Stopping Aggressive Dog Behavior Before It’s Too Late – How I Saved My Dog

My dog Trevor is a male beagle shepherd mix, who is about to turn 6 years old, (Guess that means I am baking cupcakes soon). I adopted Trevor from a shelter when he was a 10 month old puppy, and from day one, he’s not only been a ball of energy, he’s been quite a handful. He was properly socialized as a puppy, and had many puppy friends, but Trevor’s “play” has always been pretty rough, and as he started to get older, has since turned many dogs off. He was a nightmare to potty train, he would deliberately run through the house peeping as he went, and had massive separation anxiety which resulted in him destroying my house and his cage every time I went out. So fair to say, that Trevor “came” with some baggage, but none that I couldn’t handle at the time.

As he got older, he did get a LOT better with his “puppy problems”, now he sleeps all day when I am at work, but still loves to rough house at night after he eats. A few years ago, I noticed certain aggressive dog behaviors developing that I had not seen previously. He always loved to chase squirrels and stray cats, but I figured that most dogs do love to do that. It was after I took a trip to Atlantic City NJ, and left Trevor in the kennel at his vet, that I started to specifically notice that his aggressive dog behavior and his new reaction to certain other dogs started to have me worried.

He would react in such a way when they passed like he wanted to attack them, but I had never had a problem with him and any other animals or people so I really was not sure exactly what he would do. I did know that I was starting to not trust him with other animals around, so I started to make sure he was always leashed when in the back yard. Well, about 2 years ago, this family moved in to my neighborhood, and started to walk their yellow lab everyday by my front door, ( there was not much of a front yard), and Trevor would go Ballistic. The guy constantly looked at me like I was crazy, and Trevor’s reaction kept escalating to the point where I did not even want him outside when they came walking by.

Well, I guess enough was finally enough, so one morning, when I was preparing to take Trevor out before I went to work, he must have heard the dog coming, and made full potential of the back screen door I had just unlocked. As I bent down to put on his leash, he made a mad dash for the door, pushed it open with his nose, and ran up to attack the dog. I ran after him, and pulled him off the dog, Trevor had bit him in the ***. The guy needless to say was furious, and I ended up of course paying his vet bill. He mailed me a letter stating that a dog with such aggressive dog behavior should certainly be put to sleep. I was mortified, scared, and didn’t know what to do.

Certainly there is a big problem that needs to be address, but I couldn’t bring myself to put Trevor to sleep, I love this dog, and he is so gentile and playful with everyone. I got no sleep, spent hundreds of dollars on a special one on one trainer for him, but to no avail. The only thing I seemed to get out of that was that she, and the animal control officer, both seemed to believe with no hesitation that under the circumstances of the dog bite, that it was much more of a territorial issue than a vicious dog issue. That seemed to help me feel better, but still Trevor’s issues were not being addressed. I even talked with his vet, we tried calming medications and a dog behavior specialist because I know that most aggression will start with the dog feeling cornered or threatened, but nothing worked. I was scared and starting to grasp at straws, I even considered contacting the dog whisperer, but couldn’t afford that, and I am kind of camera shy to be on TV.

So is any of this starting to sound familiar with you? So it seemed to me I had two choices in dealing with Trevor’s aggressive dog behavior, both of which were not acceptable to me: 1) Put Trevor to sleep, or 2) spend the rest of my life scared and over protective that Trevor is not loose or put in a situation where there is another animal nearby. Well, I’m living proof that there is a third choice, which ended up saving my dog, and my sanity. It all comes down to trust, commitment, patients, dedication, and this resource, SitStayFetch: Dog Obedience Training Secrets to STOP Your Dog’s Behavior Problems! Today as living proof, Trevor is now a reformed dog, he no longer reacts aggressively towards other animals, and actually does listen to my commands, even while distracted.

By: Carol S

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