Thank you for your reply Lindsay and please thank your friend for her comments also.
I do believe that at least one member of this group needs to start her own group and label it "Only PERFECT Cockapoos Allowed." Or, maybe we should start another group where all Cockapoo issues can be discussed without the fear of being labeled bad parents if there are problems that we'd like to discuss. --- In [email protected], "Lindsay" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I thought I had posted this earlier but for some reason it hasn't > shown up. I took the liberty to contact a friend of mine who was a > Vet Tech in a very progressive Vet's office about aggression in dogs > and here's what she said: > > It depends on what the aggressive behaviors are, but some of those are > learned behaviors and I believe some are congenital. I know that the > obedience gurus and Cesar Milan say there are no bad dogs- just bad > owners; > but I have truly seen some dogs who were just a challenge! I had one > patient, a German Shepherd, and we started seeing him when he was > just 8 > weeks old. This dog had some very bad temperment/aggression problems > by the > time we saw him at 12 weeks. The owner did everything right- she took > him to > many classes, socialized him, brought him by the clinic just to visit, > worked with a behavior specialist and by the time this dog was 18 > months > old, she ended up having to put him to sleep. He had bitten over 10 > people > in those 18 months, the last time was her elderly father. The bite was > unprovoked and the father ended up in the hospital due to the > severity of > the bites. So- there was a case of the dog was just not right! I have > never > cried as much as I did that day, but I agreed with the owner- she did > everything that she could and this still turned out to be just a bad > dog. > > I am not sure why thyroid was suggested to be checked. Usually with > hypothyroidism we see lethargy, weight gain, hair pattern loss, > occaisionally seizures. Aggression is not a typical symptom. It is a > very > rare case that we see hyperthyroidism and the symptoms for that are > generally massive weight loss, loose stools, hunger that is out of > control > (this is mostly in cats that we see hyperthyroidism). > > It would be interesting to see what the exact aggressions are. If > they are > food or toy agressions, behavior modification would be in order. > Training is > always a good thing. Consulting with a behavior veterinarian may be > called > for. Medications/behavior modification go hand in hand in some cases > also. > If it is dominance that is a problem- there are many things you can > do to > try to curb that. Make sure the dog does not go out the door before > you do, > feed the dog in a crate, do not let the dog sit on the couch or sleep > with > the humans, make the dog sit before each treat, do not let the dog > get into > a staring contest and win with the human, if the dog puts a paw over > your > arm- take it off...do not let the dog be "top dog" if that makes > sense. Just > reinforce that the dog is a dog and the humans are in charge. > > Hope this helps somewhat. I sent her another email explaining the > aggression so waiting to hear back from her again. > > I have to say I was taken aback by some of the responses to this > thread as to me, anyway, they came off as being not so nice or > supportive but more accusatory. > Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cockapoo/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cockapoo/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
