5 month old OES; 2 year old daughter - difficult combo! Help
We got our now 5 month old pup in January when he was 10 weeks old and our 2 year old promptly named him Boots (after her favorite character on Dora). She absolutely loves him, but WHAT a handful he has been! We found a humane in-home professional trainer when he was 13 weeks old and got a lot of the basic commands down over the next 4-5 weeks. Most importantly, he learned "leave it" pretty well and greatly reduced his nipping (for the first month, it felt like we purchased an alligator instead of an OES). No he's about 40 lbs and we're finding it very difficult to break a few of his remaining behavioral issues: 1) Knocking down our daughter intentionally...We have a big fenced-in backyard and he used to chase our daughter, knock her down and start nipping her with his razor sharp teeth if we let go of the leash for even a second...that was a huge problem. Now, the biting isn't happening near as much, but we still can't have him off-leash when they're both in the backyard together. Even if she's just standing still, he will run full speed, lower his shoulder and deliberately knock her down as if he's an NFL linebacker and then pounce on her and bite at her neck. She's gotten pretty hurt a few times from the knockdowns...and it really makes my wife very upset (we have another child due this September and she wants Boots to be in a lot better place by then). When he sacks our daughter, it's never ignored, he gets a pop of the leash, a firm no, a timeout, etc.....but nothing is seeming to cure him permanently. 2) Food agression...Boots showed no signs of food agression the first few weeks we had him. In fact, we were deliberately working to condition him to be okay with our hands in his bowl, our faces near his, etc. when he was eating immediately after we got him, and he seemed like he was doing very good. He'd wag his tail, lick our hands, etc. Then, when we were interviewing trainers, one of the trainers (that we didn't pick) approached Boots when he was eating and Boots growled for the first time and bit the man's hand (the poor guy shouldn't have put his hand so close to a dog that didn't know him...but I felt really bad when he left our house bleeding). Since then, we've done all sorts of daily training with Boots and our daughter hand feeding him, holding his bowl, etc. He seems to get a lot better...but then, randomly, he'll stiffen up, growl, bark, etc...and show agression towards her (or friends of ours that are trying to help with the training...or even my wife sometimes). He never shows agression towards me while eating, and I put my face in his bowl, hands, feet, etc. Same with the previous issue...when he shows aggression, it's never ignored, he gets a pop of the leash, a firm no, a timeout, etc....but nothing is seeming to cure him permanently. Question for all of you is...have you seen this sort of dominant behavior in your OES pups...? Do they grow out of it? Do we just have a particularly stubborn brute or are they all like this? We love him and I am working on convincing my wife to let us get a second OES, but we'll never get to that point if I can't get Boots in line ASAP. Sorry this is so long! Thanks all! hey_bones |
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| "leave it" can be applied to your daughter. We use if when our OES want to chase the cats. It might help to bring your trainer back into the picture; they can assist you in training for specific behavioral problems. We did lots and lots of training, and whenever something new and whacky comes up, we're either back at training class, or asking our trainer to come back into our home to help us. Good luck!!! |
| You are so right! A five month old OES puppy and a toddler are a difficult combination, to be sure. You've got your hands full!! First, kudos on hiring a positive reinforcement trainer. That will go a long way toward helping you.  Secondly, yes, all of this is normal sheepie puppy behavior and it can be corrected.  If you think of it, your puppy is about the same as your daughter - maturity wise. You can tell her to do things and she will- but she will forget and have to be reminded - to say please or thank you, to pick up her toys, etc. And you will gently continue to teach her, over and over, until she gets it. Usually it kicks in about the time they leave for college.  It's the same with Boots. He knows what to do, but he needs to be reminded. He is a herder, so a running child is an invitation to him to chase and bring her under control. You will need to continue to keep him on-leash if she is outside running around. Same is true even if she is standing still. He sees her as a playmate and will treat her as such. There are a number of things you can do to train both Boots and your daughter to keep her from getting hurt. I'd highly recommend getting your trainer back in to work with you specifically on this behavior. As a side note, I work in OES rescue, and the number one reason we get OES surrendered from their families is their interaction with children. They're big, boisterous puppies and have no idea how strong they are. Kids get knocked down and hurt during play. Some families choose to deal with it by training their puppies and kids, others chose not to and give up the dog to rescue. Either way, we want to help you.  I emphasize strongly here that every member of the family, including your two-year-old, has to be included in the training. We can't expect a baby (human or canine) to know how to behave without being taught. Sounds like you understand that, which is why you're here asking for advice. As for the resource guarding, or food aggression, you are doing the right things. You just need to keep it up. Hand feed him. Let your daughter hand feed him. Let your wife hand feed him. Yes, sometimes he will push the boundaries, just like a kid, to see what he can get by with. When he does, stop feeding him. Put the food away and walk away for 5-10 minutes. When you resume, make him sit or down or speak - whatever command he knows, and then reward him with kibble. It's called NILF (Nothing in Life is Free) method - he has to earn his keep/food - by doing what you ask of him. I know it is hard, but just be patient.  Your work will pay off. Keep in mind that he is a baby. He's growing quickly and it's hard to reconcile because we want a well behaved puppy fast!!  He'll get there, with love and patient training, but it takes time. They don't call them the Peter Pans of the dog world for nothing. They're puppies for a long, long time.  My husband and I are still working with our almost three-year-old daily on some  behaviors.  I'm close (located in Hickory), so, if I can help, feel free to contact me. |
| The above two just gave the best advice! I've been there (4 kids under 6) and we've had 2 OES puppies ...so razor sharp teeth, all tile, and the complete knockdown. This will pass once you teach your daughter how to play around the OES (ex: stopping when the dog is running or mommy having to say stop running dear!!) and making very obvious and loud commands when the dog is near your lo, so it knows we have to be careful around little ones. Eventually the puppy stage passes, but what is taken out of it will all depend on the training you do with both now. It's very hard, but hang in there!!!! It will pass |
| Thanks for the speedy helpful feedback! You’re right that we do want to have a well-behaved puppy as fast as possible (maybe we are a bit impatient). We do use the “leave it” command when he looks at our daughter or starts to stalk her, but sometimes he gets in a mood where he doesn’t care about the command and has his heart and mind set on going after her (even when we get her to do the right stuff and not run/scream/etc.). Tammy, thanks for the offer of your local support! You’re not very far away! We’re definitely of the mentality that we want to do everything we can train him and our daughter and would have no intention of giving up unless the resource aggression somehow escalated to a dangerous level for the kids. You’re probably right that he is just continuing to test the waters, but after he made that guy bleed, we’re always very leery of how unpredictable he can be in this category (he had 3 or 4 weeks with no issues at all with our daughter feeding him…and then last night got some vicious growls going at her when she was doing more food training with him). The setbacks are very fatiguing…especially in this category.  So, you mentioned that OESs are the Peter Pan of pups…and I’m wondering….how long does that last? Are we talking several more years of difficulty or several more months…? |
| Your daughter needs to be a rung up the ladder - she needs to be bossy ie in charge encourage your daughter to take an intrest in the training she will probably be better than you and your wife! Do not loose your temper but let them know what is acceptable. Quite surprised such a young pup is that dominant, don't forget to consult the breeder for advice also. Who is the alpha in the house? |
| I don't have any children so I can't talk much on that but I can talk about food aggression. My Simon came at 8weeks and started the growling soon after. I sat on the floor with the food bowl in my hand and hand fed him each morsel. He was not allowed to stick his face in AT ALL. Did this for about a week, yes it seems endless. Then I allowed him to put his face in, while I still held the bowl and I would stick my hand in there. If there was a misunderstanding about who was in charge, I would start hand feeding again. I worked on this for about two weeks. Simon in five, soon to be six and there are still times when he stops eating and looks at me when I walk past his bowl. I give him the evil eye and stand my ground and he goes back to eating. If this was my dog, I would do this but also give the dog a quiet place to eat, away from the activity of the house. A five month old OES is a lot to handle. Young and getting bigger by the minute. The kind of dog that always pushes the envelope to see how much they can get away with...but still a baby. He/she sees your daughter as a littermate and the things you explained are what littermates do with each other. Keep the baby on a leash at all times so you can get control when you need to. Running and high pitched voices get the herding instinct to kick into high gear. Keep up with the training. Lots and lots of walks and if you can, a place where they can RUN and RUN and RUN. Keep the body and brain tired. The training works the brain, a couple minutes a few times a day and run thru the things your dog knows...sit, stay, down, off, leave it, and come. The walks and running keep the body tired. A good dog is a tired dog. I wish there was a magic number when we could tell you it would all be good but each dog is individual. A year old is when some dogs calm down...they don't get a brain...but they calm down. The brain usually comes about two to three yrs old. I would hold off getting another one for a little while. Just till things settle down a little. Then the older on can teach the younger one the rules. |
| ОK.... I have 10 year old and 4.5 month old alligator. I'm with you with all my heart. It's easier for me since my child is bigger and I'm able to explain my daughter to withdraw from the game when it's getting rough. Also I'm teaching her how not to provoke the dog and how to react in very first signs of inappropriate puppy play. But... this ball of pure energy with double row of teeth really can knock anybody down with not always gentle nipping.... And we did have started obedience classes. And we did set rules in the house, how to withdraw from rough play. I also have elderly parents living with us in the house. What gives me hope -- I see the progress. Less nipping, more gentle mouthing and less nipping. Wishing you best of luck. Forgive me for poor written english, but I will tell you the story about Fuzzy, our beloved dog we had for almost 14 years. Fuzzy was 4 years when our daughter was born. We got Fuzzy when both me and my husband were in grad school. As a young and busy first time dog owners we neglected some behavioral problems. Let's say... we learned how to deal with those and we knew how to avoid conflict situations that can cause some aggression. Here I should say, we got our puppy (oes) from backyard breeder without any paperwork for 100 dollars at 6 wks. To make long story short I will tell you, that our dog did bit our daughter couple times when our daughter was 2-3 years old.  It was devastating. First, we didn't know how to handle this. So we just started addressing those issues: separated them when didn't have opportunity to put 100% of attention to them, watched closely, our house was all in child gates and so on... And we lived in harmony eventually. Our daughter was growing and learned as well her ways to be around the dog. Dog was learning as well. And... they became friends. But we still didn't trust Fuzzy 100% until one summer august day in 2006. Our daughter was 4.5 yo at that time. We put her to sleep at her room and went to our usual after 9pm routine: tv, on line, cleaning, preparing for next day, getting ready to sleep etc. All of a sudden Fuzzy, our dog, started behaving like crazy. She was sniffing the house and peeing everywhere in and out. She was so nervous and so restless... She was going to our daughters room, coming back, sniffing, peeing, whining. We decided to go to bed. But Fuzzy continued her weird behavior, We became nervous as well, so we decided to bring our daughter to our bed to sleep together. Just in case.... After we moved her with us Fuzzy was sound asleep at our bed too. Strange... Next day we planed to go to friends ranch, so we quickly packed and left. Day went well, dog was normal. We came home, went to our daughter room and saw this:    The whole sheetrock panel 2x1yd all moist from leaK in AC condensation tray with all those wooden blocks with rusted nails fell down on our daughters bed. It was a shock!!!!!! Fuzzy saved our daughter. She did. It was definitely her greatest mission in this life. I'm crying every time when I'm talking about that incident. But... the bottom line is... since then we trusted our dog 100% and our human and fuzzy kids became best friends. Always and forever. Fuzzy died last October.... We remember her every day and dreaming that everybody would have a friend like her. And... she was jealous and even aggressive in the beginning. And she did bite our daughter. I hope, this story is very encouraging and you will not give up and continue to work on you child-dog relationship. Wishing you best of luck. Sorry for such a long introduction. |
| Oh Anna!!! I was tearing up reading up your story. What a tear jerker and what an amazing dog Fuzzy must have been!! I also have stories of Shaggy and Big Dog my rescue sheepdogs saving my and my then 2 yr old son from harm one day in the woods. And another of Panda who saved my son (then aged 14) from aspiration when he seizured and went unconsious at home alone one day. Panda wrapped his body around him preventing him from rolling onto his back. Yes, the combo of little children and Sheepdogs can be very difficult as they love to herd and knock people down like linebackers. However, given the chance to settle down eventually they are amazing dogs...They do turn into nannys and forget about being linebackers. Fuzzy I will go to sleep tonight thinking of you wonderful and amazing story - truly touched my heart. Thank you for posting. Marianne |
| What an amazing story of your furkid Fuzzy. |
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hey_bones wrote: Thanks for the speedy helpful feedback! You’re right that we do want to have a well-behaved puppy as fast as possible (maybe we are a bit impatient). We do use the “leave it” command when he looks at our daughter or starts to stalk her, but sometimes he gets in a mood where he doesn’t care about the command and has his heart and mind set on going after her (even when we get her to do the right stuff and not run/scream/etc.). Tammy, thanks for the offer of your local support! You’re not very far away! We’re definitely of the mentality that we want to do everything we can train him and our daughter and would have no intention of giving up unless the resource aggression somehow escalated to a dangerous level for the kids. You’re probably right that he is just continuing to test the waters, but after he made that guy bleed, we’re always very leery of how unpredictable he can be in this category (he had 3 or 4 weeks with no issues at all with our daughter feeding him…and then last night got some vicious growls going at her when she was doing more food training with him). The setbacks are very fatiguing…especially in this category. So, you mentioned that OESs are the Peter Pan of pups…and I’m wondering….how long does that last? Are we talking several more years of difficulty or several more months…? That depends largely on both Boots and you, but on average, I'd say at least another year. OES don't really start to mature until at least 18 months to two years of age. That's not to say that you won't see improvement - you definitely will! But I don't want you to expect to have a perfectly trained and well behaved puppy by the end of the summer, either. That would be very unrealistic and those expectations would set you & Boots up to fail. I would really hate to see that happen. You seem to be of the right mind-set - that training a puppy takes time and lots of patience and repetition. I highly recommend continued regular sessions with your trainer. It will help you track your progress and keep you on course. I wish you much success!!  |
| Thanks again to everybody that has posted their help! We're already working on putting this feedback into practice. And, quite an amazing story about Fuzzy. My wife and I really appreciated that. Update on the food agression: It seems I spoke too soon when I said that he's never been aggressive with me about food. The very day that I posted that first post...he growled at me for the first time during his dinner (and never had before in the three months we've had him). And again the next day and again the next day. It seems he's getting worse and worse with the food aggression, despite us working with him every single meal and him being praised for good behavior and disciplined for bad behavior. Before, our daughter could pet him while he was eating or drinking and he'd wag his tail. Now...when I ask her to approach Boots saying "good boy" and pet him, he immediately starts growling and barking. Like I said, seems to be worse every day...and that he's becoming more unpredictable. So....we're definitely going to be getting a pro trainer involved again, but my question is, right now, the aggression we've seen is entirely isolated to eating/drinking...but, since it's clearly getting worse by the day (despite our efforts), will this aggression start to appear in other areas? At first, it was just with his food...now it's also with his water. Right now, our daughter can play with him and his ball (under supervision, of course) and he never growls or does anything but wag his tail....but we're starting to worry that the aggression may spontaneously and unpredictably appear if all of the sudden he feels intensely about his ball or anything else she happens to pick up. Does anybody have experience with that...? With the resource guarding starting with just food and then fading into other areas as well? An unpredictable dog is not at all what we had bargained for, knowing we have small kids (and in all the research we did on the OES breed, we were told by many that they are "never nervous or aggressive"). So...we love him despite, and will continue to do everything in our power...but we're getting more nervous by the day. Thanks again all! |
hey_bones wrote: So....we're definitely going to be getting a pro trainer involved again, but my question is, right now, the aggression we've seen is entirely isolated to eating/drinking...but, since it's clearly getting worse by the day (despite our efforts), will this aggression start to appear in other areas? It can happen. Resource guarding is just that - anything he regards as a resource and must, therefore, be addressed. Let me preface this by saying I am NOT a certified trainer and make no claims as such. I am offering this advise solely as a person who has a few years of OES experience and has fostered 25+ sheepdogs. There are many, many more qualified people on this forum who can offer training techniques. Having said that, what I would do in this situation is go back to one person feeding him. Any time you are training, you will see progression and digression toward the goal. Whenever you notice digression (in this case he is now growling at you, too), go back to where you last saw progress and repeat the training. So, in this case, go back to you being the sole source of his food and water. Stay there until you are getting the desired behavior - in this case - no growling or guarding behavior. Then, add your wife feeding him along with you. It may be a week or two or even three before you add her and then later your daughter. In the meantime, continue to monitor and supervise his every interaction with your daughter. Simply due to her size, (he knows she's a child), he will think he can treat her like a littermate. I cannot stress enough the importance of getting a positive reinforcement trainer to work with you. You mentioned that you are getting more nervous by the day. Boots knows this, too. He senses your insecurity and will automatically act on it. If he senses leadership lagging, he will step up to the plate to lead himself. He doesn't really want to - but in the dog world, somebody has to lead - and if you aren't, he will. That said, you need to curb your nevous energy - not pass it on to him. That's a tall order. If you're not careful, you will both be neuortic. I say this jokingly, but I know from experience how detrimental it can be to try to train a dog when you're nervous about their reactions yourself. It can do more harm than good. Take a deep breath. Reassure yourself that you brought a normal, herding puppy into your home. Go back to the basics. Keep up the good work. You'll get there. |
| Thanks Tammy! We'll definitely try your recommendations along with getting the pro trainer back involved. As a quick clarification, when I mentioned that we're getting more nervous by the day...I'm not referring to us being nervous during the actual feedings. We're not scared of him or insecure around him that I'm aware of. CERTAINLY not perfect at it...but we've watched countless episodes of Dog Whisperer and are always trying to be calm and assertive with Boots and to be his alphas throughout the day (even if he's growling at us). The "nervousness" that I mentioned is more of a high level concern that we're going to turn around and find him growling at our daughter for no reason....more of a "Geez, what's he going to do next when we look away?" or "Gosh, what have we gotten into with this guy?" kind of feeling. Confidently leading him as best we can...but concerned about the unpredictable behavior. Does that make sense? Thanks again! |
| We got our second rescue Zoey for some of the same reasons you list here. She was a four month old puppy in a house with two toddlers and the parents were to busy didn't have time to deal with the training issues. They turned her over to the local shelter instead of addressing the issue. I shudder to think what they will do when one of their own children hit their teens... We don't have orphanages or homes for troubled teens in Ohio anymore. Thankfully, you see this as a problem worth overcoming. Good luck and keep us all posted. Vance |
| Well over the years we have had Labs and most are greedy when it comes to food. I would put the food down when they were pups & take it away as well first I would get a growl & I was very firm with them. With a bone & most things never haad a issue. Cleo tried to take a bone off him & he snapped at her. That was his last snapp & never done it again he got a right telling off. I was told by my breeder that you have to be very firm with OESD as they will rule you. Not hit them but they should know who is boss. When Georgi don't want to move she will growl at me & I growl back louder & won't back do until I win. She won't speak with me for a couple of hours & then she comes sucking up to me. Love hate thing |
Parwaz wrote: ... When Georgi don't want to move she will growl at me & I growl back louder & won't back do until I win. She won't speak with me for a couple of hours & then she comes sucking up to me. Love hate thing I like that! I'll have to try that as Zoey will occasionally get a bit vocal when I want her off the bed. Vance |
| Another update...last night, I was outside on our back porch giving Boots his evening water (lately I've been keeping his feedings and waterings to just me handling it, so I could better monitor his progress). Before the watering, he had been happily playing with my daughter for about 15 mins (and was actually being a very good boy and not chasing her). While I was giving him water, he was fine with me...and then my two-year old started to calmly approach him from the other side of the porch when he was drinking. He stopped drinking, and VERY quickly did some nasty snarling and barking while lunging for her face with teeth bared. Thankfully I had the leash and she was still three feet away when he did this or he would have gotten her face pretty bad. He's never reacted so intensely and so violently before, so this particular reaction was very shocking and unexpected. So, now, for this next few weeks of focused training with me and my wife, we probably can't even have her in the same room as Boots...until he shows some consistent good behavior with us first. Then we can re-introduce her into the picture...with some professional assistance. Vance, while I agree that most people give up way too soon and don't put in the effort required to see a pup properly trained (or rehabilitated, as the case may be), I'd also say that, as a parent, my first responsibility is to my children. And, if the dog continues to be a danger to my children after a continued investment of time, money, consistency, and professional training, then...as a parent, I'd have to consider other humane alternatives (like finding a suitable re-homing situation). I've personally had 6 or so dogs in my life (including rescues) and have had close contact through the puppy years with at least a dozen others (through close friends and family) and this is the first dog that I've had any severe aggression problems with. In this case, we've already invested hundreds of dollars in professional training and are about to plunk down another $600 for another round of 6 weeks...so, we're not even close to throwing in the towel. But, this aggression relapse is getting pretty bad...and if he continues to get worse and worse after this next 6 weeks of intensive in-home training, I'm not sure what we'll do. Sucks...because we love him very much...but we love our daughter much more, so he better shape up. |
| I would say one thing is that leave a empty bowl of water & let your daughter fill it up while the pupy is there & then help her with the lead to take the puppy to the water and same with the food. Let the dog know that she is helping with the feeding. I think a fars as the pupy knows that your daughter is another puppy i.e competition & this my food & not yours. Puppy has to think this is not another puppy. So all of you have to get involed in the issues you have with him. Even if its small he knows what is going on & he is bottom of the food chain as he is try to mark out his position in life |
| any more news and hope thins are ok |
| Have you taken the dog to your vet for a check-up recently? If something is off physically, it can cause him to act this way. I would have him checked out by your vet first to make sure there are no physical problems before trying any more with a trainer just so the trainer knows where to start with your dog. And I think someone else earlier mentioned contacting your breeder. You really should do this. They need to know about things like this & they may be able to help you also. They may have dealt with this in their lines previously & have some helpful hints on overcoming the situation. |
| How is your pup doing? Any progress? |
Quote: I'd also say that, as a parent, my first responsibility is to my children. Absolutely!! I would have a very hard time trusting this puppy around children at this time based on what you've shared. If your child gets bitten, #1 the child is left traumatized and scared... #2 the dog could loose it's life. The behavior you described is not acceptable behavior and is not safe around a young child. He can be handled at this size but he is going to grow much larger and become much more powerful. If you choose to continue to try to make this work, have a vet verify the puppy's health but also that your puppy can hear... he probably can but it's best to rule out health problems first. Quote: Food agression...Boots showed no signs of food agression the first few weeks we had him. In fact, we were deliberately working to condition him to be okay with our hands in his bowl, our faces near his, etc. when he was eating immediately after we got him, and he seemed like he was doing very good. I am not a dog trainer... just someone who lives with a pack so take this for what's it's worth... I firmly believe in letting a dog eat in peace. I don't believe it pestering a dog while it's eating and believe playing with a dog's food while it's eating in an effort to desensitize the dog can actually cause problems instead (I did it with one of mine on the advice of a vet). Some people also do this... they take the bowl away and give it back and repeat it... I see this as teasing and confusing to the dog. I give the dog it's food, give the dog a couple quick pats and leave the dog alone... and we oversee mealtime to be sure they don't pester each other either. We need to be able to take the bowl at any time... however it's something we may need to work up to by showing the dog by example that our presence is something positive not negative. The stress level in the home drops when the dog doesn't feel threatened or challenged. What has the breeder said about this behavior? Will he/she take the puppy back if you find you cannot find a solution? |
| I highly recommend that you read the book, "Leader of the Pack". Jake's trainer suggested I read it when Jake was about 12 months old and we were having a power struggle as to who was the Alpha Dog. It helped me tremendously. It's not an overnight cure and takes time but I think it will help. Good Luck! |
Quote: 6Girls: I firmly believe in letting a dog eat in peace. + million |
| Hi all, Sorry for the delay; we've been on a family vacation...and Boots was at a boarding facility. Right before we left, the aggression was getting really bad. In fact, an hour before we left for vacation, I was feeding him one last time and going through my typical training (holding the bowl, fingers in the bowl, petting him, etc.), and he got the most aggressive I've ever seen him and tried to bite me (lunging with teeth snapping and viscious growls). He had started growling at me a week or so before that (as I mentioned in a previous post), but this was the first time he actually tried to bite. A real bummer. So, the next week, he was at the boarding place and they spent a lot of time with him. He was also nearby other dogs (not playing with...just nearby). Ever since we picked him up yesterday, he has seemed to be a little less dominant and more interested in pleasing us. Hopefully a sign that he's slowly growing up a little. I haven't done any training yesterday or today with food or water...and have just given him his bowls, pet him once or twice and walked away. Reason being...the highly recommended humane trainer for aggressive dogs starts his first session in our home tonight. Really hopeful!  So, we wanted to just leave things being pretty chill until the trainer got started...since this past week at the boarding place, he was also eating in peace...and had no issues. As far as I know, he has a clean bill of health...he went to the vet about 2 weeks ago...and goes again next week. And they've said he's in great shape every time. So, I don't think the aggression is related to a health concern. And I'll definitely be reaching out to the breeder to both provide the feedback about Boots and ask if she's seen that in any others of her pups. Good idea on that one. Thanks for all the advice...thoughts...and help. I've definitely been paying close attention to all of the feedback I've received! |
| That is really disturbing to know that the dog actually tried to bite you. You got him from a reputable breeder, right? I joined this forum a little over five years ago...when Simon was a puppy and I was having problems with him. I was worried I adopted a monster. With advice here and training his little butt and lots of excercise we have worked through his problems, one of them being food. He is by NO means perfect, but then neither am I. We learned to live with each others faults. I hope this new trainer can help. |
| Good news - glad your trainer is able to start working with you today. Please do let us know how it goes. |
| How is Boots? I hope your trainer is working around the issues..I wish you the best of luck! If TOESR is helping you rehome your baby you are in good hands! (or paws) I am sure Tammy will work with you to do the best for your baby! FYI for future searchers of the breed...we have gotten 12 OES at different times in the past from breeders in Columbia, SC (into rescue) Oh, and we also picked up a Chinese Crested from one of the "breeders" since he was living in the back yard kennel with one of the OES None of the dogs have come without issues but, they are in loving homes and doing well. I do hope you can work with TOESR to find your little man a furever home and thank you for taking the time to give him that chance |
| Thank you, everyone, for your concern. Boots is with TOESR now and is doing quite well. He's happy, healthy and under evaluation. |
| Tammy, when you have time, if you could let us know how he's doing? |
He's doing great, Pam. Typical goofey, playful OES puppy.  He's still settling in, but he's adjusting quite well in his foster home. |
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