The situation: I moved in with my in laws 6 months. They have 2 dogs. The
first dog (definately the alpha dog) has a normally nice disposition. While
she does violently guard food and beds, she is a small pomeranian and I
don't have problem with her.

The second dog though is a small mutt of unknown origin. After living in
the house for 5 months, she treats me as a stranger, snaps at me if I
accidentally get too close to her, growls and bares her teeth at me
constantly. When I leave the house, she tries to attack my ankles.

My in-laws are completely noncompliant about modifying the behavior of the
dogs in any way. This second dog is already a genetic freak. It has never
seen a vet, goes ballistic if ever put on a leash, and is not spayed. I
have the dog to myself a few times per week, so if I am going to do anything
about this, it needs to be possible assuming only sporadic training and
complete noncompliance the other days.

Is anything possible? Or should I just resign myself to getting bitten.
Moving out of the house is not a financial possibility at the moment, nor
will the inlaws get rid of the dog.

I'm at my wits end here, I thought it was temporary when I moved in, but
this dog is showing no signs of letting up in her aggressive behavior.

David

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 03:28:52 -0400, "David H"
wrote:


The situation: I moved in with my in laws 6 months. They have 2 dogs. The
first dog (definately the alpha dog) has a normally nice disposition. While
she does violently guard food and beds, she is a small pomeranian and I
don't have problem with her.

The second dog though is a small mutt of unknown origin. After living in
the house for 5 months, she treats me as a stranger, snaps at me if I
accidentally get too close to her, growls and bares her teeth at me
constantly. When I leave the house, she tries to attack my ankles.

My in-laws are completely noncompliant about modifying the behavior of the
dogs in any way. This second dog is already a genetic freak. It has never
seen a vet, goes ballistic if ever put on a leash, and is not spayed. I
have the dog to myself a few times per week, so if I am going to do anything
about this, it needs to be possible assuming only sporadic training and
complete noncompliance the other days.

Is anything possible? Or should I just resign myself to getting bitten.
Moving out of the house is not a financial possibility at the moment, nor
will the inlaws get rid of the dog.

I'm at my wits end here, I thought it was temporary when I moved in, but
this dog is showing no signs of letting up in her aggressive behavior.

David

Pull your pants on, you TWERP. What do you mean, moving out is not a
financial possibility? Get a ****en job and make it a possibility.
Obviously you don't know how to get along with dogs, and they don't
like you. Maybe they sense that you are a deadbeat.

Charlie

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 03:28:52 -0400, "David H"
wrote:


The situation: I moved in with my in laws 6 months. They have 2 dogs. The
first dog (definately the alpha dog) has a normally nice disposition. While
she does violently guard food and beds, she is a small pomeranian and I
don't have problem with her.

The second dog though is a small mutt of unknown origin. After living in
the house for 5 months, she treats me as a stranger, snaps at me if I
accidentally get too close to her, growls and bares her teeth at me
constantly. When I leave the house, she tries to attack my ankles.

My in-laws are completely noncompliant about modifying the behavior of the
dogs in any way. This second dog is already a genetic freak. It has never
seen a vet, goes ballistic if ever put on a leash, and is not spayed. I
have the dog to myself a few times per week, so if I am going to do anything
about this, it needs to be possible assuming only sporadic training and
complete noncompliance the other days.

Is anything possible? Or should I just resign myself to getting bitten.
Moving out of the house is not a financial possibility at the moment, nor
will the inlaws get rid of the dog.

I'm at my wits end here, I thought it was temporary when I moved in, but
this dog is showing no signs of letting up in her aggressive behavior.

David

Pull your pants on, you TWERP. What do you mean, moving out is not a
financial possibility? Get a ****en job and make it a possibility.
Obviously you don't know how to get along with dogs, and they don't
like you. Maybe they sense that you are a deadbeat.

Charlie

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 03:28:52 -0400, "David H"
wrote:


The situation: I moved in with my in laws 6 months. They have 2 dogs. The
first dog (definately the alpha dog) has a normally nice disposition. While
she does violently guard food and beds, she is a small pomeranian and I
don't have problem with her.

The second dog though is a small mutt of unknown origin. After living in
the house for 5 months, she treats me as a stranger, snaps at me if I
accidentally get too close to her, growls and bares her teeth at me
constantly. When I leave the house, she tries to attack my ankles.

My in-laws are completely noncompliant about modifying the behavior of the
dogs in any way. This second dog is already a genetic freak. It has never
seen a vet, goes ballistic if ever put on a leash, and is not spayed. I
have the dog to myself a few times per week, so if I am going to do anything
about this, it needs to be possible assuming only sporadic training and
complete noncompliance the other days.

Is anything possible? Or should I just resign myself to getting bitten.
Moving out of the house is not a financial possibility at the moment, nor
will the inlaws get rid of the dog.

I'm at my wits end here, I thought it was temporary when I moved in, but
this dog is showing no signs of letting up in her aggressive behavior.

David

Pull your pants on, you TWERP. What do you mean, moving out is not a
financial possibility? Get a ****en job and make it a possibility.
Obviously you don't know how to get along with dogs, and they don't
like you. Maybe they sense that you are a deadbeat.

Charlie

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 03:28:52 -0400, "David H"
wrote:


The situation: I moved in with my in laws 6 months. They have 2 dogs. The
first dog (definately the alpha dog) has a normally nice disposition. While
she does violently guard food and beds, she is a small pomeranian and I
don't have problem with her.

The second dog though is a small mutt of unknown origin. After living in
the house for 5 months, she treats me as a stranger, snaps at me if I
accidentally get too close to her, growls and bares her teeth at me
constantly. When I leave the house, she tries to attack my ankles.

My in-laws are completely noncompliant about modifying the behavior of the
dogs in any way. This second dog is already a genetic freak. It has never
seen a vet, goes ballistic if ever put on a leash, and is not spayed. I
have the dog to myself a few times per week, so if I am going to do anything
about this, it needs to be possible assuming only sporadic training and
complete noncompliance the other days.

Is anything possible? Or should I just resign myself to getting bitten.
Moving out of the house is not a financial possibility at the moment, nor
will the inlaws get rid of the dog.

I'm at my wits end here, I thought it was temporary when I moved in, but
this dog is showing no signs of letting up in her aggressive behavior.

David

Pull your pants on, you TWERP. What do you mean, moving out is not a
financial possibility? Get a ****en job and make it a possibility.
Obviously you don't know how to get along with dogs, and they don't
like you. Maybe they sense that you are a deadbeat.

Charlie

"Charlie Wilkes" wrote in message
Pull your pants on, you TWERP. What do you mean, moving out is not a
financial possibility? Get a ****en job and make it a possibility.

Heh

I'm in med school right now, and the tuition is crushing. Perhaps your
daddy paid for you to get through college, but I have been working for years
and I still haven't saved enough to last through the entire 4 years of med
school, undergrad wiped me out.

Getting my own place is truly financially impossible, unless I quit med
school and got a job in a factory somewhere. Would that be a more sensible
course of action Charlie?

Maybe they sense that you are a deadbeat.

Define deadbeat.

David

"Charlie Wilkes" wrote in message
Pull your pants on, you TWERP. What do you mean, moving out is not a
financial possibility? Get a ****en job and make it a possibility.

Heh

I'm in med school right now, and the tuition is crushing. Perhaps your
daddy paid for you to get through college, but I have been working for years
and I still haven't saved enough to last through the entire 4 years of med
school, undergrad wiped me out.

Getting my own place is truly financially impossible, unless I quit med
school and got a job in a factory somewhere. Would that be a more sensible
course of action Charlie?

Maybe they sense that you are a deadbeat.

Define deadbeat.

David

"Charlie Wilkes" wrote in message
Pull your pants on, you TWERP. What do you mean, moving out is not a
financial possibility? Get a ****en job and make it a possibility.

Heh

I'm in med school right now, and the tuition is crushing. Perhaps your
daddy paid for you to get through college, but I have been working for years
and I still haven't saved enough to last through the entire 4 years of med
school, undergrad wiped me out.

Getting my own place is truly financially impossible, unless I quit med
school and got a job in a factory somewhere. Would that be a more sensible
course of action Charlie?

Maybe they sense that you are a deadbeat.

Define deadbeat.

David

"Charlie Wilkes" wrote in message
Pull your pants on, you TWERP. What do you mean, moving out is not a
financial possibility? Get a ****en job and make it a possibility.

Heh

I'm in med school right now, and the tuition is crushing. Perhaps your
daddy paid for you to get through college, but I have been working for years
and I still haven't saved enough to last through the entire 4 years of med
school, undergrad wiped me out.

Getting my own place is truly financially impossible, unless I quit med
school and got a job in a factory somewhere. Would that be a more sensible
course of action Charlie?

Maybe they sense that you are a deadbeat.

Define deadbeat.

David

Could you get your in-laws to let you be in charge of feeding, walking
and training the dog? If so, once you're in charge, behavior
modification will be easy. You train the dog the way you would any dog
you owned. Come here for advice or get some books or take an obedience
class. What your in-laws do in that situation will become irrelevant.
Even if your in-laws don't put you in charge, you can still start
training the dog every time you interact with it. (He or she? I'm more
comfortable not calling dogs "it.") You don't have to limit the
training sessions to when you're alone with the dog. Training happens
all the time.

Oddly enough, I'd say that the ankle biting when you attempt to leave is
a good sign. It shows some attachment, a not wanting you to go.

--Lia

(This message will invariably be followed by a vicious one from our
resident usenet lunatic. Could you ignore it? The rest of us have him
killfiled. I'm trying to save time.)