NW_MONTANA_BC

Thanks everyone! I have put in calls to 2 behaviorist one of which was Brenda Aloff. I haven’t heard back from either one as of yet. I decided to try and help Tucker threw his anxiety, fear or resource guarding, or what ever it is that’s making him behave the way he is. I have had 2 other BC that just loved people and show no signs of this type of behavior so this is kind of shocking to me. I will be heading to my winter home in Arizona shortly so I will be looking for help down there also. I appreciate the hugs and well wishes. Thanks so much!

Thanks Journey……Was that a polite way of saying I am an old man? :>)

Contacted my vet today. They referred me to a Michelle Peacock a aggressive dog behaviorist. I have put a call into her. Anyone here ever heard of her? She is from somewhere around Clare, Michigan. I will be interested on what she has to say. I am not sure how to vet her? Maybe I could get some ideas here. I also fitted Tucker with a muzzle. He has been getting use to it today with know problems. I thought maybe I could take him some different places with people around as long as he is on a leash and wearing his muzzle.. Maybe places like Tractor Supply were there are both dogs and people. I hope this is a good idea as I need to get him socialize better.

Thank You Ruth! I always have a 6 ft leash on him when I go outside or for that matter in the house. We play frisbee while he is dragging it when outside. Never had a problem. I have been working on his reactivity but apparently I am doing a lousy job. Tucker has never been out of my site even though I live in a remote area. I have always been very cautious with him as I have always known he may be aggressive to someone around me. Today I/we were taking by surprise unexpectedly. It is my fault as I let my guard down. Nether Tucker nor myself heard the guy drive in. Then all a sudden there he is. I am afraid now about the court thing. I have been uneasy all day waiting for the police to show up. I realize I could loose everything if that happens. I do own the property. Believe me, I don't want to loose Tucker or have to put him down. I am 70 years old and live alone. I have no family. He is all I have. I just lost my other BC Taffy in June. That was really hard on me. I had Taffy for 15 years then one day she was gone! The vet had to put her down. Tucker is 3 years old and I got him as a pup. Despite all his reactive behaviors he has always been the most loving dog to me. I believe I will make an appointment with the vet and see if medication may help and/or he could recommend a behaviorist specialist for him.

Well, it finally happened. I went out of the house with Tucker, just to the back yard to get a couple of things. No more than a couple of minutes. Someone pulled into my driveway without me knowing it, and was walking back to see me. Tucker took off for the guy and would not heed my calls. When he meant up with the guy he tried to jump up and bite him. Before I could get there he was circling the guy in a defensive mode with the guy kicking and yelling at him. He would not listen to me. I finally got a hold of Tucker and put him inside the house. When I got back over to the guy he had been bitten 2 times by Tucker. Both bite were hard and drew blood. I got the guy some peroxide and some paper towels for his wounds. He seemed to be pretty good about it but I feel a little scared now! That brings me to my question? What should I do? Tucker is a great dog and companion around me, but I can't keep him under lock and key all the time. I live on 15 acres with know one around me for 1/2 mile either way. I am thinking he should be put down. I hate to even think of that but I do not know what else to do. This is a very sad day for myself and Tucker!

It’s been a couple days since I have gotten Tucker back from the vet. I would like to say everything went smoothly but Tucker still was extremely unsettled. I had given him the Tranquilizer more than an hour before his visit, as the doc had instructed. Trucker still tried to bite anyone he could thru the examination and never quit growling even though he had his muzzle on. I felt so bad for him. At least the vet was able to exam him and give him a couple of his shots. After I got him home I noticed that his eyes were really drooping and he walked like a drunk dog. He stayed that way all day but did sleep most of it. I really hate doing that to him! The next day he seemed fine. The vet said his coat looked really good and that the Apoquel appears to be working well. He said that we will continue the Apoquel. His hair is growing back around his eyes now. He is not scratching no more or chewing on his feet. I am really happy Tucker is feeling so much better!

Tucker’s hair loss around his eyes is get better. I just finished up the last of his meds. I can see the hair returning. He still has a little bit of dry skin flakes but nothing like he did have. He has stopped chewing on his feet too. I am really happy with the results, and I am sure he is. He has been on Purina One Sensitive skin food now for a couple of weeks. I always squirt in 2ea 1000mg soft capped Salmon oil into his food once a day. He really likes that food. His next vet appointment is next week. Hopefully the meds I give him before his appointment will allow the vet to exam him.

I took Tucker to the vets again today to see if I could desensitize him somewhat for the upcoming visit next week. We parked right where all the people and dog traffic enters the building. His reactive behavior was on full display without even getting out of the truck. I worked with him, and treated him with the best treats. It took some time for him to calm down somewhat, but was never fully calm. It seemed to be more “what the heck is going on around here”. We spent about 20 minutes there with lots of treats and praise. We never even got out of the truck. I was really happy as he only made one little bark. One more trial visit there before the real thing.

I think he is doing better but it may take some time to get him comfortable with my process. I am hoping the fenzi classes will give me more tools to use. Yesterday the UPS guy came. As usual Tucker ran to the door jumped up, looking out the window, waiting for him to get out of his truck. I had him on his leash. I got the liver worst and rushed to the door before he started barking. I got control of his leash and put the liver worst in his face and walked him to him kennel treating him when he got there. He was reluctant to do so as he was really wanting to chase that UPS guy. It certainly was much better that him tearing down my door. Today the mail lady drives up to my mail box which is at the road, some 200 ft away. Sometimes she come to the door to drop off packages but not today. Tucker has learned her car, so it doesn’t matter if she come to the door or comes to the mail box. He ran to the front windows and starter to bark a little. This time I grabbed his leash and took him to his kennel not saying a word to him. I shut the door so he could not see and left him in there for 5 minutes. Of course he didn’t like that and wined and woofed a little. Both of these instances Tucker never got over the top. He does that when the people get out of their vehicles and come to the door. Progress? Maybe. There will be more training on this in the days to come.

Took Tucker to the vet’s office today to do some desensitizing. I took sharp cheddar cheese chunks and some cut up salami chucks for treats. We stayed in the truck for about 20 minutes watching everyone coming and going. Tucker seemed to be fine with that though seemed curious. They have a park bench beside the door so I took Tucker up to it to sit down for awhile. His intensity increased a little as he was curious of all the doggy smells. I just let him smell everything and treated him a bit. He seemed to be OK with people coming and going, though he was a little tense. He did not have a problem with the dogs leaving, though very curious, and watched them intently. Two times a dog came out and their handler walked them around to go potty and then brought them back in. For some reason Tucker did not like them going back in the building. He kind of lunged at them and barked. He was not out of his mind though. I jerked on the leash a couple of times and told him to sit and then treated him when he did so. After about a half hour we got back in the truck and went grocery shopping. I ask the people in the store for Liver worst and they said it was the same a bronsawger so I got some. Also got some yogurt and other meat products for Tuckers treats. $85.00 later we walked out of the store and went home. I got the yogurt and honey in the freezer now and some treats cut up. I also got a big chunk of liver worst ready to stick in his nose when the mail lady shows up tomorrow. I believe it was a very good day for Tucker.

I guess it would be messy if I have to smear fish all over my door! How do you make the honey/yogurt popsicle? It sounds good enough for both of us.

GCV………Thanks! Tucker and I are all signed up.

Honey? I am a bee keeper. I have lots of honey. I will have to see if it is something Tucker really likes. OK…..So the vacuum cleaner is a bad idea. Funny how these dogs associate toenail clippers with something they don’t like. Ha ha Tucker runs when I cut my nails. He does love cheese but I have never bought any squirt cheese. I will have to buy some and try it. He loves steak. I can see this is going to get expensive. I never had a problem with my other 2 BC’s. They just loved everyone! Thank You

I have enrolled Tucker in the first class with Sharon Carrol. Working with Reactive and Hyper-aroused Dogs. This is a Fenzi class. It starts August 1. There are 2 other classes that were all booked up but hopefully before this class is over with I will be able to enroll in them also. It’s a good start. Tomorrow it’s off to the vets office. No appointment, just some training. Journey……I am at a loss here. I don’t know what a HVR is? I thought about putting a vacuum cleaner at the door. He don’t like it. Do you have some more reward ideas. Liverwurst. OK. I will have to find some. Don’t even know what they are or were to look. I assume the grocery store is the place to start. I believe I am starting to understand the redirect to a positive behavior now.

Thanks Journey…….I went with The Purina One Sensitive Skin food. I don’t have a problem keeping weight on him, at least not yet. He eats most any thing the smells like food. I didn’t know until recently that grain free was bad. Maybe that’s why my dogs would eat so much grass. His coat is getting really shiny now. Maybe because he has been on salmon oil for about 3 weeks. I brushed him tonight and it seems like there is a lot less dead skin coming off him.