Post by fureverywhere on Nov 23, 2014 20:29:27 GMT -5
We know nothing of Callie's history as a pup. He was about a year old when he was picked up strolling down the highway. When animal control picked him up he was well fed and except for minor skin issues perfectly healthy. It's thought that he might have been a runaway. I know the Newark area is full of "sporting breeders". Someone took the time to dock his tail. I'm glad they didn't get to his ears. We also discovered after adopting him that he knows several commands and someone must have put the fear of G-d into him about human food.
If anyone is eating even right next to him he will avert his eyes or lay down but never beg or even consider stealing it from you. He'll sit there or lay there drooling until he's in a puddle. But unless you offer the food to him by name and hand feed him...even then it's complete soft mouth, you have to literally put the treat in his mouth. He's submissive to Sophie, me and my husband, kids too. He's fine with other dogs, cats, shows no interest in the rats or squirrels, maybe he'll watch the rats play with slight interest but he'd rather sleep. Women he loves, total ladies man, if he were human he would sing like Pit Bull
He enjoys children too, especially if Mami is with them. There's a few men he sees regularly that he enjoys being with. Male strangers he's guarded about, maybe just standing between them and me and staring them down. At night maybe a chesty growl. But he's gotten better about learning to look at me and pass male strangers casually. If a male stranger has a woman or child with him then everything is waggy waggy no problem at all.
Today I had to take him to try on coats. He knows the store dog trainer-male...so we went in and out and all was fine. There's an art store nearby that welcomes dogs and we went in to browse. He was so relaxed he stretched out on the aisle floor and took a short nap. Two women came by and got down to tell him how handsome he was. He wagged and licked them happy as a lark with the attention. Then an older woman came by to pet him and once again he smiled and wagged. Another young woman came over and gave him hugs and kisses.
So he was a popular guy. Everything was relaxed and fine until we got to the door to leave. A gentleman had just come through the door and was trying to be polite by going back to hold the door open for us. In my head at that moment I was thinking "You are a man with no woman or child and you are approaching me, really it's no trouble I can open the door by myself DON"T COME NEAR ME"...
too late
he leaped
Fortunately the gentleman leaped too, just in time.
But it really shook me up. I mean it could have been an injury, he could have gotten the police, in the UK they'd be saying off with his head already just by virtue of his breed...I was shaking as I hustled him and my kid into the car. If he were a dog you were working with what could you do? Can you somehow train a dog past gender based aggression?
Right after I finished typing this I was talking to my grown son. He walks Callie sometimes as well and I asked him. If men come near you out on the street, what does Callie do? Interesting that his answer was "Nothing, he just keeps walking with me." I think this leads to the possible explanation that he's guarding ME. Okay that adds an interesting wrinkle to the problem.
One more consideration is realizing the layout of the store was part of the problem. Very tight aisles and not being able to see who is coming around the corners. Safer for us to walk places where we have lots of room and that we can easily get away from everyone if we need to. The target problem seems to be human and male. What are some ideas here? Another training class perhaps? Thoughts???
If anyone is eating even right next to him he will avert his eyes or lay down but never beg or even consider stealing it from you. He'll sit there or lay there drooling until he's in a puddle. But unless you offer the food to him by name and hand feed him...even then it's complete soft mouth, you have to literally put the treat in his mouth. He's submissive to Sophie, me and my husband, kids too. He's fine with other dogs, cats, shows no interest in the rats or squirrels, maybe he'll watch the rats play with slight interest but he'd rather sleep. Women he loves, total ladies man, if he were human he would sing like Pit Bull
He enjoys children too, especially if Mami is with them. There's a few men he sees regularly that he enjoys being with. Male strangers he's guarded about, maybe just standing between them and me and staring them down. At night maybe a chesty growl. But he's gotten better about learning to look at me and pass male strangers casually. If a male stranger has a woman or child with him then everything is waggy waggy no problem at all.
Today I had to take him to try on coats. He knows the store dog trainer-male...so we went in and out and all was fine. There's an art store nearby that welcomes dogs and we went in to browse. He was so relaxed he stretched out on the aisle floor and took a short nap. Two women came by and got down to tell him how handsome he was. He wagged and licked them happy as a lark with the attention. Then an older woman came by to pet him and once again he smiled and wagged. Another young woman came over and gave him hugs and kisses.
So he was a popular guy. Everything was relaxed and fine until we got to the door to leave. A gentleman had just come through the door and was trying to be polite by going back to hold the door open for us. In my head at that moment I was thinking "You are a man with no woman or child and you are approaching me, really it's no trouble I can open the door by myself DON"T COME NEAR ME"...
too late
he leaped
Fortunately the gentleman leaped too, just in time.
But it really shook me up. I mean it could have been an injury, he could have gotten the police, in the UK they'd be saying off with his head already just by virtue of his breed...I was shaking as I hustled him and my kid into the car. If he were a dog you were working with what could you do? Can you somehow train a dog past gender based aggression?
Right after I finished typing this I was talking to my grown son. He walks Callie sometimes as well and I asked him. If men come near you out on the street, what does Callie do? Interesting that his answer was "Nothing, he just keeps walking with me." I think this leads to the possible explanation that he's guarding ME. Okay that adds an interesting wrinkle to the problem.
One more consideration is realizing the layout of the store was part of the problem. Very tight aisles and not being able to see who is coming around the corners. Safer for us to walk places where we have lots of room and that we can easily get away from everyone if we need to. The target problem seems to be human and male. What are some ideas here? Another training class perhaps? Thoughts???