You gave some effort, thought and time, CV, and that’s about all you could do.
Maybe the dog will LIKE being one of many; sounds like being a solo dog was bringing out the aggressive side. Maybe six months of immersion therapy will be good! 
Let us know how it all turns out in the spring!
Watching movies with the dogs while dogs are barking uproariously at something and no one checks? This whole scenario, including a person who is “given” a nice house to take in dangerous dogs, this all gives me the creeps. All I can see is a news story in the future. Anyone who makes a “career” out of dangerous dogs…end of story.
Well, nothing’s really changed. But I did go over there and dropped the meds off. If there was an emergency last night, there certainly were no signs of one. We’ve had a little snow over the weekend, and another dusting last night. Just one small set of tire tracks to the barn only - as if someone showed up early to feed the horses. Not many footprints back and forth from the house, no additional sets of tire tracks. The house has a side yard, at different times I’ve seen different dogs. Plenty of pit bulls, a Plott hound constantly advertised for adoption. All dogs in the side yard have been very friendly.
It’s apparent this trainer has had lots of rescue experience, but not so sure they are really up and running for much else. The place is clean so far so can’t say by observation there is anything alarming dog wise, and I hope Calamber is wrong, but have seen it up here in dog, horse, and farm situations - outsiders getting in over their heads.
Had always coveted the location - picture wide open white fenced fields on either side of a road rarely traveled, with hills beyond protecting the valley farm below. She is a lucky gal. But the owners just had an article in a professional quarterly about their $30M mansion for sale in NY, so guess they don’t need it. I should have told them about my interest in OTTBs. Darn! 
Thanks everyone for your suggestions and sharing your experiences.
Doing a little browsing this morning, and fell upon the following article while looking up something else. Very interesting reading. An assumption rang true about my friend and this dog - explaining to me my friend’s conflicting reactions (broken hearted, yet dropping the dog off for 6 months training) - which probably puzzled me as much as anything…
(My emphases…)
Even though this is a common behavior problem, it is frustrating and often embarrassing for the owner. Behavior modification requires a significant commitment on the part of the owner/s and is not remedied overnight. However, with the average life span of our dogs steadily increasing to up to 20 years in some cases, a few months of dedication can yield more pleasant walks for the rest of your dog’s life.
Interesting article - don’t know how valid it is, but sounds logical - and perhaps answers the “why” of my friend’s dog. The dog regularly visited a dog park in FL, then up here her routine changed to only walks on a leash.
Some high-energy dogs develop leash-frustration, especially dogs that regularly visit the dog park. These dogs learn that other dogs equal rowdy, unchecked play sessions and have poor self-control. When they spot another dog, they prepare to launch into their normal rowdy behavior, only to find themselves restrained by the leash.
And another interesting observation, totally in contradiction to Mr. Milan’s blanket answer (oops!).
Despite the claims of a popular television show, lack of exercise is NOT a cause of on-leash frustration or aggression
Finally, I wonder if these suggestions will be incorporated during training by this trainer. Don’t see how in her setting…and without the owner being present…
It seems to make sense to most people to expose the reactive dog to other dogs and then try to train the dog not to bark. However, once a dog is reacting to another dog, the part of the brain that processes the fight/flight reflex is active. When this part of the brain is active, the part of the brain that processes learning is shut off, so that the body can reserve as much energy as needed for survival. If you are being chased by a bear, you don’t want your brain worrying about taxes. B [/B]Dog trainers refer to this as the dog being “over-threshold”, or past the point the dog can tolerate.
This is why it is vitally important that training for reactivity take place when the dog is “under-threshold”, the point at which the problem behavior has not yet started. Often this means starting the training when no dogs are present, then presenting a dog from a distance at which the dog does not react. That distance is gradually decreased while the dog’s tolerance to the presence of other dogs is increased and the dog is rewarded for good behavior.
This is where working with a professional trainer is so important. In addition to teaching you the obedience skills your dog will need, a trainer will teach you how to read your dog’s body language so you can tell when your dog is about to react and keep him below that level. A trainer can also teach you what to do if you accidentally go too far and your dog starts reacting
.
How is this accomplished in the midst of multiple dogs with severe aggression issues? (Found in discussion of the articles I read - some individuals here are those the courts wanted destroyed.)
Honestly not obsessed ;), but believe this may explain quite a bit of my friend’s/her dog’s situation. And am always interested to learn new stuff.
:sigh:
http://www.4pawsu.com/onleashaggression.htm
Know we horse/animal people often get characterized as “that crazy dog/cat/horse person”. But, as sure so many of you are, am so past worrying about the embarrassment of what needs to be done for our animals. Which is what separates us, I suppose!
[QUOTE=Chall;7272863]
ShutUP ( in my best Elaine from Seinfeld voice). Would this work for horses? And, like, no one has come with this before?[/QUOTE]
This counter-conditioning game isn’t brand new. “Look at That” titled by Leslie McDevitt in her book Controlled Unleashed is a common technique in the COTH-version of the dog community. Ya know, Joe Shmoe may not know about it, but the COTH-level dog owners do. :lol:
CVP - I"ve been working through the above process w/ a 25 pound bugger who would bark and jump around on the leash “like a fish on a line” to quote a friend of mine. And as noted in the other quotes, it is not a short process; success comes in stages, and it appears that the handler/dog relationship is an important component. IE my dog still barks when my sister walks him, though the leaping has stopped.
Wait, OP can you clarify for me? You did an unannounced pop in (very brave! you are Superman to my Clark Kent) and did not enter the house and did not see the Great Dane.
On your scheduled visit, did you see inside the house? See the dog? See the kennels in the barn?
If you did not see the dog, what was the reason for that? If you were not permitted to see the dog, whose meds you were voluntarily delivering, this situation smells fishy.
I’d recommend not paying any attention to what the dog-poker says. He’s nothing but a bully and mistakenly believes dogs are pack animals. Try watching the show with the sound turned off- he obviously has no clue how to read dog body language, and the rumors about what go on when the camera is turned off are really disturbing.
I’d suggest reading Controlled Unleashed. Really educated dog people. It works. Takes some time, but I’ve seen quite a few reactive dogs totally turned around with the program.
I had a dog-aggressive great dane- he was attacked by a dalmation as a puppy and would go after any spotted dog with lethal intent. Plus he’d do his best to eat cats, wiped out the local ground hogs, and actually killed a deer once. I’d laugh when people talked about “gentle giants”.
She needs to put some on the dog so she can control him during the re-training process. Mine did best in a prong collar- he was perfectly capable of dragging me around in a front-attachment harness, and he refused to wear a head-halter.
Finally, I wonder if these suggestions will be incorporated during training by this trainer. Don’t see how in her setting…and without the owner being present…
How is this accomplished in the midst of multiple dogs with severe aggression issues? (Found in discussion of the articles I read - some individuals here are those the courts wanted destroyed.)
As counterintuitive as it seems, I’ve observed reactive dogs change dramatically while living in what seems to be a chaos pack :lol: a friend does this sort of thing & I was amazed at the (positive) results she gets.
She has taken on dogs that are uncontrolled by the owner, kept the dog for weeks - months (re-estblishing behavior expectations), then begins training with the owner.
This is not ideal but sometimes works better with certain dog/owner combinations …
It may also be that your friend is actually (secretly) hoping that dog will find a new home at the end of all of this.
You did good
Bicoastal, no one answered the door first visit which was unannounced. It was getting dusk, snowy, dark. This trainer from NYC - don’t believe she’s married. Not sure who, if anyone, lives with her at the house, although her photos show a series of helpers here and there. Point being it’s a riot how many from the city who move up here are frightened of us country creatures. (And I’m the reverse - can travel all over the countryside in this state, but shaking in my boots in NYC to some degree.)
It is a big house. There is a mud room where supplies were stacked, and a stack of newspapers on the stoop at the door. I knocked at the outside door, but no answer. The barking of several dogs inside, where my friend’s dog is kept with some others. Was quiet until I got out of the car, so they must have known someone was out there.
Also barking from the lit barn below where I walked, and called out. No answer. Sat in my car in plain view trying to find her number to no avail. (I had forgotten it - of course found where I put it in the car today) :o
Was scheduled to visit her and the dog on Monday. Realized the logistics poor for my day, so I’d only be dropping the meds off, in an exterior building she had suggested earlier. She was relieved, saying their schedule an issue from the “emergency” the night before, and would have asked me not to visit friend’s dog that day.
At this time, I don’t think there is any abuse going on, dogs in the play yard attached to the house seemed very friendly and happy. But some of her detractors had said she was not organized, or not following the plan. She has a very long history of volunteerism and rescue and funds solicitation and dog placement. I just think she’s disorganized and possibly embarrassed because, frankly, it is a nice place, and it’s probably “gone to the dogs”. Which I’m no one to judge, have been in an almost transient state in my current house for the past couple of years.
I just question her skills at identifying, and knowing what is best for this dog based on her reccomendations and rescue of difficult dogs background. But, we are a rural area with plenty of communication (er, gossip) happening. If she is trouble, it will probably become apparent sooner than later. But considering the owners who donated the house, I wouldn’t think they would if she was.
Keeping fingers crossed, and my friend has made this decision, doesn’t seem movable, I don’t have any valid reason to interfere.
Although my friend has repeatedly said “I hope this works so I can get her back” - the length of the time apart ok’d, and no response to having had the dog examined by a vet, or blood work done ahead of time, does not have me comfortable with their decisions. But it is NOT my dog. :rolleyes:
Thanks, Wendy. I’ll keep that book in mind if/when I eventually send other stuff I have for my friend to review if she makes an about face - especially with your success, it sounds like a good option.
Their are really a lot of certain dog issues we have encountered and will encounter with our dogs (specially aggressiveness). It happened to me and, almost gave up on mine cause I think my dog has a really severe aggressiveness. I’ve hired types and sorts of dog trainers, bought some books etc… but, nothing worked! I turned on the web for some answers and… I finally did. I would highly recommend – (dogtrainingasleader.com). Their methods totally worked and has helped me in solving other issues with my dog as well. Thumbs up!
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