antisense

Just an update: We've contacted certified canine behavior consultant Kerry Vinson and we are setting up a home visit sometime this month. I am sure he will be able to determine what JJ's motivation is for acting aggressive so we can learn how we can best manage his behavior. Overall, JJ is better and worse. He's better at ignoring most people and nearly all small dogs (he just doesn't take much interest in small fluffy white dogs like shih tzus and maltese... I had expected the opposite!) but if we let him have a clear path of sight, he will fixate on large dogs (not necessarily barking or growling, but alert and starting with stiff legs). As per JJNg's advice, we keep JJ moving when we come across a "trigger dog" and praise if he looks away for whatever reason when the dog is in sight. Unfortunately he's stopped taking an interest in food (not even hot dog or leftover chicken breast!) while on walks, I guess because everything else is just too interesting. On another note, this weekend he's stepped up his marking a notch and is now kicking the ground after peeing. We were only letting him mark in the park (since he will sniff for ages before finding the perfect place to poop, so he will pee 20 times in the process). We've responded by not letting him mark at all, and if he does manage to sneak in a dribble then absolutely no kicking. We've given him 2 choices of places to poop, either at the entrance to the park, or at the exit, and nowhere else. He's handled it fairly well, but he will sometimes try to pee on the sidewalk as we are walking. I'm not sure if he's trying to mark, or if he just wants to pee. I don't know if a belly band on walks would be overkill. I found this guy's blog about his shiba inu really helpful for understanding aggression: http://shibashake.com/dog-behavior-problems Also this site which even has a printable pdf with really cute pictures for managing leash reactivity: http://functionalrewards.com/more-on-bat/bat-steps-for-reactivity/

UPDATE We took the plunge and tried clipping again today. For the past week we've been giving lots of treats and practicing foot touching, then nail touching/pinching, then touching the clippers to the nail without actually clipping anything. Since he's been good with no growling or panting, we put the muzzle on, smeared some peanut butter on the refrigerator door and went for it. He was so intent on licking the peanut butter off the fridge, that he didn't seem to notice me clipping his nails. I only did one foot (the one they didn't do at the vets). Afterwards he got half a hot dog for being a good boy! He then promptly rubbed his peanut buttery muzzled face all over my pants.

@Giselle, thank you very much for your input. I've located 2 canine behavior experts who seem to know what they are doing. Both are experts in canine aggression (or are at least considered expert witnesses by the legal system here) and use positive reinforcement training. Of course their services are not cheap, but what reliable consultant is? I certainly don't mind getting a behaviorist if it is going to be very beneficial to us. I think we're going to give it another 2 weeks to see how things go. So far all his "issues" seem to be getting better, and we haven't discovered any new ones. We got some help from my BF's brother earlier in the week who came over to visit. At first when he came over, JJ was in his crate and NOT happy that a stranger had invaded his territory. There was a lot of growling and barking and bared teeth when he got too close to the crate. We then all went outside into more neutral territory and let JJ approach and sniff at his will, while the brother stood in place. After a few good sniffs, there were no growls for the rest of the day indoors or out, and he even got some pets with no problems. Since then JJ has been a lot friendlier with unfamiliar people, going up to them to sniff them, and then move on without issue. We also keep him muzzled, so perhaps he is picking up on the fact that we're a lot more relaxed about letting him go up to people because it is a lot less likely that he'd bite someone. I think we've identified what likely caused this weariness around strangers: the first time he growled at someone that we can think of is when a man stopped to chat as he said he loved greyhounds and used to own one. JJ was fine getting petted during the conversation, but then when the man left, he bent over suddenly and gave him a hug around the neck, and got a growl in return. He saw the same man the very next day, and growled at him when he reached to pet him. Perhaps he thought that every stranger he met would try to grab him around the neck? A friend of a coworker's greyhound was returned after he bit 3 people (including a child). They'd had the dog for 6 months. I'm definitely aware of the consequences of letting things get out of hand.

Thanks for all the replies! As suggested by greyt_dog_lover, we are hand feeding now (we started out doing it when he first came home, then stopped to teach him to "wait" for his food bowl... and have now resumed hand feeding since we can also practice waiting at doors, intersections, and for treats on the floor). We're also doing more frequently doing short home training sessions. He just started to get more consistent with doing a "lie down." Once he has that learned, we can work on "sit." He does a side saddle, and it's not pretty, but if he can do it while out on a walk, then we can use it to help him keep his cool when being approached by strangers. We've also been giving him bits of grilled chicken breast on walks whenever he notices a person/dog and then more chicken as they get closer, and more if he can walk past without growling. Also, my BF's brother came by to visit yesterday and we let them get introduced outside with the brother standing in place, and giving JJ a loose leash and all the time he wanted to approach and sniff at his will. There were no growlies, and afterwards in the house, there was very little growling and barking. It's only been 2 days so it's hard to tell, but today on our way back in to our apartment from a potty break today, someone was coming out at the same time. While I was telling him not to pet my dog because he is weary of strangers, he had already stuck his hand out and was touching JJ's head... and everything was fine! Very luckily, because I haven't been putting his muzzle on for potty because we usually don't run into anyone, and anyone we do run into has been very respectful with giving us more space. I need to remember to muzzle every time we leave the apartment just in case. And I think I agree with BatterseaBrindl in that JJ was extremely agitated at the vet, so that probably contributed significantly to how aggressive he was being. Overall, having read a lot of literature recently, and just spending more time with my boy, it seems that he is overall a pretty self-confident dog. He's definitely not what I would call shy or submissive, and not spooked by much at all. He knows what he doesn't like and lets people know by growling, and is willing to correct people if he thinks they aren't paying listening to him. Furthermore, he doesn't know that he can trust us to judge whether strangers are friend or foe so I believe he's growling in self-defense on walks. I have a feeling we may need to continually reinforce that we are his "leaders" because he does seem to have a more dominant (I hate to use the word, but I can't think of a better one) personality. We have our good days and bad, but so far today has been overwhelmingly good!

My vet has recommended talking to a behavior consultant after JJ's aggressive reaction to getting his nails trimmed, and then subsequent aggressive reaction (growling, snapping... then turning and staring her down while growling after she backed off) when the vet tried to assess his rear legs to see if he had any pain/weight bearing issues (retired due to rear R left hock injury). [Edit: I've already gotten lots of fantastic advice for doing nails on another thread here: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/291187-nail-trimming-nightmare) I've since done a bit of research into canine aggression online, and read everything I could find on GT and have come to the conclusion that my dog's behavior isn't completely unexpected. And that very gradual positive counter-conditioning has seemed to work for a lot of people. He's reactive on leash around other dogs (pulling, growling, barking) Reactive to strangers walking straight towards him to try to pet him. He's also reactive to his own reflection in full length mirrors sometimes. Thankfully he doesn't redirect his aggression towards us if we pull him back to get him away from a dog/person if he starts to act menacingly. He guards bones (which I no longer give him... until he trusts us more), and chicken feet (which I feed him while on leash so I can keep him in the kitchen... I can pet him, but if I get too close to his face, he growls) He did show some space aggression/irritation once, when I lifted up his dog bed while he was on it (in retrospect, not the smartest idea) to get him off of it so he would go into his crate. It had worked the day before. I haven't done it again, instead I now get his attention with a milkbone to get him to stand up. No sleep aggression that we're aware. We don't touch him unless we're sure he's awake, but he's fine with us petting him while he's lying down on his bed or in his crate so long as we've made eye contact first. Doesn't seem like major issues, but I'm also unsure of what's causing it so expert observation and advice would no doubt be beneficial. I'm concerned about teaching/conditioning him the wrong way, and having the issues get worse. I also have to keep reminding myself that he's only been here a very short time. At the same time, there are no behaviorists in my city, so getting someone to drive out from Toronto or Ottawa for the initial home visit is something around $450... And just so this post isn't entirely negative, here's a picture of him looking goofy wearing socks:

Thank you for those links! The vid was really helpful. Might have to see if I can buy a stool guard online somewhere. P'butter sounds like a good idea, and it's one of the few things he likes to eat! That's awesome! Don't think it would work here, because towel over head just makes him all prancy and do the head shake walk backwards dance. Might give it a try when he's lying down just for the heck of it though.

Some background: JJ has been with us for 2 weeks now. He's settled in quite nicely at home, and we took him to the vet for a friendly meet and greet and a nail trim since he came to us with long clacking nails. I've been getting him comfortable with having his feet handled by touching and treating, and have clipped 2 of his nails myself. He's been fine with me lifting and wiping his feet twice a day after his regular walks. Getting his nails trimmed at the vet he was all growls and snarls. By the time the tech got to the third foot, he was growling and barking and snapping. Thank goodness for those muzzles. She left the room for a while, and he calmed down, but as soon as she came back in he immediately started growling at her again. We never did get to his last foot. Needless to say, I think he's now associated the vet office and nail trimming with being a really bad thing. Unless there is a groomer with the magic touch, I think I'm gonna have to do his nails myself from now on. Question: How do I now go about trimming his nails? I've tested his front feet, and while he's lying down he lets me handle his foot and touch his nails. Haven't tested his back feet yet. Haven't brought out the clippers yet. Any suggestions on how to get him comfortable again? Dremmelling is an option I'm willing to try, but I'll still need to desensitize him to the idea.

Interestingly enough, I placed a chicken foot on top of his kibble/raw mix, and he ate around the foot, then left without eating it!

Well... it seems string cheese is less interesting than even plain kibble around here! Guess he's not a mozzarella kinda guy.

Never considered rotisserie chicken. Would cost less than a bag of purebites, and I'm sure he would love it more! String cheese sounds like a great idea if he likes it since it's so nice and portable. All awesome suggestions! Thanks guys!

My pup just doesn't seem that food oriented unless it is right before mealtime and he's hungry. He doesn't seem to care very much about dehydrated liver and unless the mood hits him. He will usually eat milkbones, but not if he has to work for them. He will only eat purebites whitefish if he is really hungry (then again, I turn my nose at those too... stinky!). He seems to be a fan of freeze dried cheese. Haven't tried fresh cheese yet since nobody in the house eats it. He does like my leftover pan fried chicken breast... Wondering what you guys use as treats for training purposes.

@Beachbum1: I love it! *faceplant* snoozing

He pooped today! Ha... I never thought I'd be so happy over dog poop. Wasn't very pretty to pick up. Used 2 bags and still left an embarrassing mess. He's been so good so far. He really likes his squeaky toy and his fluffy white ducky toy.

I paid $34 for mine...not too sure about shipping to Canada though. I bought one off Amazon.ca (http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B003TUNZQ4/ref=s9_simh_gw_p79_d0_i3?pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=009HX8AYWG14D78R3NDY&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1375923922&pf_rd_i=915398). Free shipping and it arrived 2 days after I bought it!

He's home! He is so tall that even in his 32" tall crate, he hits his head a lot and has to bend his neck when he sits. He's only been home for about 8 hours, but so far we've discovered that he looooves his squeaky toy. He is also very interested in squirrels. He mouth also leaks when he drinks and he probably gets more water on the floor than down his throat. He also pees on his own foot. Despite this, he's still pretty friggin' adorable. Also, very cool... they gave us his bertillon card. I was not expecting that! Only 2 dark nails! He still won't poop though. He sniffs around but just doesn't seem to be inspired when we take him out.

Cuja is gorgeous. She makes a wonderful addition to the family!

Thank you everyone! This has really helped to reassure me! The BF keeps telling me I'm an anxiety case myself from reading all the SA horror stories people post. Kinda makes me forget there's many more normal dogs out there. You GTers rock!

We are considering bringing our new hound home in 2 weeks (he will be fostered for one week prior) and the BF and I will have the whole weekend at home to get our pup comfortable and start alone training. However, on the Monday right after the weekend, there's been an unexpected schedule change, and neither of us will be at home for 4 to 5 hours in the middle of the day. Neither of us can get any more time off work. (note: the most he will be alone is 5 hours and only on Mondays) Now I know all hounds are individuals and some will be happy to have the uninterrupted nap time, while others will cry until you reappear, but in general, is it too soon to leave a dog home alone for that long after only 2 days (really, 1.5 days since it will be quite a trip from the foster home to our home). What can we do to help make it easier on him? We've got kongs, and we can take him for as long a walk as he can manage right before to get him tired. What else can we do? Also... how exactly are you supposed to alone train? I get the idea of stepping out of the room... then stepping out of the house for a few minutes... but how frequently do you do this? We will have a laptop set up so we can Skype in and check on him while we're both out of sight. I expect that we may also get an idea during fostering whether or not he's the anxious type or the bombproof type or something in between. However I don't know if he'll really be alone during fostering since they have many other greys. I haven't talked to my adoption rep/foster mom yet, but I'll be calling her tomorrow to get her opinion on this as well. It's quite possible that I am far more anxious about leaving our dog alone than our dog will be about being left alone!

Maybe checking for fever, shivering, change in behavior? The vet should know what to look for in a dog.

I'm a pharmacist so my expertise only extends to humans, but yes it can happen but it is fairly low risk (in people anyway). They are frequently used together with no problem, you just have to monitor for the rare case of serotonin syndrone. At high doses it could be more likely. Or if someone is on multiple "mood" medications (eg clomipramine)

Congrats on the new family member! I love her stripes!

Home visit today! Beautiful big girl named Marley came to see us. She decided she really liked the water we offered her, especially the water in people mugs. Her people were cool too. We'll be getting our dog likely in mid-September. More waiting, but yay! Now we have a "due date!"

We're letting the adoption group/track pick for us. As long as they are friendly and outgoing and not a bark-a-holic, it doesn't matter boy or girl. In my mind I picture a great big brindle boy, but that's probably because our old neighbours had a brindle whippet and she was primarily responsible for my interest in sighthounds.