I had a fear biter. We got him from a BYB. He was never abused, however, because of his bad breeding, bad puppy experience, and our lack of how to help him, there were times he would act as though he had been abused.
We gave him nothing but love and the only discipline was a sharp word NO etc... but bathtime was a nightmare, he growled, snarled, acted though we were killing him. He had to be muzzled. Toenail trimming was the same. This is why temperament is of the utmost importance. Things never got better with him, and it hurt us terribly to see him act like that. He was not mentally stable, and the end result was heartbreaking.
So here you have a dog, that was treated as best as possible, but yet could not overcome his demons. I have seen many abused dogs on the TV shows, that have had horrible lives, yet come out to greet the officers with nothing more than someone happy to see them.
Temperament and nerves are EVERYTHING.
