[Wally31]

Well he is much more obedient than he was that is for sure. He is coming around to the idea that there are rules that will be inforced at all cost but really dislikes it. I am doing most of it but my girlfriend does some as well. I only have the girl do "sit" so far and we are right there to support her. He is doing well for her. He will sit right away most times, he holds out on her occationally and I help her make him sit. He loves her and respects her almost as much as us, just not when it comes to bones. I think in the same situation he would have bit my girlfriend and he would have thought about it for quite a while but would have bit me as well. He feels I am dominant but challenges it frequently because of what we allowed unknowingly before.


The part that bothers me the most is I was sitting three feet away when he bit the girl and was not able to do anything because there was no time and he never growled. Yet another example of our lack of knowledge (by the way when I say "our" I mean me) When he growled I scolded him thinking I would send the message not to bite but what I really did was train him not to growl. He growls again now but it took a little over a week for him to get it back.

I think in another week we will see a little more progression and the week after more but it will be slow. He really is trying to hold on to doing what he wants to do but you can see his frustration and that he knows he is losing. The part that makes me feel good though is that after he has lost a step and gives in to the command after a hard fought tussel he licks my chin. He really is a loving dog we just didn't know we were confusing him in the scale of rank.

He gets no bones at this point and he is hand fed one meal by me, one by the girl (with supervision of course), and one with my girlfriend. We are taking our time to get back to the bowl. I would like to set a hard line example so he does not cross it again. I am planning for hand feeding for a minimum of three weeks. He has responded well to that but it is not much different than giving him a treat really.

He did well for a long time, he only started growling two weeks before the bite. We are going to do some heavy trading when we build back up to bowl status with any actual amount of food quantity. I want it to be like picking up the morning news when you pick up his bowl when he is eating. He will only get a few kibbles at a time for the first few weeks when he gets the bowl back. I am really not going to rush this at all, I want to send a crystal clear message.

Since the bite I have done a lot of research. I still don't understand some of what I have read and have heard many different ideas of what to do. I am not sure what direction to take and when to do it sometimes but that is why I am here.

We have our first meet with the behaviorist Friday at six and that should help quite a lot. The other good part is I am having surgery on Jan. 4th and will be home with him for two weeks and if the behaviorist says it is required the training can get intense. I feel we will claim victory in the end.