I’ve trained many dogs , a few aggressive reactive dogs .
There comes a time when you have to realize the dog has mental issues. Would not take this long to overcome “trauma “ he has had.
Your a good man for doing what you are . I could not . Any of MY DOGS bit me it would be bullet to the head and burial time .
Cool to see how hard and committed to this you are , I hope it ends well and you still have fingers and toes left when it’s over
Professionals who’ve worked with him have all said the same thing, he’s showing extreme aggression due to fear based reactivity. Blaming the dog for “mental issues” ignores the context of his life and abuse he’s gone through. Considering he’s still going through a traumatic experience in his mind, how can you jump to the conclusion he’s had enough time to get over it?
Which is why most people shouldn’t take reactive/aggressive dogs as they take a lot of patience and specific skills to work with to recondition their issues. What this experience has taught me is how little most people actually understand dogs, including the two trainers I’ve used so far who’s recommendations were counter productive and created new triggers. Dogs bite if they aren’t socialized and taught how to behave or as a protection at the extreme of being physically abused. Maki definitely wasn’t properly socialized and no one knows what he’s gone through as he’s be rehomed multiple times, seeing his original owners in between which adds another layer of trauma. They blamed him for his aggression without acknowledging how they failed to train him. Which is why I took him; no one recognized his issues or was consciously addressing them but then blamed him once he got triggered. That’s unethical and immature, I’ve made mistakes with Maki and triggered him causing him to bite me but I at least acknowledge that, accept responsibility for my part and don’t take the easy road of blaming him for things outside his control. Probably half the times I’ve triggered him are because his owners failed to tell me what his triggers were as they didn’t have enough experience to recognize them as issues. How can you blame the dog for the shitty things his owners did because they didn’t have the experience and bought a very challenging breed as their first dogs?
My only commitment is to do what’s best for hum, I was ready to put him down last week based on his refusal to continue working and growing aggression as that would have been the humane thing to do for him and the responsible thing to do to protect anyone else from getting hurt. Now that’s he’s working with me again and showing less aggression or fear on a daily basis, it’s only logical to keep working with him since he’s still trying to work with me. I wasn’t afraid of him when he was biting and latching onto me and dangling off my limbs (level 4 bites), so I’m not worried about losing any fingers or toes now that his bite severity with me is dropping. That suggests that he’s bonded enough with me that even when triggered part of his brain doesnt see me as a threat. Especially as I’ve simply taken to wearing foot and hand protection when needed to keep myself safe. Having dealt with an aggressive/reactive 115lbs German Sheppard, a 30lbs fox-dog is easy to handle despite his high reactivity because his size limits how much damage he can do. By focusing on the issues instead of my reaction to them, I’ve got him starting to growl more instead of jumping straight to violence. As he was likely conditioned as a puppy not to growl/snarl, he hasn’t known how to communicate he’s not happy; so teaching him to growl before getting triggered is progress. The more I ditch traditional method based on dominance based conditioning, the more positively he responds and easier it is to work together.
What a crew. That’s gotta be a full time e job
just checked this thread and it seems that smokers love the cats more than dogs, don’t they?
I have 3 cats and 2 dogs. I had 3 dogs, but lost one recently.
I mostly post my cats in this thread - Cats of OG let’s see those kitty pics
But it doesn’t matter where you post pics of your animal friends really
I think you will find many people around here are just animal lovers period.
nice pack of woofers
That’s a great looking kitty you have there
I love the bluish color of Gray cats. This is Lord Charles Gray; he is the sweetest cat ever, except to other cats 
OMG, he looks like he is wearing a little tuxedo! Great shot!
Lord Charles Grey, looks… Regal
We also have a Blue/Grey from the Humaine Society, She abstains…
Funny how finnicky cats can be to one another
Gunner simply Belongs
Indeed! He is called Lord Charles for a reason He is regal AF. My girl says the way he sits makes it seem like he is British royalty 
…and he sort of raises his nose at you when he looks.
I can’t stand their territorial pissings, but thats the nature of animals. Too bad so many humans who claim to not be animals act this way.
It’s been a tough read going thru this thread knowing that eventually I’d come to this post. I am so sorry @Floyd , cancer truly is a bitter devourer.
In time you’ll find another baby that needs you. Sammy had such a blessed life with you and your family, the love was very evident! Glad you got the extra years together.
Hopeful for a bright new beginning at the right time with the next fur baby.
, went to a trip in the mountains… 
