When Hot Dogs Aren't Enough

In March, we picked out a black and white pitbull mix from Faithful Friends animal shelter.  We named him Guthrie.  With a patch over one eye, an athletic build, and an incredible chase instinct, we thought we'd found a near perfect pet.

The problems started about two weeks after bringing him home.  He growled at strangers out on walks and that progressed to snarling and even lunging.  Rather than being excited to meet new people who would come over, he'd growl at them, too.  One dog-walker we tried even told us she didn't feel comfortable letting him out of his crate for a walk.

I called Lauren and then promptly read "The Dog Listener."  We implemented Amichen Bonding, but still his aggression toward strangers persisted.  

I called a dog trainer, Nancy Fitzgerald, and she gave us tips for working with him: 

• hot dogs on walks to keep him under his threshold when we have to pass by strangers.  
• warn people he's unpredictable with strangers and move away.
• hot dogs in the living room so people can safely enter and he learns new people mean yummy treats.
• obedience class so he can meet new people and dogs in a structured environment (we took the summer course and of all things he's very good at "doggy zen")

But the close calls have continued.  How many chances do you give a pet?  A pet who loves you more than anything.  A pet who lays at your feet all day while you work from home.  A pet who likes to snuggle on the couch, thinks belly rubs are part of the "down" command, and wiggles his whole back-end when you come home to him.

Hot dogs aren't cutting it.  So today I'm calling the dog training at the shelter we got him from to work out a training plan. I just hope we can straighten him out because I've fallen for this troubled dog.