Post by AmyJo27 on Nov 30, 2011 15:30:03 GMT -5
Ok Its time for an overdue vent….
I’ve kind of been dealing with all this ‘under the radar’ and trying to hide it for some time now, Ive been so afraid of taking on fire. We are having serious problems with Honey.
Im at a point I don’t know what to do. I have been talking to one guy that raises and rescues Corsos here in Iowa (Will)—he has a ton of experience, Ive explained all her behaviors and he is very concerned.
Anyways, here’s the deal: A couple years ago I was at a dog show and met a gorgeous male Cane Corso for the first time. After talking to his handler, my fascination for the breed began. The more I researched and learned, the more I became intrigued. I found very quickly that deciding on a breeder was going to be tough because the Corso breed has SO much instability due to poor breeding. Once I was sure that I could handle such a large breed, my hunt for the right breeder began. I came across a breeder that was relatively close and I heard wonderful things about the dogs and the breedings so I purchased my first Cane Corso pup at the age of 12 weeks old—Honey. In my research I learned that these dogs (Corsos) can be difficult, testy, and dominant. In the beginning, Honey was none of these things (Which makes sense she was too young). She has been incredibly smart—Learned commands very quickly, took to her crate smoothly, and potty trained fast. She never exhibited any fearful behaviors like poor lines so commonly do, I was pleased. Once a week we went on visits to my daughters day care, to Petco, and she joined me for every little errand I ran. When people would come over, I would have her walk with me to the door to let them in then have them give her a piece of Hotdog so every person was a rewarding thing. I socialized her, raised her so she knows what I say goes (She works for everything, always has), and raised her into a well mannered girl.
But as she ages, her behaviors worry me. Ive felt uncomfortable talking about this to about anyone besides Kris until I recently brought it up to Will (the guy I mentioned before) and made a brief post here.
She has days that aren’t so bad but even those are becoming less and less. First of all, I no longer take her to Petco—She growled and nipped at a man that was simply walking by, he was not even looking at her (She was 10 months old). I walk her and take her with on errands but her response to other people is fear then defense. She is not allowed at our Vet Clinic unless I muzzle her in the car---Last time we were there, she became afraid (He was listening to her lungs) and she nipped him-It didn’t break the skin but left a mark. When people come to my house, she barks at the door like shes ready to kill, the door opens and she runs to hide in her crate. If I tie her to me and she cant run, she will pee out of fear—When she was younger, she was leashed to me everytime someone came over and greeted them eagerly.
The worst thing shes doing is growling at Kris and I. If shes laying in a doorway and we need thru and she doesn’t want to move, shell let out a deep, low growl--Especially now being tied to me. If I tell her to sit and doesn’t feel like it and I reach for her butt to guide her, she growls. If you try to put a leash on her collar there are times she will growl and kind of nip.
The pooing in her crate has stopped but she now tries to pee on us. Kris was crouched down outside yesterday and I was talking to him, I had Honey and Bola on leashes and Honey lifted her leg like a male and started peeing on his back. She tried to do this same thing to me last night when I was doing laundry (She was tied to me).
She is never loose, she works for everything, shes been on NILF, shes getting lots of exercise, shes getting her mind worked at least 3 times a day in different ways.
I told Will, Ive been really afraid to address any of this with her breeder because (No offense to anyone) MOST Corso people (I swear), don’t see Corsos as a dog. They are some rare beast that only certain people are privileged enough to own and control. Blah….I know what most Corso breeders/breed enthusiasts will say…”You’re a first time Corso owner, you f’ed her up”. I am a first time Corso owner...Im sure Ive made mistakes. I know I have. No one is God, everyone makes mistakes with their firsts. She is not my first dog tho, I dont think I could have f'ed her up this bad.....but at the same time I don’t understand how it is that Ive grown up with dogs, many breeds and this one I cannot figure out. Then every time my Mom and Dad (Who have always owned spoiled sassy Cocker Spaniels and fat grouchy Labs) come visit us all I hear is “I feel so bad for Honey, you never let her off that leash. You need to baby her, that’s what she needs. Quit working her into the ground.” Then I start wondering, am I over doing it?! Then I see her peeing up Kriss back and I don’t understand how it is that I can baby her. Ugh.
Then there’s her health!...Honey is 16 months (AS of today!) She has had three lumps removed-One behind her ear, one under her chin and one on her chest all Benign cancer. She currently has two one her chest and one more on her chin HOPING these go away on their own, not cheap having a 100+ pound dog put under. Benign cancer is not life threatening but her breeders reaction when I called to inform her kinda put me off. I told her this “Honey has had weird lumps that were not going away, I took her to the vet they did a biopsy on one and she has benign cancer-It will not kill her nor shorten her life but she will have it for the rest of her life. I just thought you might want more info about this condition from the vet for your future breedings” (Just in case it’s something hereditary) She said this “Oh, wow. I just breed Honeys mother again so this does worry me. I don’t think I’ll need to speak to your vet tho. You ready for another Corso? I have beautiful pups, Corsos are like Doritos, can’t have just one” …All I could think was, Yes you can! When my 1 year old Corso has cancer that I bought from you, the last thing on my mind is buying another!! I just don’t understand how she wouldn’t want to get more details from the vet, IMO not a good breeder for that one.
I’ve been making myself sick about this whole situation. Thinking about all the “What ifs” and replaying everything over and over again in my head trying to figure out where I went wrong and what I can do now to make things right. That’s where Will comes in…Ive talked to him off and on about Corsos for the past 3 years. He is knowledgeable about dogs in general but SUPER knowledgeable about Corsos and their behaviors. He has 6…most rescues then a couple that he shows. Talking to him was my sanity check….seriously. He made me feel so much better about myself (Felt like a psyco thinking she has a demon dog ), which I needed and helped me see things a little more clearly (Some things Id rather not see).
--Long story short. He came to these conclusions---It’s not me, its not the fact that she’s my first Corso, not my training/dog raising, and it’s no event that’s happened, Its simply Honey. He said around 9-14 months is when behaviors can change with Corsos, some just get testy, some get more protective, some aggressive, some fearful. This is when true character comes out.
For her to go from confident and eager to timid and fearful aggressive is genetics, her mom &/or dad is more than likely the same way. And he said he thinks something is “off” with her mentally. He said listening to me talk about her was almost like déjà vu for him. He had a female like this years ago that ended up severly biting his wife and was euthanized. He said that Corsos are testy and they can be b*tchy but the things shes doing are ‘not normal’ Corso or dog behavior. & he said I need to talk to Honeys breeder and make her aware of the troubles I am having…and if she tells me that this is my fault tell her to shove it up her you know what.
This weekend Kris, Honey and I are going to Iowa City to meet up with him. He is going to look at her pedigree (He knows lines well) and look for close inbreeding and meet Honey himself.
He worries me, he told me if he was in my situation these would be the only options
1.) Return Honey to her breeder and get a replacement pup of equal value (Due to her health issues, it’s in her contract)
2.) Return Honey and get no pup
3.) Euthanize her.
He said he’d go with euthanizing.
I’m not getting another pup (Especially from the same breeder)…My response to that was Hell no! Having a newborn, a 3 year old, an adult dog and a puppy Corso sounds like a quick trip to the asylum…Shoot me now.
I don’t think I could return Honey at all…She’s an *ss but I love her; I want and need to do what’s best for her, I don’t think that’s it. If I can’t handle her and I’m doing all I can to handle her, why would I dump her off on someone else?!
And I’m not convinced that she’s a lost cause so I can’t bring myself to put her down. That’s why Im glad Will agreed to meet her. Maybe he will see something I haven’t…Something Im doing wrong. And I guess if not, I still am not sure if I can do it. I cant hardly stand thinking about it....Weve been acros the US and back together. Shes been by my side thru some serious stuff...How can I just euthanize her? ???
If Will is right and its poor genetics and breeding-That’s the final straw for me. I will never buy a dog from a breeder again…no matter... ‘reputable’ they are or seem and No matter how much I like a breed.
Dam, look at my past. Bought my dad purebred Lab (Paid quite a bit for her, was from 'solid hunting lines' --This was before I knew much about dogs and breeding) she died at 3 due to a heart defect. Boomer (APBT from a breeder ) had hip, back leg problems like no other and mental instabilities due to mom and dad being brother and sister. Marley (Cocker Spaniel….he just kind of showed up but vet believes he came from our areas puppy miller) had liver and kidney failure at the age of 4. Now this……..I get too attached for this.
I’ve kind of been dealing with all this ‘under the radar’ and trying to hide it for some time now, Ive been so afraid of taking on fire. We are having serious problems with Honey.
Im at a point I don’t know what to do. I have been talking to one guy that raises and rescues Corsos here in Iowa (Will)—he has a ton of experience, Ive explained all her behaviors and he is very concerned.
Anyways, here’s the deal: A couple years ago I was at a dog show and met a gorgeous male Cane Corso for the first time. After talking to his handler, my fascination for the breed began. The more I researched and learned, the more I became intrigued. I found very quickly that deciding on a breeder was going to be tough because the Corso breed has SO much instability due to poor breeding. Once I was sure that I could handle such a large breed, my hunt for the right breeder began. I came across a breeder that was relatively close and I heard wonderful things about the dogs and the breedings so I purchased my first Cane Corso pup at the age of 12 weeks old—Honey. In my research I learned that these dogs (Corsos) can be difficult, testy, and dominant. In the beginning, Honey was none of these things (Which makes sense she was too young). She has been incredibly smart—Learned commands very quickly, took to her crate smoothly, and potty trained fast. She never exhibited any fearful behaviors like poor lines so commonly do, I was pleased. Once a week we went on visits to my daughters day care, to Petco, and she joined me for every little errand I ran. When people would come over, I would have her walk with me to the door to let them in then have them give her a piece of Hotdog so every person was a rewarding thing. I socialized her, raised her so she knows what I say goes (She works for everything, always has), and raised her into a well mannered girl.
But as she ages, her behaviors worry me. Ive felt uncomfortable talking about this to about anyone besides Kris until I recently brought it up to Will (the guy I mentioned before) and made a brief post here.
She has days that aren’t so bad but even those are becoming less and less. First of all, I no longer take her to Petco—She growled and nipped at a man that was simply walking by, he was not even looking at her (She was 10 months old). I walk her and take her with on errands but her response to other people is fear then defense. She is not allowed at our Vet Clinic unless I muzzle her in the car---Last time we were there, she became afraid (He was listening to her lungs) and she nipped him-It didn’t break the skin but left a mark. When people come to my house, she barks at the door like shes ready to kill, the door opens and she runs to hide in her crate. If I tie her to me and she cant run, she will pee out of fear—When she was younger, she was leashed to me everytime someone came over and greeted them eagerly.
The worst thing shes doing is growling at Kris and I. If shes laying in a doorway and we need thru and she doesn’t want to move, shell let out a deep, low growl--Especially now being tied to me. If I tell her to sit and doesn’t feel like it and I reach for her butt to guide her, she growls. If you try to put a leash on her collar there are times she will growl and kind of nip.
The pooing in her crate has stopped but she now tries to pee on us. Kris was crouched down outside yesterday and I was talking to him, I had Honey and Bola on leashes and Honey lifted her leg like a male and started peeing on his back. She tried to do this same thing to me last night when I was doing laundry (She was tied to me).
She is never loose, she works for everything, shes been on NILF, shes getting lots of exercise, shes getting her mind worked at least 3 times a day in different ways.
I told Will, Ive been really afraid to address any of this with her breeder because (No offense to anyone) MOST Corso people (I swear), don’t see Corsos as a dog. They are some rare beast that only certain people are privileged enough to own and control. Blah….I know what most Corso breeders/breed enthusiasts will say…”You’re a first time Corso owner, you f’ed her up”. I am a first time Corso owner...Im sure Ive made mistakes. I know I have. No one is God, everyone makes mistakes with their firsts. She is not my first dog tho, I dont think I could have f'ed her up this bad.....but at the same time I don’t understand how it is that Ive grown up with dogs, many breeds and this one I cannot figure out. Then every time my Mom and Dad (Who have always owned spoiled sassy Cocker Spaniels and fat grouchy Labs) come visit us all I hear is “I feel so bad for Honey, you never let her off that leash. You need to baby her, that’s what she needs. Quit working her into the ground.” Then I start wondering, am I over doing it?! Then I see her peeing up Kriss back and I don’t understand how it is that I can baby her. Ugh.
Then there’s her health!...Honey is 16 months (AS of today!) She has had three lumps removed-One behind her ear, one under her chin and one on her chest all Benign cancer. She currently has two one her chest and one more on her chin HOPING these go away on their own, not cheap having a 100+ pound dog put under. Benign cancer is not life threatening but her breeders reaction when I called to inform her kinda put me off. I told her this “Honey has had weird lumps that were not going away, I took her to the vet they did a biopsy on one and she has benign cancer-It will not kill her nor shorten her life but she will have it for the rest of her life. I just thought you might want more info about this condition from the vet for your future breedings” (Just in case it’s something hereditary) She said this “Oh, wow. I just breed Honeys mother again so this does worry me. I don’t think I’ll need to speak to your vet tho. You ready for another Corso? I have beautiful pups, Corsos are like Doritos, can’t have just one” …All I could think was, Yes you can! When my 1 year old Corso has cancer that I bought from you, the last thing on my mind is buying another!! I just don’t understand how she wouldn’t want to get more details from the vet, IMO not a good breeder for that one.
I’ve been making myself sick about this whole situation. Thinking about all the “What ifs” and replaying everything over and over again in my head trying to figure out where I went wrong and what I can do now to make things right. That’s where Will comes in…Ive talked to him off and on about Corsos for the past 3 years. He is knowledgeable about dogs in general but SUPER knowledgeable about Corsos and their behaviors. He has 6…most rescues then a couple that he shows. Talking to him was my sanity check….seriously. He made me feel so much better about myself (Felt like a psyco thinking she has a demon dog ), which I needed and helped me see things a little more clearly (Some things Id rather not see).
--Long story short. He came to these conclusions---It’s not me, its not the fact that she’s my first Corso, not my training/dog raising, and it’s no event that’s happened, Its simply Honey. He said around 9-14 months is when behaviors can change with Corsos, some just get testy, some get more protective, some aggressive, some fearful. This is when true character comes out.
For her to go from confident and eager to timid and fearful aggressive is genetics, her mom &/or dad is more than likely the same way. And he said he thinks something is “off” with her mentally. He said listening to me talk about her was almost like déjà vu for him. He had a female like this years ago that ended up severly biting his wife and was euthanized. He said that Corsos are testy and they can be b*tchy but the things shes doing are ‘not normal’ Corso or dog behavior. & he said I need to talk to Honeys breeder and make her aware of the troubles I am having…and if she tells me that this is my fault tell her to shove it up her you know what.
This weekend Kris, Honey and I are going to Iowa City to meet up with him. He is going to look at her pedigree (He knows lines well) and look for close inbreeding and meet Honey himself.
He worries me, he told me if he was in my situation these would be the only options
1.) Return Honey to her breeder and get a replacement pup of equal value (Due to her health issues, it’s in her contract)
2.) Return Honey and get no pup
3.) Euthanize her.
He said he’d go with euthanizing.
I’m not getting another pup (Especially from the same breeder)…My response to that was Hell no! Having a newborn, a 3 year old, an adult dog and a puppy Corso sounds like a quick trip to the asylum…Shoot me now.
I don’t think I could return Honey at all…She’s an *ss but I love her; I want and need to do what’s best for her, I don’t think that’s it. If I can’t handle her and I’m doing all I can to handle her, why would I dump her off on someone else?!
And I’m not convinced that she’s a lost cause so I can’t bring myself to put her down. That’s why Im glad Will agreed to meet her. Maybe he will see something I haven’t…Something Im doing wrong. And I guess if not, I still am not sure if I can do it. I cant hardly stand thinking about it....Weve been acros the US and back together. Shes been by my side thru some serious stuff...How can I just euthanize her? ???
If Will is right and its poor genetics and breeding-That’s the final straw for me. I will never buy a dog from a breeder again…no matter... ‘reputable’ they are or seem and No matter how much I like a breed.
Dam, look at my past. Bought my dad purebred Lab (Paid quite a bit for her, was from 'solid hunting lines' --This was before I knew much about dogs and breeding) she died at 3 due to a heart defect. Boomer (APBT from a breeder ) had hip, back leg problems like no other and mental instabilities due to mom and dad being brother and sister. Marley (Cocker Spaniel….he just kind of showed up but vet believes he came from our areas puppy miller) had liver and kidney failure at the age of 4. Now this……..I get too attached for this.