Hello, a year ago we bougth an Akita puppy, a long coat one; before
the buy we read and prepared with traning books and pages about
Akitas. We didn't succeede, we he was one year and two months old
started growling my mother (we live together), there was not a clear
reason for us to this behaviour and we punished him leaving him alone
for some hours, finally days after he bited her in the hand and and
stomach, there were not strong bites more like advices to stay way.
We know that our dog was not a problematic violent dog and was
something that we didn't do rigth the couse of this problem but we
still don't know exactly what was the mistake o mistakes.
A trainer and the vet. told us to sleep him, I contacted the trainer
of police dogs in my city thinking that he could accept him but he
refused totally and I had no choice.

Any comments will be clarifier for us.

In rec.pets.dogs.behavior Gh0st1n5h3ll wrote:
Hello, a year ago we bougth an Akita puppy, a long coat one; before
the buy we read and prepared with traning books and pages about
Akitas. We didn't succeede, we he was one year and two months old
started growling my mother (we live together), there was not a clear
reason for us to this behaviour and we punished him leaving him alone
for some hours, finally days after he bited her in the hand and and
stomach, there were not strong bites more like advices to stay way.
We know that our dog was not a problematic violent dog and was
something that we didn't do rigth the couse of this problem but we
still don't know exactly what was the mistake o mistakes.
A trainer and the vet. told us to sleep him, I contacted the trainer
of police dogs in my city thinking that he could accept him but he
refused totally and I had no choice.

Any comments will be clarifier for us.

I think what you are asking is "what went wrong"? Please do not be
offended by my answers. They are not intended to make you feel bad. They
are not calling you a bad person, nor are the answers mean you were
stupid. I'm just going to answer simply because I think it will be more
clear that way.

When your dog was a puppy did you go to training classes with a trainer
who could teach you how to train your dog? If not, that was a mistake.

When your dog was older did you continue in training classes so that you
could improve your skills, ask questions, and practice? If not, that was
a mistake.

It was a mistake to think that the dog would understand being put away
for hours as punishment for bad behavior. It was a good idea not to use
confrontational methods. So you did that part right. But hours was too
long and the message gets lost. An excellent video tape for learning
non-confrontational ways to deal with a dog is John Rogerson's "The
Dominent Dog".

Did you meet the mother of this dog? And was she well behaved? If you
did not meet her or if she was not well behaved with the owner, that
would be a mistake.

I don't really have to ask if you made a mistake about the person you got
the dog from, you did. Most people have never heard of a "responsible
breeder" and most people don't know how to find one. But that is what
you needed. A responsible breeder would have (a) interviewed you before
selling you a puppy, to make sure you really did understand the breed (b)
kept in contact with you to find out how things were going, and to offer
advice and help, (c) been there to take the dog back when it became clear
you couldn't handle the dog.

Most people make a lot of mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes matter and
sometimes they don't. Sadly, in your case, they mattered. If a good
trainer could have seen you interacting with the dog when it was young,
and before it started the problem behavior, it is possible that they
could have shown you some of those mistakes. Lots of the time people
allow puppies to do things that they should not because in a puppy it is
cute. Not so cute when the dog gets big. Lots of the time people are
not consistent with what they want the dog to do or not do. It is not a
big deal with a docile dog, but it can be a very big deal for the dog
that wants to control. Many people do not work enough on grooming. They
think of it as only needed to keep the coat in good shape. But grooming
is a big part of social bonding and especially in bossy breeds regular
gentle grooming can really help the dog-human relationship.


Diane Blackman

In rec.pets.dogs.behavior Gh0st1n5h3ll wrote:
Hello, a year ago we bougth an Akita puppy, a long coat one; before
the buy we read and prepared with traning books and pages about
Akitas. We didn't succeede, we he was one year and two months old
started growling my mother (we live together), there was not a clear
reason for us to this behaviour and we punished him leaving him alone
for some hours, finally days after he bited her in the hand and and
stomach, there were not strong bites more like advices to stay way.
We know that our dog was not a problematic violent dog and was
something that we didn't do rigth the couse of this problem but we
still don't know exactly what was the mistake o mistakes.
A trainer and the vet. told us to sleep him, I contacted the trainer
of police dogs in my city thinking that he could accept him but he
refused totally and I had no choice.

Any comments will be clarifier for us.

I think what you are asking is "what went wrong"? Please do not be
offended by my answers. They are not intended to make you feel bad. They
are not calling you a bad person, nor are the answers mean you were
stupid. I'm just going to answer simply because I think it will be more
clear that way.

When your dog was a puppy did you go to training classes with a trainer
who could teach you how to train your dog? If not, that was a mistake.

When your dog was older did you continue in training classes so that you
could improve your skills, ask questions, and practice? If not, that was
a mistake.

It was a mistake to think that the dog would understand being put away
for hours as punishment for bad behavior. It was a good idea not to use
confrontational methods. So you did that part right. But hours was too
long and the message gets lost. An excellent video tape for learning
non-confrontational ways to deal with a dog is John Rogerson's "The
Dominent Dog".

Did you meet the mother of this dog? And was she well behaved? If you
did not meet her or if she was not well behaved with the owner, that
would be a mistake.

I don't really have to ask if you made a mistake about the person you got
the dog from, you did. Most people have never heard of a "responsible
breeder" and most people don't know how to find one. But that is what
you needed. A responsible breeder would have (a) interviewed you before
selling you a puppy, to make sure you really did understand the breed (b)
kept in contact with you to find out how things were going, and to offer
advice and help, (c) been there to take the dog back when it became clear
you couldn't handle the dog.

Most people make a lot of mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes matter and
sometimes they don't. Sadly, in your case, they mattered. If a good
trainer could have seen you interacting with the dog when it was young,
and before it started the problem behavior, it is possible that they
could have shown you some of those mistakes. Lots of the time people
allow puppies to do things that they should not because in a puppy it is
cute. Not so cute when the dog gets big. Lots of the time people are
not consistent with what they want the dog to do or not do. It is not a
big deal with a docile dog, but it can be a very big deal for the dog
that wants to control. Many people do not work enough on grooming. They
think of it as only needed to keep the coat in good shape. But grooming
is a big part of social bonding and especially in bossy breeds regular
gentle grooming can really help the dog-human relationship.


Diane Blackman

In rec.pets.dogs.behavior Gh0st1n5h3ll wrote:
Hello, a year ago we bougth an Akita puppy, a long coat one; before
the buy we read and prepared with traning books and pages about
Akitas. We didn't succeede, we he was one year and two months old
started growling my mother (we live together), there was not a clear
reason for us to this behaviour and we punished him leaving him alone
for some hours, finally days after he bited her in the hand and and
stomach, there were not strong bites more like advices to stay way.
We know that our dog was not a problematic violent dog and was
something that we didn't do rigth the couse of this problem but we
still don't know exactly what was the mistake o mistakes.
A trainer and the vet. told us to sleep him, I contacted the trainer
of police dogs in my city thinking that he could accept him but he
refused totally and I had no choice.

Any comments will be clarifier for us.

I think what you are asking is "what went wrong"? Please do not be
offended by my answers. They are not intended to make you feel bad. They
are not calling you a bad person, nor are the answers mean you were
stupid. I'm just going to answer simply because I think it will be more
clear that way.

When your dog was a puppy did you go to training classes with a trainer
who could teach you how to train your dog? If not, that was a mistake.

When your dog was older did you continue in training classes so that you
could improve your skills, ask questions, and practice? If not, that was
a mistake.

It was a mistake to think that the dog would understand being put away
for hours as punishment for bad behavior. It was a good idea not to use
confrontational methods. So you did that part right. But hours was too
long and the message gets lost. An excellent video tape for learning
non-confrontational ways to deal with a dog is John Rogerson's "The
Dominent Dog".

Did you meet the mother of this dog? And was she well behaved? If you
did not meet her or if she was not well behaved with the owner, that
would be a mistake.

I don't really have to ask if you made a mistake about the person you got
the dog from, you did. Most people have never heard of a "responsible
breeder" and most people don't know how to find one. But that is what
you needed. A responsible breeder would have (a) interviewed you before
selling you a puppy, to make sure you really did understand the breed (b)
kept in contact with you to find out how things were going, and to offer
advice and help, (c) been there to take the dog back when it became clear
you couldn't handle the dog.

Most people make a lot of mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes matter and
sometimes they don't. Sadly, in your case, they mattered. If a good
trainer could have seen you interacting with the dog when it was young,
and before it started the problem behavior, it is possible that they
could have shown you some of those mistakes. Lots of the time people
allow puppies to do things that they should not because in a puppy it is
cute. Not so cute when the dog gets big. Lots of the time people are
not consistent with what they want the dog to do or not do. It is not a
big deal with a docile dog, but it can be a very big deal for the dog
that wants to control. Many people do not work enough on grooming. They
think of it as only needed to keep the coat in good shape. But grooming
is a big part of social bonding and especially in bossy breeds regular
gentle grooming can really help the dog-human relationship.


Diane Blackman

In rec.pets.dogs.behavior Gh0st1n5h3ll wrote:
Hello, a year ago we bougth an Akita puppy, a long coat one; before
the buy we read and prepared with traning books and pages about
Akitas. We didn't succeede, we he was one year and two months old
started growling my mother (we live together), there was not a clear
reason for us to this behaviour and we punished him leaving him alone
for some hours, finally days after he bited her in the hand and and
stomach, there were not strong bites more like advices to stay way.
We know that our dog was not a problematic violent dog and was
something that we didn't do rigth the couse of this problem but we
still don't know exactly what was the mistake o mistakes.
A trainer and the vet. told us to sleep him, I contacted the trainer
of police dogs in my city thinking that he could accept him but he
refused totally and I had no choice.

Any comments will be clarifier for us.

I think what you are asking is "what went wrong"? Please do not be
offended by my answers. They are not intended to make you feel bad. They
are not calling you a bad person, nor are the answers mean you were
stupid. I'm just going to answer simply because I think it will be more
clear that way.

When your dog was a puppy did you go to training classes with a trainer
who could teach you how to train your dog? If not, that was a mistake.

When your dog was older did you continue in training classes so that you
could improve your skills, ask questions, and practice? If not, that was
a mistake.

It was a mistake to think that the dog would understand being put away
for hours as punishment for bad behavior. It was a good idea not to use
confrontational methods. So you did that part right. But hours was too
long and the message gets lost. An excellent video tape for learning
non-confrontational ways to deal with a dog is John Rogerson's "The
Dominent Dog".

Did you meet the mother of this dog? And was she well behaved? If you
did not meet her or if she was not well behaved with the owner, that
would be a mistake.

I don't really have to ask if you made a mistake about the person you got
the dog from, you did. Most people have never heard of a "responsible
breeder" and most people don't know how to find one. But that is what
you needed. A responsible breeder would have (a) interviewed you before
selling you a puppy, to make sure you really did understand the breed (b)
kept in contact with you to find out how things were going, and to offer
advice and help, (c) been there to take the dog back when it became clear
you couldn't handle the dog.

Most people make a lot of mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes matter and
sometimes they don't. Sadly, in your case, they mattered. If a good
trainer could have seen you interacting with the dog when it was young,
and before it started the problem behavior, it is possible that they
could have shown you some of those mistakes. Lots of the time people
allow puppies to do things that they should not because in a puppy it is
cute. Not so cute when the dog gets big. Lots of the time people are
not consistent with what they want the dog to do or not do. It is not a
big deal with a docile dog, but it can be a very big deal for the dog
that wants to control. Many people do not work enough on grooming. They
think of it as only needed to keep the coat in good shape. But grooming
is a big part of social bonding and especially in bossy breeds regular
gentle grooming can really help the dog-human relationship.


Diane Blackman

"Gh0st1n5h3ll" wrote in message
om...
Hello, a year ago we bougth an Akita puppy, a long coat one; before
the buy we read and prepared with traning books and pages about
Akitas. We didn't succeede, we he was one year and two months old
started growling my mother (we live together), there was not a clear
reason for us to this behaviour and we punished him leaving him alone
for some hours, finally days after he bited her in the hand and and
stomach, there were not strong bites more like advices to stay way.
We know that our dog was not a problematic violent dog and was
something that we didn't do rigth the couse of this problem but we
still don't know exactly what was the mistake o mistakes.
A trainer and the vet. told us to sleep him, I contacted the trainer
of police dogs in my city thinking that he could accept him but he
refused totally and I had no choice.

Any comments will be clarifier for us.

Obviously it's difficult to know the "why" of your dog's behaviour.
My first thoughts would be..
Did you purchase this dog from a responsible breeder who is very careful
about the temperament of the dogs he/she breeds?
Akitas are unfortunately now pumped out by the thousands by IRresponsible
breeders who are breeding purely for $$$ and because of late, there has been
a great demand for the breed.
Our local newsreader recently had her face badly disfigured by an Akita she
had known very well for years.
Tell us about the breeder of your dog.
Do they show their stock, test for genetic problems, belong to Akita Clubs
etc.?
Did they spend a lot of time telling you about the breed?
Did they tell you that an Akita isn't most usually the best choice of breed
for a novice dog owner?
Did they suggest very strongly that you should take your dog through an
obedience course?
Did you see and meet the Sire and Dam?
Were they nicely temperamented?
Did they offer help with ,grooming, training etc?
How did you choose your puppy?
Did the breeder match you up with what they considered the best puppy for
you?
If he's not neutered - why not?
Was he a dominant puppy?
Do you think you have encouraged his dominancy?
Did you allow him to get away with being aggressive as a pup?
How much obedience training has he had?
How much intereaction has he had with other people?
What was your Mother doing when he bit her?
I tend to feel you are making a slight excuse for the strength of the bite
by saying "it was not a "strong" bite"
Doesn't matter what kind of a bite it was - he's a biter. Next time it could
be much, much worse. You realise now that this dog can never, ever be left
alone with another human being?
There "are" steps one can take with a dominant dog - which is what your guy
is. Know that most dominant dogs, become very much moreso upon sexual
maturity - especially if they have not been very carefully obedience trained
and know where their place lies in the family group.
If he's not neutered - do that now.
Start doing some serious homework to find a very good trainer in your area
who will work with you and your dog to "re" train him.
It will take some very committed work from you and it will be something
which you will probably have to keep up for his entire life.
If you are not willing to do this, then yes you might have to consider
putting him to sleep. I never suggest people "find another home" for such a
dog. It's basically just giving someone else the problem and is possibly
putting their lives in danger. He "is" your responsibility and I feel you
understand that and are indeed trying to do the best you can.
There are too many good dogs needing homes for most people with good
intentions to consider taking your dog on now.
The police wouldn't consider such a dog. Working police/military dogs are
never dogs which just "bite". They are chosen for their stable temperament
and trainability.
EGD

"Gh0st1n5h3ll" wrote in message
om...
Hello, a year ago we bougth an Akita puppy, a long coat one; before
the buy we read and prepared with traning books and pages about
Akitas. We didn't succeede, we he was one year and two months old
started growling my mother (we live together), there was not a clear
reason for us to this behaviour and we punished him leaving him alone
for some hours, finally days after he bited her in the hand and and
stomach, there were not strong bites more like advices to stay way.
We know that our dog was not a problematic violent dog and was
something that we didn't do rigth the couse of this problem but we
still don't know exactly what was the mistake o mistakes.
A trainer and the vet. told us to sleep him, I contacted the trainer
of police dogs in my city thinking that he could accept him but he
refused totally and I had no choice.

Any comments will be clarifier for us.

Obviously it's difficult to know the "why" of your dog's behaviour.
My first thoughts would be..
Did you purchase this dog from a responsible breeder who is very careful
about the temperament of the dogs he/she breeds?
Akitas are unfortunately now pumped out by the thousands by IRresponsible
breeders who are breeding purely for $$$ and because of late, there has been
a great demand for the breed.
Our local newsreader recently had her face badly disfigured by an Akita she
had known very well for years.
Tell us about the breeder of your dog.
Do they show their stock, test for genetic problems, belong to Akita Clubs
etc.?
Did they spend a lot of time telling you about the breed?
Did they tell you that an Akita isn't most usually the best choice of breed
for a novice dog owner?
Did they suggest very strongly that you should take your dog through an
obedience course?
Did you see and meet the Sire and Dam?
Were they nicely temperamented?
Did they offer help with ,grooming, training etc?
How did you choose your puppy?
Did the breeder match you up with what they considered the best puppy for
you?
If he's not neutered - why not?
Was he a dominant puppy?
Do you think you have encouraged his dominancy?
Did you allow him to get away with being aggressive as a pup?
How much obedience training has he had?
How much intereaction has he had with other people?
What was your Mother doing when he bit her?
I tend to feel you are making a slight excuse for the strength of the bite
by saying "it was not a "strong" bite"
Doesn't matter what kind of a bite it was - he's a biter. Next time it could
be much, much worse. You realise now that this dog can never, ever be left
alone with another human being?
There "are" steps one can take with a dominant dog - which is what your guy
is. Know that most dominant dogs, become very much moreso upon sexual
maturity - especially if they have not been very carefully obedience trained
and know where their place lies in the family group.
If he's not neutered - do that now.
Start doing some serious homework to find a very good trainer in your area
who will work with you and your dog to "re" train him.
It will take some very committed work from you and it will be something
which you will probably have to keep up for his entire life.
If you are not willing to do this, then yes you might have to consider
putting him to sleep. I never suggest people "find another home" for such a
dog. It's basically just giving someone else the problem and is possibly
putting their lives in danger. He "is" your responsibility and I feel you
understand that and are indeed trying to do the best you can.
There are too many good dogs needing homes for most people with good
intentions to consider taking your dog on now.
The police wouldn't consider such a dog. Working police/military dogs are
never dogs which just "bite". They are chosen for their stable temperament
and trainability.
EGD

"Gh0st1n5h3ll" wrote in message
om...
Hello, a year ago we bougth an Akita puppy, a long coat one; before
the buy we read and prepared with traning books and pages about
Akitas. We didn't succeede, we he was one year and two months old
started growling my mother (we live together), there was not a clear
reason for us to this behaviour and we punished him leaving him alone
for some hours, finally days after he bited her in the hand and and
stomach, there were not strong bites more like advices to stay way.
We know that our dog was not a problematic violent dog and was
something that we didn't do rigth the couse of this problem but we
still don't know exactly what was the mistake o mistakes.
A trainer and the vet. told us to sleep him, I contacted the trainer
of police dogs in my city thinking that he could accept him but he
refused totally and I had no choice.

Any comments will be clarifier for us.

Obviously it's difficult to know the "why" of your dog's behaviour.
My first thoughts would be..
Did you purchase this dog from a responsible breeder who is very careful
about the temperament of the dogs he/she breeds?
Akitas are unfortunately now pumped out by the thousands by IRresponsible
breeders who are breeding purely for $$$ and because of late, there has been
a great demand for the breed.
Our local newsreader recently had her face badly disfigured by an Akita she
had known very well for years.
Tell us about the breeder of your dog.
Do they show their stock, test for genetic problems, belong to Akita Clubs
etc.?
Did they spend a lot of time telling you about the breed?
Did they tell you that an Akita isn't most usually the best choice of breed
for a novice dog owner?
Did they suggest very strongly that you should take your dog through an
obedience course?
Did you see and meet the Sire and Dam?
Were they nicely temperamented?
Did they offer help with ,grooming, training etc?
How did you choose your puppy?
Did the breeder match you up with what they considered the best puppy for
you?
If he's not neutered - why not?
Was he a dominant puppy?
Do you think you have encouraged his dominancy?
Did you allow him to get away with being aggressive as a pup?
How much obedience training has he had?
How much intereaction has he had with other people?
What was your Mother doing when he bit her?
I tend to feel you are making a slight excuse for the strength of the bite
by saying "it was not a "strong" bite"
Doesn't matter what kind of a bite it was - he's a biter. Next time it could
be much, much worse. You realise now that this dog can never, ever be left
alone with another human being?
There "are" steps one can take with a dominant dog - which is what your guy
is. Know that most dominant dogs, become very much moreso upon sexual
maturity - especially if they have not been very carefully obedience trained
and know where their place lies in the family group.
If he's not neutered - do that now.
Start doing some serious homework to find a very good trainer in your area
who will work with you and your dog to "re" train him.
It will take some very committed work from you and it will be something
which you will probably have to keep up for his entire life.
If you are not willing to do this, then yes you might have to consider
putting him to sleep. I never suggest people "find another home" for such a
dog. It's basically just giving someone else the problem and is possibly
putting their lives in danger. He "is" your responsibility and I feel you
understand that and are indeed trying to do the best you can.
There are too many good dogs needing homes for most people with good
intentions to consider taking your dog on now.
The police wouldn't consider such a dog. Working police/military dogs are
never dogs which just "bite". They are chosen for their stable temperament
and trainability.
EGD

"Gh0st1n5h3ll" wrote in message
om...
Hello, a year ago we bougth an Akita puppy, a long coat one; before
the buy we read and prepared with traning books and pages about
Akitas. We didn't succeede, we he was one year and two months old
started growling my mother (we live together), there was not a clear
reason for us to this behaviour and we punished him leaving him alone
for some hours, finally days after he bited her in the hand and and
stomach, there were not strong bites more like advices to stay way.
We know that our dog was not a problematic violent dog and was
something that we didn't do rigth the couse of this problem but we
still don't know exactly what was the mistake o mistakes.
A trainer and the vet. told us to sleep him, I contacted the trainer
of police dogs in my city thinking that he could accept him but he
refused totally and I had no choice.

Any comments will be clarifier for us.

Obviously it's difficult to know the "why" of your dog's behaviour.
My first thoughts would be..
Did you purchase this dog from a responsible breeder who is very careful
about the temperament of the dogs he/she breeds?
Akitas are unfortunately now pumped out by the thousands by IRresponsible
breeders who are breeding purely for $$$ and because of late, there has been
a great demand for the breed.
Our local newsreader recently had her face badly disfigured by an Akita she
had known very well for years.
Tell us about the breeder of your dog.
Do they show their stock, test for genetic problems, belong to Akita Clubs
etc.?
Did they spend a lot of time telling you about the breed?
Did they tell you that an Akita isn't most usually the best choice of breed
for a novice dog owner?
Did they suggest very strongly that you should take your dog through an
obedience course?
Did you see and meet the Sire and Dam?
Were they nicely temperamented?
Did they offer help with ,grooming, training etc?
How did you choose your puppy?
Did the breeder match you up with what they considered the best puppy for
you?
If he's not neutered - why not?
Was he a dominant puppy?
Do you think you have encouraged his dominancy?
Did you allow him to get away with being aggressive as a pup?
How much obedience training has he had?
How much intereaction has he had with other people?
What was your Mother doing when he bit her?
I tend to feel you are making a slight excuse for the strength of the bite
by saying "it was not a "strong" bite"
Doesn't matter what kind of a bite it was - he's a biter. Next time it could
be much, much worse. You realise now that this dog can never, ever be left
alone with another human being?
There "are" steps one can take with a dominant dog - which is what your guy
is. Know that most dominant dogs, become very much moreso upon sexual
maturity - especially if they have not been very carefully obedience trained
and know where their place lies in the family group.
If he's not neutered - do that now.
Start doing some serious homework to find a very good trainer in your area
who will work with you and your dog to "re" train him.
It will take some very committed work from you and it will be something
which you will probably have to keep up for his entire life.
If you are not willing to do this, then yes you might have to consider
putting him to sleep. I never suggest people "find another home" for such a
dog. It's basically just giving someone else the problem and is possibly
putting their lives in danger. He "is" your responsibility and I feel you
understand that and are indeed trying to do the best you can.
There are too many good dogs needing homes for most people with good
intentions to consider taking your dog on now.
The police wouldn't consider such a dog. Working police/military dogs are
never dogs which just "bite". They are chosen for their stable temperament
and trainability.
EGD

In rec.pets.dogs.behavior EGD wrote:

"Gh0st1n5h3ll" wrote in message
A trainer and the vet. told us to sleep him, I contacted the trainer
of police dogs in my city thinking that he could accept him but he
refused totally and I had no choice.

Any comments will be clarifier for us.

Obviously it's difficult to know the "why" of your dog's behaviour.

snip
Doesn't matter what kind of a bite it was - he's a biter. Next time it could
be much, much worse. You realise now that this dog can never, ever be left
alone with another human being?

Um EGD? I'm reasonably certain they are seeking information about what
went wrong, but that it is too late to take corrective action with this
particular dog. Note the consistent use of the past tense "was" iin
refernce to the dog. I could be wrong but that's the way I read it.
snip

Diane Blackman