Hi Everyone,
Sorry for not coming back to you all sooner with an update, I was working very hard on finding behaviourists and with Kane.
Firstly thanks for all your comments, even though I must say some did seem quite harsh!
but not to worry, I did respect what each one of you said.
Well - heres a turn around for the better. Kane is found to have no bad temperament, he was not even found to be dominant natured or showing signs of dominance.
It turned out that (a) his sickness has been a contributing factor to his behaviour and (b) he only seemed to show aggressive behaviour when he was corrected with scruff shaking etc...
I had 4 different 'bodies' check him out including my trainer (who kindly stated that if he ever thought I had an aggressive or dominant pup on my hands he would be the first to take it on board to advise to rehome him with him).
I know how strongly some of you feel re scruff shaking and that it is a good correction method however, every person that I consulted believed that 'aggression breeds aggression' and that he became very defensive when corrected this way. I was told that I was doing it correctly however, as people, dogs have very different characters and what works for one does not mean it will work for another and with that, dogs will react differently but does not mean that they have a bad temperament. Well - thats what I was told anyway.
You may all be pleased to know that I am NOT a QUITTER and since, Kane has been an absolute diamond
. I have arranged for the trainer to have a 1-2-1 inhouse session once a week at my house plus his weekly classes at the training school 'just' to be on the safe side and to ensure I (and the family) are doing things correctly - I see it as the training is for me and my awareness. It is costly however, worth every penny to ensure I have an obedient dog who proves to be a positive contribution to the community rather then a 'threat'.
Kane also now has a very good friend who we arrange to meet up at the park with on a daily basis and they play really well together. And yep, his friend just happens to be another rottie male pup who is only 2 weeks older then him.
Its hilarious to see his stub wag so hard when he sees Zeus (other rottie) in the park waiting for him where I park my car!
Anyway guys - It feels so good to be able to come back with positive results. It has been a huge eye opener and learning experience for me and I'm so glad I didn't just 'give up', I suppose if he was older I would have thought differently but as many of you mentioned (and I thought to), what kind of problems could a 14 week old pup really be demonstrating.
I will of course keep you all updated as we progress and I truely believe from here on in, my posts will be more on the positive side
For any of you who may be interested to hear, Kane has become an expert in 'speaking'. I've trained him to 'look' at me and then ask him to 'speak' - when he wants a treat his 'speak' is a loud, sharp bark. When its a cuddle or pet he's after, his 'speak' is more of a whiney soft bark. Its amazing how clever these little pups are!!!! and its brilliant as we seem to be able to communicate this way really well and he does really focus (even in the park with other distractions going on)
Again thanks to all of you and of course, German - a special thank you to you for all the support and advice/help you've been giving me over PM's, to have someone believe in me and my ability to turn this situation around really gave me a lot of strength and confidence to do it. I will also try and post pictures of Kane as soon as I can so you can all see what a handsome pup he is.
Eva