hollering Logan STOP, NO, COME. He did turn off and come back to me and I had sense enough to praise him for that. After this long scenario, I am asking, do you think he would try to stop them from playing, hurt them, or is he just trying to play chase too. Of course, with all of my hollering, the girl ran back inside, and the little guy was standing there trying to figure out what was going on. Should I stop him or wait and see what happens? He doesn't seem like the kind of dog that would rip them apart, but it does scare me. thanks, Pat

Thanks. About the crate, we don't crate Logan. When I first started this post (9 pages ago), I mentioned somewhere that when we crated him at night, the second night he scared me to death, snarling at me, and attacking the crate door when I closed it. I know he would have bit me at that time. My husband took the crate out and we no longer use it. I honestly don't know if I have the guts to go through that again. We will see about a Kong. We can put him in the bedroom to use it, but it does keep him away from us and I don't think he will be happy about that, he may think he is being punished. This dog is so tired at night from all of his running and play during the day, that he just crawls behind my husband's chair and is asleep by 8:30pm. Anyway, lots for us to do and try. Thanks for the support. I appreciate it. Pat

We went to the behaviorist today. Her credentials are CODT, CDBC, behavior specialist for the Sacramento SPCA. Of course, Logan was very good around her. He behaved, and only wanted to go see the dogs. Our parking spot was right beside an exercise area for two dogs (fenced). He likes other dogs. He did give her the "stare", and she recognized it right away. She moved her chair, broke eye contact, and just starting talking to me, telling me he was getting uncomfortable and she was removing the threat. I was glad she saw it because I've seen that stare and husband says I'm seeing things. So she clarified it for me. We spent over an hour going over things. We will work with him for 2-3 weeks, then call her to set up another appt. She said it was fine for us to go to training classes with other dogs as she did not see any aggression issues with Logan that were insurmountable. She gave us tons of info, and within 1 minute of us going in, Logan was sniffing her, and checking her out, being happy. He slept through some of the interview, and even went to her for a pet. She never pulled out a treat or towered over him, and she completely ignored him at first until he went to her. She had quite a bit of advice for us and I'm not sure where to start. First, the stranger at the door situation. We are to teach him "room", sending him to another room (bedroom) when someone knocks at the door. This will take a while so in the interim, we keep the door locked, and remove him if someone is coming in. Once he learns "room", we will have him go there, shut the door, and only after our guest is inside and comfortable, will he be allowed out. Then he is allowed to see the person and if all is well, can remain in the room under our supervision. Another alternative is to tether him in the room where we can supervise but not keep him on leash where he is straining against it. If he does not behave, he goes into bedroom or is locked outsite. I may have to reread everything she covered, but she gave us written instructions for everything. Showing me teeth (which he did today for the first time since Feb 7th, she suggests that I firmly tell him to STOP. KNOCK IT OFF, or something like that. If my husband is in the room as he was today (Logan between us), then we are to seperate and go different ways, then I am to call Logan to me, not husband. Walking him is important and we are goint to try a no-pull harness. He is not aggressive away from the house, and she, after being around him for over an hour, felt he was not an aggressive dog. He may be resource guarding my husband and so we will work with it. No hitting or very loud shouting at him when there is bad behavior, but firm no nonsense discipline - down stay/ remove from area, etc. There was so much, I can't think about all of it right now, but I did like her and her methods. I have been reading Patricia Mcconnell and she told me they follow Patricia's concepts for behavior and training. So, I did something right! Logan did show teeth to the assistant when we got the no-pull harness there. She had been putting on the harness, sizing and trying different sizes to get a good fit. I was kind of away talking to another assistant. My husband had Logan on leash. They had been at it about 10 minutes and Logan was getting stressed. I heard her say Uh Oh, and she stood up, just as I heard my husband correct him. Yep, Logan was between her and my husband. The assistant handled it very well and they got the harness fitted. We have Logan sitting or waiting all of the time, now at the door, for us to go through first. He is VERY good with that. He is still being okay with the dogs. No incidents. I think he and the girl may be a little off with each other, but except for barking very loud once when they were playing he has not been bad with them. I am encouraging them to all come out and be in the back yard together, not playing, just walking around and doing their own thing. Logan may find a squirrel in a tree, and little Ruger may go over and watch, or Logan and the girl may get a drink together, but I'm just trying to get them to enjoy being in the yard together. Logan loves the dogs in the other two yards that border ours and they spend time at the fence with their tails wagging. Sometimes they lay down on either side of the fence by each other. One thing she told us that I'm not sure how well we can do this is feeding him his meals by playing hide/find putting his kibble in a room in different places and having him find it or putting it in a Kong. Her recommendation was no bowl feeding for BCs, but she knew it was hard to do. But it provided mental stimulation for him. My problem is the other dogs interferring and our house isn't well equipped for this. The only rooms I can shut him in to find or have a Kong away from the other dogs have wall to wall carpeting. She also gave us games to play with him and specific instructions as to who starts the game, who decides when he gets petted, etc. She said it takes some time, but he needs to know that we are the ones that make the decision as to when to play, when to pet, etc. Reading back on this, I sound a bit disjointed, so sorry for that. It's getting late. But I did feel good about today. I'm still not trusting of Logan completely, but I am much better. He doesn't push me around any more, and he follows me a lot in the house. He seems to like me a lot now. I stepped on him today accidentally, and nothing, I just turned around and apologized and petted him, and he bounced off. So, any input? I'm curious about the feeding. I'm willing to do what I can, but not sure about kibble all over the carpet and I don't have 2 hours a day to play "find the feed" (lol). I don't free feed, and he does eat everything I give him. Thanks

Camden's Mom, Thanks for the wishes. His visit is on the 14th. I will post after we meet and see how it goes. Logan has been very good. I kind of laid into him a couple of days ago because he was rushing to the door (it is locked) every time he heard someone. I was letting my husband handle him, but I had "had it" with the rushing. I put him in a down/stay, and everytime he broke it, I body blocked him (Patricia McConnell) and made him start over. It was my son at the door and he was helping me by knocking. Logan figured out after about 3 times that I wasn't kidding. He did not move when my daughter-in-law came over and he loves her. I have been putting him in the bedroom if my granddaughter comes over (husband doesn't like it, but so what). We have not had any other visitors. He is very happy to see family, but I am not going to let him rush the door. I want him to down/stay until I let him greet family. He is becoming pretty laid back, and he and the little male dog seem to be getting along pretty well. He is happy to see the dogs on the property line (6 ft fence), and wags his tail and visits. There is never any barking at all. My aussie used to fence fight, but Logan doesn't do that. He seems to love all dogs so far.

Thank you all for your advice and insights. It is always helpful. It has been a rough week around here. Husband and I are at odds over Logan. It's been pretty tense. However, I did find I can yell at my husband and Logan doesn't do anything. I still never go near his side of the bed unless he is awake. I'm not sure I want to push Logan that far, however he and I are getting along very well. He comes and sits by me, he lays by my feet, he plays with toys inside and brings them to me for play, and we play SOCCER! He is currently learning TOUCH, which someone here talked about. Learns so fast! I don't have any small children here or near by. My neighbors have 2 grandchildren that come over and we have talked to them and the kids and told them to NEVER run to Logan or pet him without permission. We have told them that he did bite and we don't know if he likes kids. I didn't want to scare them, but they have been around an aggressive dog before (not mine), and so I would rather have "stay away from the dog", than them running up to him. Logan seems fine around strangers away from his home. It's coming into the home that he reacts to. The renters will be coming over with their checks again soon, so we will see. I think the removing him to the bedroom is a good way to handle it, and hopefully I can get husband on board with that. One thing I don't know if I said in an earlier post, my sister-in-law came over one day when I was not here. My husband said he did not hear her, but she did the "knock, yoo hoo" as she was opening the door. He told me Logan took off barking at her, but she stopped, stood still, and he went up to her and sniffed her and really did nothing. He did not make friends, but did smell her hand. I don't know if she tried to pet him at some point or not. I'm not fond of strangers in my home getting acquainted by touching the dog. I would rather that come later. My father-in-law, Bill, who is 93 lives with us 3 nights a week. He adores Logan and Logan adores him. I watched them this weekend. First thing in the morning, Logan runs into his room to check on him. Then both nights after dinner, Logan walked behind Bill slowly from the table to the family room steps, watched his feet go down the steps to the family room, then followed him, watched him sit down, then bounced off to find my husband. Maybe I'm seeing more than was there, but it was like it was Logan's job to make sure he got to his chair safely both nights. Also, we have decided to take Logan to the behaviorist at the SPCA. It is much more affordable for us, and they will start with one consultation then schedule more as they see fit. Also, phone, email for questions. I feel pretty good about this as the behaviorist contacted us directly, gave us different date options and is scheduling it within 2 weeks. So, we are going this way for now. This person is not a vet, but is CPDT, CDBC, and the director at our SPCA, so I think there is a lot of experience there. Is it the same as a vet behaviorist, not sure. Blackdawg said if all were not on board not to spend the $500. I have to say that I am not sure if my husband will follow the suggestions/directions 100%. So we will start at the SPCA and see what happens. Logan is still on probation in my mind and we have a long way to go. But he is a lovely dog.

Shoresdog, any issues with the Easywalk rubbing and chafing? I've read the reviews and that plus stretching seemed to be concerns. I would like this one because I can buy it locally and if it doesn't fit, I can take it back. The others are all sold online (senseation, freedom, etc.) Does that make sense? An aggressive dog generally means to be aggressive. A reactive dog doesn't necessarily mean any harm at all, he's just having a freak-out. It does, but I'm still not sure which Logan is. He loves people once he knows them, but strangers at the door are his enemy. However, not away from home. Only issue away from home was at Costco - he was in the car and while my husband was walking up a person setting out cones was very close to the car and Logan rumbled at him. Stopped as soon as my husband told him to. But, then again, I've been growled at by many dogs in their cars. I never walk close to a car with a dog in it. Did Logan react when he bit my granddaughter? She swooped down on him to hug after he showed teeth. Seem's reactive, but I still think he was resource guarding her mom, hence the teeth.

I did want to add something that I hope does not come across poorly, but it has been an observation for sometime as I have adopted animals from rescue before. Who knows what has gone on in a dog's life before he ended up in that pound? So many have been picked up as strays. My lovely aussie Gabe (RIP) was found wandering in the country near Bakersfield and was picked up as a stray. We never knew what caused his nose to be broken. We just knew it had at some point. He had health issues, and some dog aggression, although I did not have a name for it at the time (ignorance IS bliss), but he could have bit someone at some point and we would never know. We rely on our system to make sure we are giving these wonderful rescues to good homes, but I know for a fact, they have gone into homes, then have had issues. Some have bitten. Logan is branded with a history because the bite was reported, but if he had not broke skin, our system would not have known. So, I can't help but feel that there are many out there like Logan, that for whatever reason, have bitten out of fear, or whatever. There are people that have had their pets bite them and have continued on, working with their dogs and no one may ever know. Also, and this one bothers me, that people turn their dogs in because they have bitten, but do not divulge that at all. I know that temperment testing is done, but does it always bring out the issue? My little maltese poodle (rip) bit me because I moved him off the bed. He got very angry and went after me. Because of his size, I picked him off the bed and banished him until he calmed down, but I wouldn't do that to a big dog. So was he an aggressive dog? He drew blood, I know that. I know Logan's issues with strangers (the trainer), and me brought out a lot, but now he is so good with me, and we are starting to bond. Well, enough rambling. I'm not sure what I am trying to convey, just something that has been in my head for a long time. A 7 yr old dog gets adopted, has an issue, and is asked has he/she ever bitten? Can we honestly answer that question NO?

Thank you everyone for your kind posts. Marley, I take no offense to what you said. I think everyone here is rooting for Logan and also for me whatever happens. I, too, thought about one man who had lost his rather snarky BC that he had adopted back east somewhere. A rescue thought maybe he would be a good match for Logan, but I could not, morally, transfer him directly to another home that did not have the knowledge or exptertise to deal with this problem. So, the rescue in Canada is very well aware of ALL issues we have dealt with. If we do go that way. Right now, my husband has no plans on Logan going anywhere, so we deal with it day to day. He is much calmer than he was. Yesterday, I was playiing soccer in the back yard and my little male aussie was chasing Logan during the play. He got a bit aggressive with Logan and Logan handled it very well, snipping lightly at Ruger to make him stop. I was proud of him. What is it with little dogs. I do think he and my girl have some challenge going, No rough play, but a look here and there. The girl jumped on my husband's lap this morning, and I don't think Logan liked it (facial, ears expression), but he just laid down, sighed and shut his eyes, so I think that is positive. Logan is adjusting quite well, although we have not had strangers over. My granddaughter is still very afraid, and even though she will pet him as he is so happy to see her, it is not her favorite thing, and I don't encourage it at all. Thank you for the tip on the EasyWalk. I have read so much about the various one, and am looking right now at the Sense-ation, Easywalk, and one other. I thought about the SPORN, but so many say it is tough to put on and off. I have had a regular harness on Logan before, and he was very good about putting it on. I'm the type of person that has to compare and read about every one and so I make my life more difficult. "Just buy one"! I tell myself. Can someone tell me the main difference between "reactive" and "aggressive". I'm a bit confused with that. I also got four books from Patricia Mcconnell that are quite good, and 3 are very short so I'm not digging through hundreds of pages to get to the info. I read back through this long posting and realize how much better Logan is now. If I could get over that "heart in throat" when someone comes over, I would be so much better. Baby steps.

Thanks, Camdens Mom. Jaime actually referred me to the trainer that wanted to take Logan for 3 weeks. Even if it sounded like a good idea, which I didn't think it was, it was way over my price range.

This is the one I was looking at. I think I will try it.

Camden's Mom, Hi. The first trainer doesn't want to work with Logan. Logan really lunged, growled, and wanted to "eat" him, is the best description I can give. I had nothing against him, but he couldn't even take Logan's leash. What he gave us was teaching my husband to make Logan wait at doorways, which is going very well. He tried to help us with leash, but it hasn't worked for us. He also said to find another home or possibly PTS. I did think he was a good trainer, but not equipped to help us with Logan's aggression. We did find a rescue in Canada that will take Logan and try to rehab and rehome him but my husband wants to keep him. Right now we are doing okay, but I am always on alert. That option is always open to us, though. We seem to be doing well as far as his interaction with me, but the growling that occurred with my girl dog a couple of nights ago, does bother me. So right now, I am trying to focus on leash training, may get a training harness, the come command. He will not come to me every time I call. But there has not been any aggression that we had in the past. I did mention above my concerns about paying $500 for a consultation, since they pushed my appt back for over a month. It's not that I won't do it, but I am not sure this is money well spent (we are on a fixed income). I know training/behavior will cost, but one consult with a followup, emails and phone calls doesn't seem like hands on to me. I really want someone who can "see" his actions in our home as that seems to be where everything occurs. Jaime the trainer saw it, but he is unwilling to work with Logan and my husband did not really care for him as all of the dogs seemed to be afraid of him. Sorry if I am not making sense. I have a hard time putting my thoughts into words in a concise manner.

Kat, Thanks for the book info. I will look into those. I really like this board also. So many people have so much information. Good luck with your boy Jack. How old is he?

Yeah, he looks huge in that picture. I couldn't get the original one posted because the file was too big, so I cropped it and he really came in looking huge. He is about 46 lbs, but so strong! I don't walk him on the street. He is too strong and won't quit pulling, so it is the back yard working with him. He does well with my husband, but not too well when there are new things to see. We have an acre, so walking him around it mainly is to train him on leash, which is not working right now.

Patricia McConnell books and videos. They sound pretty good. Any feedback or suggestions on good reading material?

I keep trying to post a picture of this bad boy. Let's see if this one works. If not maybe someone can tell me how to do it.

Teri, Thank you. I feel as every day is one more step, sometimes forward, sometimes back. We haven't had any more bad issues with Logan, but he did growl at my girl dog a couple nights ago. We were going to bed and he was in bed by my husband's side of the bed. I and my two little aussies came into the room and announced ourselves to Logan. The girl dog ran to my side and started to jump up as Logan came around growling. I was so surprised that all I got out was Whoa!! He stopped and my husband called him back and told him to knock it off firmly. I thought he was growling at me, but the girl jumped off the bed and ran out and he growled at her again. These are the things that scare me. She did nothing and he has never shown her any aggression. I really want to follow +R, but find it difficult in these situations. At this time, we verbally get after him, but there are times I'm not sure it will work. I still am leery of Logan, but we are becoming friends. He came out and stayed with me watching tv until late last night and fell asleep. He has never done that before. He is always with my husband. Today my husband had to go somewhere and leave Logan with me. He laid down and was very well behaved. He is so happy to see my granddaughter, but the trust is gone there and she is afraid of him. She puts on a good front, talks to him, and will pet him, but I can feel her stiffen up if he comes too close too fast. So we watch and wait. As to the behaviorist, I am becoming dis-enamoured. Our appt is not until march and I have talked to a couple of people that have paid the high price tag and were not impressed. There is no in-home training at all. So she will see no interaction in the home where the problems seem to be. He behaves very well in public and even allows people to pet him, although we discourage it. My husband takes him with him and has said he is so good. He went to the dog bath Sunday and everyone fell in love with him. One lady walked right up and pet him on the head without asking. He was so good, but my husband asked her not to pet him without asking. He did pull on leash at Lowes, but there was so much to see. But at home, I think it is some sort of resource guarding on Logan's part with his owners. I've read so much that my eyes are crossed, but several incidents we have had is with Logan between his owner and someone else. I'm not sure and am certainly no expert, just trying to read the different scenarios. I am looking into two very recommended trainers in this area. I am having horrible problems with leash control. He does not mind at all with me on leash and I cannot take him walking at all. I'm looking into the easy walk leash as a possible tool. Anybody that has any input to that or ways to control him on leash, I would love to hear from. I've tried everything that I've read and nothing is working (he cares nothing about treats). He hurt me the other day because he just took off on leash and pulled it out of my hand (I was holding it correctly). I ended up on my knees. If he see's my husband or my daughter-in-law, it's all over. So there is a lot of work there and I need help with it. I know I may be taken to task about the behaviorist, but if there is right now no bad behavior, biting, showing teeth, growling, what am I to tell them? Everything is almost 1 month old now. I feel that I need some obedience training right now for leash, recall, manners, and if the bad behavior shows back up, then ??? I will certainly accept any input offered. Teri, if you want to discuss more, please pm me. I would enjoy that comparing your issues with mine. I really admire you fostering this dog. I don't think I would ever do it after dealing with Logan. I think we are doing so much better, but it is a long road ahead. Pat

I was trying to do a search on the "general discussion" and the posts that came up were unreadable. I searched for "train on a leash". Several popped up, but when I opened them, the content was unreadable and a lot of it highlighted in yellow. Looked like programming code. I tried a few different searches all ending the same. I logged out, shut down and resstarted and the problem remained.

I have two that I use with my mini aussies, but Ella never leaves my side unless she has to potty or is sniffing something. She never goes more than 2 feet in front of me. Ruger, however, is behind me going and in front of me coming. I recently switched him back to a regular leash to see if I could get some consistancy with him. I solved the constant strain on the leash for Ella by putting a block on the leash about where I would want loose leash to happen. It works great. When the leash is retracted it stops at the block and there is no strain on her neck. Ruger's came that way. I would never even try to use one with Logan, if and when, I ever get him to walk nicely. Not going well, that part.