Ok, so Bogie has bitten again. Josh and I realize that we have been in denial of his gradually escalating biting problem. The last time he bit someone we hired this trainer that turned out to be a quack, we might as well should have flushed our money down the toilet. Well, we have since then thrown everything that trainer told us to do out the window, and gone back to pack structure in our house. That is the philosophy we trained our dogs on in the beginning, and it was working great.
Well, we have had to buckle down on somethings in the house with the dogs, and revamp the rules so-to-speak. I guess when you learn something isn't working, you change it. Thankfully dogs live in the now and are pretty easy to mold. At least ours are. So, Bogie is walking on his last chance pretty much. Dr. Jeff Witt gave us some anti-aggression medicine to put Bogie on for now while we are in the transition mode. So far it seems to help a bit, hopefully though once things get reestablished (which takes time) we'll be able to take him off of that and hopefully not see his aggression escalate.
Josh and I are working really hard to try and get them back to this training and structure especially before the baby gets here. There is a chance Bogie won't ever be allowed in the same room with a child again, but we love him and he is kind of like a kid to us too so we really don't want to put him down or give him away. I guess this issue is one of those that only dog lovers can understand. I know people without pets or who have no affection for them probably look at us crazy and say we need to get rid of him, but he has been a huge part of our lives for the past 5 years. I grew up in a home that never kept our pets around long, and I vowed that I would not be that kind of animal owner. In essence, I made a commitment to them "till death do us part." So, pray for us as we seek knowledge and wisdom on doing what is right with Bogie and Zoe. The hardest part, as you may tell, is just finding the right resources.
If you are interested or curious as to where we are gleaning our resources right now on this, Leerburg.com. A great website with tons of free resources. If you are a fan of the Dog Whisperer then you'll be a fan of Leersburg too. Cesear Milan has a good saying, "whenever you want to point your finger at your dog for a problem there are always 3 fingers pointing back at you."
Stay Tuned..for hopefully good news of Bogie's progress.
2 comments:
Bogie doesn't look like a very big dog. When my Mom's chocolate lab was a pup, he would bite also. The vet told us that when he bites (our hands, mostly) to press your thumb down hard on their tongue, squeezing their tongue into the bottom palate. It immobilized him from biting. It worked so well, he's never bitten again and he's 10 now. Your dog is very cute!
That all just makes me so sad because you know how much I like Bogie and I am not really a dog person. But, you know I know how you feel about your pets. I am sure that your dog whisperer techniques will snap him out of it.
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