Idiot Dog Owner

[Terrie Jordan]

My baby just died seven months ago and it left a huge hole in my heart so I decided to adopt a rescue dog. He is a Chihuahua/Terrior mix. I have had him for about 6 months and just realized that he is seriously aggressive and sees himself as the alpha dog in our house. The crazy thing is I have had dogs ALL my life (I am mid 40's) and NEVER knew you had to train them. We always just took care of them and loved them and they were halfway normal animals. Now I learn all this wonderful information about training dogs. I hope it is not too late for me to straighten out my rescue dog. I feel like a complete idiot since I have had dogs all my life but did not know you had to actually train them! Organizations such as rescue, adoption centers, havens...really need to get the word out. People need to be made aware that you don't just take a dog home and hope he turns out alright! I am now paying for my stupidity with a lot of aggravation from a little 13 pound terror! I am very thankful I found this program to help me TRAIN my little rascal.

[MaxHollyNoah]

Hi Terrie!

I know exactly what you mean! I have had dogs all my life (with some offs and ons though) but never came across an aggressive dog until I got Noah, our beloved 3+ yr old border collie mix. His aggression didn't start right away from the time of adopting him. About 6 mos later it started as a fear aggression to bigger dogs. I have been reading/learning/experimenting all kinds of things and he has almost got over his fear aggression after 1.5 yrs.

However, I feel now very fortunate that I got to know about this common problem of dogs. If I didn't have Noah, I would never been aware of and understand of the problem, which is one of natural behaviors of dogs.

Lets take it positive, Terrie! Your puppy needs your help. It might take long but it will be very rewarding, I promise you!

Start with a basic obedience training, "watch me" "sit" "stay" using treats. It will help tremendously in builiding your dog's trust to you. Just be consistent and patient with your puppy.

I am volunteering for a rescue group and foster some dogs myself. I observe my foster dogs very closely and report all the potential problems temperament and make sure the new owner is aware of the areas that need to be worked on. The last thing I want happen is the dog be returned to shelter. By the way, all my 3 dogs are rescued dogs, and I just love them!

Good luck and let us know your puppy's progress! Just wanted to give you some moral support....