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Tiny Terror Alert!
Hello Digging Dogs! I’ve missed you!
Do I have a case for you! I was recently contacted by a family who had adopted a 9 month old dog. The dog had been in the home for two weeks and was starting to display fear aggression and had a VERY bad time at the vet’s office. When I asked over the phone what kind of dog he is, they hesitated and said “lab mix.” In my experience, this is usually code for Pit Bull when owners aren’t sure where I stand on the breed ( I LOVE them btw). So I was very excited to meet this new friend! I was instructed by the owners to knock on the door when I arrived, rather than my suggestion that I text. They said he had no problem with knocking or people entering the home.
WELL. That was not the case. I knocked and the pup went wild! When I finally entered the home I was confronted with…a little 25 pound buddy who is small, cute, and not a lab ????
That said, the dog was WAY over threshold and could not calm down for a significant amount of time while I was in the home. I asked the teenage sons several times to remove the dog from the main room to allow him to relax, but he kept escaping and coming back. He was just plain terrified. He would charge and bark at me (did not attempt to bite). He would calm for a while with swift treat delivery and scatter feeding and even wanted to investigate me a few times, but I ultimately had to shut down the in-person interview for the dog’s sake.
I have been working remotely with the owners to install basic obedience behaviors, and calming exercises. The dog is smart and picks up on new “tricks” quickly.
I worked with the family in person for the first time yesterday to start counterconditioning the dog to the sight of people. He needed a very great distance to be able to remain under threshold during practice and I was only able to advance a few feet closer by the end of our session (he was leashed in the far end of their fenced yard and I was waaaaay back on their property outside their fence. We communicate by phone).
The dog is unable to handle vet visits, he clearly did not have normal early puppy socialization, as he plays with his mouth the same way an 8 week old puppy does (another thing I am coaching them through remotely), he is extremely fear reactive/aggressive -he reacted to nearly every sound in the neighborhood as we were working, and he has trouble finding his “off switch” (we are starting crate games and protocol for relaxation). The owners and I have discussed the logisitics of this dog being with this particular family and if that is or is not a good idea. They are strongly on the side of keeping him in their home.
I know, this is a lot. There is more, but you don’t want to read a book. The point of the story is: this is a nice family, but with 2 teenage sons and busy social lives, they are a bad fit for this particular dog. We have had several serious discussions on this topic and they have discussed it with their vet as well. The possibiity of behavioral meds is on the table.
Without listing all the things I have in their training plan, I will say that management and proper safe places, gates, crates, white noise machines, enrichment, etc. have been put in place. And the BIG TALK about how long Rocky’s training road may be has happened. Talks about keeping him under threshold, deep dives into positive reinforce and mangement working together, etc. have been had.
I would love to hear others’ takes on cases like this. I want to help this family, but the odds are not looking great.
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9 Replies
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@LisaOMy I just want to say Kuddos to YOU!! I think you are doing such a good job and seemed to ask all the things I would of asked and slowly moving along the training plan. I LOVE how you suggested remote training at first – for the sake of the dog. You explained everything so well! It is so hard when you do see the dog is not really a good fit in the home. I think you are doing a great job slowly ” having talks” about that as well to the owners. I know other people will chime in with suggestions but I just had to compliment you on what you have done so far. Great job!
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Thank you, Krista ❤
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Boy that’s a doozy, @LisaOMy — it sure sounds like you’ve been providing excellent suggestions already while also opening the difficult topic of whether it’s an appropriate household.
Based on what you’ve described so far, I’d be HIGHLY recommending they speak with a vet behavior specialist who can carefully select a medication or medication cocktail to help bring some of the dog’s anxiety down. Currently, it sounds like he’s so over threshold it would be difficult for him to learn, even with very thoughtful b-mod plans in place.
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Ah yes, I forgot to mention that I referred them to a veterinary behaviorist 🙂
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Thanks for bringing this very interesting case, @LisaOMy Your professionalism and passion shine through. These folks are lucky to have you on their team. I do hope they will take your advice and work with a behavior vet. If that’s not an option for them, you might also ask them to have their veterinarian consult with a behavior vet. Sometimes, that’s a “back door” that works more quickly to get the medicine this dog clearly needs. I agree with Virginia, it will be tough to make progress with such extreme fear without the proper “thinking mode” you need. I’d stick with remote consultations meanwhile, for everyone’s safety and continue to encourage them to consider rehoming before there is a bite which will make rehoming a non-option. ???? Please keep us posted!
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The good news: the pup has started clomipramine. The bad news: he continues to develop new triggers. After a very serious and frank discussion today, the owners still elect to keep him in their home. I agreed to continue training remotely with the understanding that this is a very difficult situation with a very intense and long road ahead.
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They are lucky to have you in their corner, @LisaOMy . I hope the clomipramine will end up being a helpful add-on.
Have you followed up on your frank conversation in writing to clearly express your concerns and outline management strategies and safety protocols? I think it’s very important you have this covered in writing. And if you work remotely with them via Zoom, you might consider recording your sessions.
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I agree with what Virginia is saying here… this is the toughest part of consulting, but super important when owning a business. Having things written and recorded is a layer of protection against a possible lawsuit if the dog does damage down the road. Because you are trainer of record, it’s really important to keep yourself and your business protected.
Having a liability waiver in place, having an LLC, which is a separate entity to protect your personal assets, keeping great notes and copies of your communications are all things you can do to provide some insulation against a suit. We never want to think of these things… but we need to, so that we can continue helping people without exposing ourselves to as much risk.
Tossing this previous discussion in, for anyone looking for info on starting an LLC.
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Good advice 🙂
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