BMD w/issues needs help
I just had to write, as many of you know my now 7 month old girl came from a volume breeder (not huge, 10-24 litters a year). We did not know this when we bought her. Her french pedigree and registration papers came last week (the day after she was spayed). We have had behaviour problems with her from day one. We chose this breed for their temperament.. we did not expect to have a hyperactive bite-monster. We love her to bits, we work hard with her everyday to improve her behaviour, we try to avoid trigger things, however we are not experts, if we had known in advance we would never had wanted a dog like this. We bought a dog for life, and we will continue to work with her (many many thanks to all the advice we have been given, she is so much better, but still difficult). I suspect that there will be a time when many more BMD's needing rehoming have behaviour problems, and it will be because owners can't cope, not always because they won't. Luckily I was a special school teacher before so have patience, but many people do not have the type or amount of patience needed to deal with behavioural issues. However, we have to live with the knowledge that as she grows up she has to improve or it we be all of us having to pay the price, Emma and Tatty (how long before spaying changes my character) in France
Rescue BMD w/ issues needs help
Hi all. I just heard word of a 3 year old neutered male Berner being given to Rescue. He is having what sounds like some fairly signifigant behavioral problems, centered around aggression issues. Is there anyone out there interested in helping me work w/ this dog? The issue of aggression (an often overused and misused term which actually covers a very wide range of behaviors) seems to be getting more and more common in our breed. I would love to get together a group of Berner lovers, ideally w/ an interest in training/behavior, who are willing to help these dogs on a one on one basis, supporting each other in these endeavors, etc. I personally have taken into my home and worked extensively w/ 3 rescue/rehome Berners w/ similar such issues in the last 10 months. I was wondering if there was anyone else out there who would be able to help me rehabilitate this particular dog? I would be willing to take him in to my home for a month or so and evaluate him and begin working w/ him. What I would like to do (if it seems like rehabilitation is indeed a viable possibility) is work out an individualised treatment/management plan for him, and then find a foster home who could continue to train him along the outlines of his plan. We could work on things w/ him together, hopefully being able to rehabilitate him so he could become placeable. He is currently in the northeastern US and we can get him to Maryland, where I could pick him up next month at the regional and bring him back here to OH for a month or so, if I knew a foster home was ready to help after that. (My husband and I already have 8 dogs in our home now.) If you would like more details, please let me know. Thank you so much! Vilma Briggs (Kistner) Mt. Gilead, OH U-UD Mocha Java Slurp, UDX, HIC, TT Ch. Brighteye Expresso Bean, UD, NDD, TT U-CDX Our Little Buddy, UD, NA, TT Thirdtym's A Charm, CGC and Ted
Re: Rescue BMD w/ issues needs help
Vilma-- While I wholeheartedly agree that we need to give rescues every chance, I'd like to point out that sometimes dogs come into rescue for a good reason. One thing rescue groups for Berners will have to consider as this breed grows more popular and begin suffering even more from health and temperament issues due to poor breeding choices on top of trouble spots already existing in our breed is when to say no, or when to euthanize. Remember, aggressive dogs are a great liability risk for the club. A placed dog which bites and injuries a new family member or friend visiting can rebound on the club resources legally. I guess I am concerned about this due to my own work with Pyr rescue, and even Newf rescue. I've had one foster dog from each breed which had to be euthanized due to aggression issues. It was heartbreaking but the only right choice for the dog, the club, and any potential family. Currently, Berners enjoy high placement status and even problematic dogs have good homes waiting; Newfs are not in quite as much demand but are quite easy to place. Pyrs do not enjoy popular demand and my small club often resorts to newspaper adverts to try and generate potential homes; we have about 25 dogs a year come through the club, and it seems like about 1 in 25 needs to be euthanized for aggression issues. Given how poorly bred, trained, socialized, and managed the rescue dogs often are, this does not seem like a terrible statistic to me. This year, our club had a nightmare litter be sold through a pet store in the area. Something like four or five Pyrs were turned into rescue (or attempted to be turned in) due to multiple bite incidents. They were littermates from a Dakota puppy farm; by the third one, we were just telling the family's we were sorry, it was not their fault, and to take the dog to the vet for euthanasia. I do think it is in the best interests of the dog and club for the dog to be fostered by someone knowledgeable, but, please keep in mind sometimes there really is only one real option for the sake of the dogs and the people involved. More than one foster caretaker in my club has had a hospital trip due to an aggressive foster dog--one of our club co-chairs was very seriously injured and hospitalized while making an in-home visit for a potential rescue turn-in. Wow, I sound really pessimistic, don't I? I think that is in part because I believe Berners have a little less resilience in terms of being poorly bred, badly socialized, etc. than Pyrs. I think as fanciers we need to really put some thought into where we will draw the behavior problem line and why. Best luck with your rescue dog. Eileen Morgan The Mare's Nest http://www.enter.net/~edlehman --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.449 / Virus Database: 251 - Release Date: 1/27/2003
Re: Rescue BMD w/ issues needs help
Eileen, Your post makes some very good points. Yes, we do need to watch very very carefully the breeding and training choices we make. Yes, most dogs are in rescue and in shelters b/c of behavioral problems of one sort or another, they are supposedly there for a good reason. And no, not all dogs w/ problems can indeed be rehabilitated. But this particular dog has not even been evaluated yet. I just want to give him a chance! Vilma Briggs (Kistner) Mt. Gilead, OH U-UD Mocha Java Slurp, UDX, HIC, TT Ch. Brighteye Expresso Bean, UD, NDD, TT U-CDX Our Little Buddy, UD, NA, TT Thirdtym's A Charm, CGC and Ted
Re: Rescue BMD w/ issues needs help
- Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] But this particular dog has not even been evaluated yet. I just want to give him a chance! Oh, I certainly didn't mean that no one should give these guys a chance. Many perfectly nice dogs get thrown away every day! (hence my some dogs are turned in for a good reason). The Newf I fostered who was put down for attacking his second foster parent (we were going to be traveling) came into rescue as aggressive and we none of us took the family very seriously because we thought it was a case of a boisterous, ill trained young man. Alas, we maligned the family because there *was* something really wrong with that dog! But plenty of dogs called aggressive are merely poorly trained and high energy, not aggressive at all. I was really just using your post to piggy back in something I've been thinking about in terms of Berner rescue, because is seems like quite a few of these guys come in with real issues. I think in all breeds, unneutered males 1-3 yrs old is the highest demographic of owner surrenders. Just trying to dish out some food for thought. Eileen Morgan The Mare's Nest http://www.enter.net/~edlehman --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.449 / Virus Database: 251 - Release Date: 1/27/2003
Re: Rescue BMD w/ issues needs help
I think in all breeds, unneutered males 1-3 yrs old is the highest demographic of owner surrenders. Eileen; I have a rehomed neutered male berner that was 16 months old when he adopted me. He is the sweetest, most wonderful dog, most of the time, but he did have issues. We won't talk about the week that I had to wear long sleeves because I bruises from my wrists to past my elbows on both arms following a discussion in my backyard about it being time to go inside. I won and have just tried really hard to be consistent with him. He is a good dog and I am thrilled to have him, even though he stills exhibits a fair amount of shyness around other adults, especially men. However, he's better now than he was 6 months ago when I got him. It's a patience and time commitment thing. I am happy to have him and wouldn't think about ever giving him back to the breeder, even after that discussion in October. I want to thank all of you for the ideas and information that I get from the list every day. It has helped me greatly, being a new Berner mom. I used to be a Rottweiler mom and boy, are they different!!! Wendy Keene, Lilah (the right-colored Sheltie) and Klarsson (I'm s spoiled, now) Hampton, VA
RE: Rescue BMD w/issues needs help
Vilma wrote: The issue of aggression (an often overused and misused term which actually covers a very wide range of behaviors) seems to be getting more and more common in our breed. I would love to get together a group of Berner lovers, ideally w/ an interest in training/behavior, who are willing to help these dogs on a one on one basis, supporting each other in these endeavors, etc. Vilma, I completely agree with your statement above. Further, as more and more Berners are commercially and BYB produced, I feel we will see a steady population increase of BMDs with poor temperaments and health issues flooded into a market not prepared and/or unwilling to deal with their problems. A great many people seem to complain about this situation but, so far as I can see, the only major projects acting as real, viable deterrents are BARC, breeders who protect the BMD gene pool and the BMD clubs/people who pro-actively educate about BMD health and temperament issues. (This is one reason I feel its important to be supportive of my local and parent BMD Clubs). Adult BMD Rescue is just one more step in protecting the BMD breed, and I feel its a job which is only going to get bigger with time. As a breeder, I feel offering Rescue is an inherent part of my personal responsibility to participate in where possible. While the Berner you mentioned is too far away for my help (and sounds like you have him covered anyway), I am ready and willing to support whatever BMD Rescue and Rehabilitation efforts I can in my area (Montana/Wyoming/Dakotas). I have many years' experience rehabilitating large homeless and abandoned dogs and successfully re-homing them.This is a personal passion of mine. This means I'm happy to participate in any BMD Rescue/Rehabilitation effort you create so long as I can cover BMDs found/released in my area. And I already spend a LOT of effort online educating PPOs and others who contact me for more info about this wonderful breed. Please mark me down as a BMD Rescue contact in Montana, Wyoming and Dakotas. I'm willing to drive anywhere in these states if necessary to help a Berner in need.And I know a few other BMD people in Montana who feel the same commitment as me. Kind Regards, Esther Wilson WilPower Kennels Lavina Montana http://www.wilpowerkennels.com __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
