Evangelina
Forums Novice
Chris, where is Marta Williams located? So that I can look her up. Thanks
Help, my 16 month old male sheltie is aggressive
- Thread starter Evangelina
- Start date
The first thing to rule out is medical issues. How well does he hear or see? Its not that expensive to test and if the problem is sight or hearing, I can tell you from experience, the dog may react badly to some stimulus or movement. Don't presume that he sees well - my girl seemed okay but, in fact, had retinal spots that affected her depth perception. She didn't bite, it wasn't in her nature, but she wouldn't cross a shiny floor, had issues with stairs and low light situations but would run across ice and up stone hills on bush walks.
He's young for thyroid testing but I would do a preliminary set of tests now. Have him checked for pain response while he is there for the blood draw.
Finally, if there is nothing medically inducing this, there might be temperament problems in his background. These you can work around but may never get to the point of trustworthiness. Bite inhibition is part training and part temperament. Was this an only pup in the litter - often more pushy and less able to understand the "no teeth" rule.
He's young for thyroid testing but I would do a preliminary set of tests now. Have him checked for pain response while he is there for the blood draw.
Finally, if there is nothing medically inducing this, there might be temperament problems in his background. These you can work around but may never get to the point of trustworthiness. Bite inhibition is part training and part temperament. Was this an only pup in the litter - often more pushy and less able to understand the "no teeth" rule.
Chris
Premium Member
I don't know the "how," just the "what." Marta asked for a neutral photo of each dog and 3-4 questions we wanted to ask. For Bits, for example, I asked "How is your health?" Marta was on speaker phone. We had questions for each dog, including "What can we do to make your life better?"
Marta asked (communcating nonverbally) each dog if he or she was willing to talk. Each was willing, though Beckon whined nervously when she spoke to him.
Marta told us amazing things. She did a body scan on Bitsy and told us she had something going on with her liver. Just the week before, Bits had been diagnosed with a liver enzyme problem. Yes, my jaw dropped. She also said sometimes Bits' head aches and her teeth hurt. We had long figured Bits had sinus issues from her snorting and the fact that on low pressure days, she looked like she had pain. We had told Marta nothing of this, and each photo was a neutral shot.
Annie Laurie told her she was just very happy -- but that we needed to know that the yellow sofa is hers (no, we didn't tell Marta we had a yellow sofa, nor that Annie had laid claim to it years ago), and could we keep a lid on Beckon.
We asked her to ask beckon why he is fearful. Beckon told her doesn't know why he's fearful -- he just is. Nothing happened to him; he just doesn't like other dogs. He prefers to be with his own family. He said he likes Rally as long as he doesn't have to interact with the other dogs. And he likes adventures. But mainly, he thought we thought he was a problem and he didn't want us to think he's a problem. It was true -- we had been saying, "Why is Beckon fear aggressive? What should we do about Beckon?" right in front of him. Oops -- we apologized and have since been telling him we love him just the way he is -- and he's been so much better!!
When she spoke with Layla, she came back on with us, laughing. "Well, isn't she the princess!" Boy, did she peg Layla! She said Layla informed her that she is a very old soul and very wise, and that she is here to help people. And she needed jewelry. I cracked up. Turns out, she said she needed a certain stone to help her do her work -- and showed it to Marta! Marta said, "What I'm seeing is opaque, blue and there are black or brown spots." I googled that description and got lapis lazuli -- the stone for wisdom and healing. Layla told Marta it didn't need to e fancy and she didn't need it all the time -- just when she's working. So yes, I got Layla a lapis pendent, strung it on a macrame cord, and she wears it to do therapy dog work.
There was much more, but these were the most striking things. We came away from the experience very satisfied. It's improved our relationships with our Shelties considerably -- if something came up, especially behaviorally that I couldn't solve, I would definitely call Marta again.
Chris
Premium Member
With four dogs, more than an hour!!
Lisa
I'm having a similar situation with Riley, he runs after me, jumping on me, barking at me....sometimes the bark sounds aggressive and a few days ago he bit me. Totally unprovoked, Daisy had gotten a cookie wrapper, she dropped it and Riley grabbed it. When he let go of it I grabbed it and he bit me on my arm. I did call a behaviourist and am waiting for a call back but I found the suggestions offered very interesting, I'm going to get the crate put together because he definetly needs time outs, always has to know where either I or Daisy is!
I'm having a similar situation with Riley, he runs after me, jumping on me, barking at me....sometimes the bark sounds aggressive and a few days ago he bit me. Totally unprovoked, Daisy had gotten a cookie wrapper, she dropped it and Riley grabbed it. When he let go of it I grabbed it and he bit me on my arm. I did call a behaviourist and am waiting for a call back but I found the suggestions offered very interesting, I'm going to get the crate put together because he definetly needs time outs, always has to know where either I or Daisy is!
VallejoSheltie
Forums Enthusiast
I'll admit to being a little skeptical of anyone claiming to 'read' an animal remotely... not even a Skype session?
Simpler questions, how is he around your husband?
Has he bitten him?
Does he listen to him?
I ask because the majority of people who bring their dogs to the park are female,
So far, when I see a dog at the park with the female owner, there seems to be quite a bit more cajoling of the dog than when I see the husband/bf there.
Same with my guy and my wife.
While not directly a dominance thing, I think it is much easier for a dog to slip into obedience mode with a male, and just a tad less with a female unless she exudes control.
This forum seems to have a much higher female to male ratio, so I know this probably won't be received well. Just noting an observation.
In this case, he may be a high energy young dog who is simply getting way too excited, without the owner realizing it until it is too late?
Were the bite incidents reresponded too with a yelp of faux pain and a cessation of play and ignoring of the dog?
That's the standard for puppies, and worked very well for me.
Simpler questions, how is he around your husband?
Has he bitten him?
Does he listen to him?
I ask because the majority of people who bring their dogs to the park are female,
So far, when I see a dog at the park with the female owner, there seems to be quite a bit more cajoling of the dog than when I see the husband/bf there.
Same with my guy and my wife.
While not directly a dominance thing, I think it is much easier for a dog to slip into obedience mode with a male, and just a tad less with a female unless she exudes control.
This forum seems to have a much higher female to male ratio, so I know this probably won't be received well. Just noting an observation.
In this case, he may be a high energy young dog who is simply getting way too excited, without the owner realizing it until it is too late?
Were the bite incidents reresponded too with a yelp of faux pain and a cessation of play and ignoring of the dog?
That's the standard for puppies, and worked very well for me.
Chris
Premium Member
That's the best place to start, I agree. But when logic fails...
I was skeptical, too -- until my very intelligent friend who'd as MD married to an MD tried Marta as a last resort for a cat they'd adopted. She was mean and hostile. It's a long story, but when they had Marta tell the cat they really wanted to help her be happy but were the "last stop" because no one else would take her, the cat immediately came out from under the bed, sat in front of them, and started relating to them. My own experience convinced my DH and my DS -- and we all three have doctorates.
Chris I work at a dog bakery on Monday's and yesterday a lady called looking for a lady who takes care of dogs in her home and does readings. I could not find that lady's business card at all.
I told the lady about Marta and suggested she look her up, she did and called me back to tell me and she may be calling her. I told her if she did to please call and tell me about it. She was so happy to hear about this lady, I told her what I could remember of your experiance with her. Will let you know.
I told the lady about Marta and suggested she look her up, she did and called me back to tell me and she may be calling her. I told her if she did to please call and tell me about it. She was so happy to hear about this lady, I told her what I could remember of your experiance with her. Will let you know.