Odin, my pure husky, has been labeled an aggressive dog. We've called a trainer in to work with his aggression and guarding. Why do I bring this up? This isn't a dog training blog or a blog dedicated to dog behavior. It is intended to be a goofy retelling of the antics of my Heathens. I bring this up because it is something to keep in mind when reading these stories. Even aggressive dogs can have people who love them, who see a side of them that people who don't interact with them every day don't see. Aggression is not always born of abuse. Aggression is not incurable. Ultimately I want this entry to give hope to other dog owners in similar situations.
Odin has what we call Fenrir moments. His whole demeanor changes. He is no longer our beloved pet, he's some throw back to a wild beast. He hunches over whatever it is he has decided belongs to him. He snarls, bares teeth, and will lash out in defense of anything from one of his daddy's socks to the water bowl he and his brother share. He has been known to lash out at his brother. He has drawn blood.
We didn't know he had these issues until we got Baldr. When we first brought Baldr home we had to feed them in separate rooms. They needed to be wearing harnesses. There needed to be a gate between them before we could even go into the pantry where the food is kept. We hoped we could fix the problem but decided we would keep feeding them like this if we had to, for the rest of their lives. We talked to a trainer at a chain store to get suggestions on how to help Odin get over what we thought was just food aggression. We were told to choose between our dogs since Odin would never get better. We told her to choose between her kids before telling her where to stick it and left.
We felt like we were on our own. So we worked with them as best we could, using the internet and dog training tv shows as references. In 1 month we could take the gate down. 3 months we could feed them in the same room. After 6 months they could eat within 2 feet of each other without so much as a bared tooth. Now (a year later) they can accept treats from the same person, while they are sitting close enough to touch each other, with no problems.
But the Fenrir moments didn't vanish. Odin went from 'simple' food guarding to generic resource and territorial guarding. He never lashed out at people, only Baldr. We learned the signs. We taught him to self segregate when he was going into a moment. Now if he has something he goes to 2 spots to be alone, and if he is disturbed by Baldr he lashes out. We got very good at breaking up dog fights without getting hurt.
We admitted we needed help. He was getting worse not better. Nothing we did was helping him. We found a private trainer 2 weeks ago that was willing to work with us. He has experience with dog aggression and isn't intimidated by Odin having a Fenrir moment. He saw one during the consultation and was honest with us. He told us it was bad, but not so bad that we couldn't work with him. He gave us hope.
I wish I could end this saying that we fixed him. That everything is fine now and we have a perfect dog. But we haven't. Yet. We are working on it. And will be for a while. But there's light at the end of the tunnel. I no longer go to bed at night terrified that he's going to have a Fenrir moment in public and hurt someone. I no longer worry that someone will force us to put him down. And I wouldn't trade this feeling for any quick fix. I want him to actually *be* better not just *act* better. And we will get there.
You'll notice that I didn't include what we are doing to help him in this. That's because Odin is different from your dog. His issues are not your dog's issues. His triggers are not the same. I know because I've never met your dog. And I wouldn't presume to tell someone I've never met how to help their dog.
The best advice I can give? If you find yourself with an aggressive dog find a trainer you trust with aggression experience. No amount of internet research will replace having a professional give you the honest truth about what is going on. Do what your trainer says. You're paying them for a reason. Make them explain why they're having you do what they're suggesting, a good trainer will have a solid reason.
Have patience. Fixing aggression takes time. Think of it like anger management courses for people. You don't send someone to anger management expecting them to be all flowers and butterflies in an hour. It takes work.
And above all, love your dog. Don't make excuses, don't pretend his faults don't exist, but love him all the same. Love him and get him help, so you can keep loving him (safely) for years.
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