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This doesn't have to do with my AI dog, Misha, rather my old childhood dog, Kaylee(Wolf, Husky as I was told when I got her four years ago), who isn't in an ideal situation. I have been thinking for several months about bringing her back home. She's living in the garage, and every time I take her out and offer her water, she gulps it down as if she hasn't drank or eaten food in a while. Her entire body is covered in hot spots, and her hips are acting up from previous accidents.

 

The only issue is, shes aggressive with other dogs, not usually, but conditionally. I have taken her out to the beach several times with my friends GSD Artemis,and they play and run so long as we're walking, but as soon as we stop for whatever reason, Kaylee tends to get aggressive. I wonder if it's a form of resource guarding. I had this dog for a year before my parents made me rehome her, and now i'm on my own and in more of a situation to take her, however I don't want to put my dogs at risk... However, when we move next year sometime, I will be in a more ideal situation to take her, but want to fix her aggression issue before that happens.

 

I do plan on consulting several trainers about her and her issue before we make plans to move, but was curious if anyone had experience dealing with this sort of situation?

 

Kaylee.jpg

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Consulting a trainer is a great idea. I'm sure she would love to get out of the garage. She could also be having aggression issues because of physical discomfort. Hot spots can be so bad that they lose sleep and can get really agitated too. I don't know how old she is, but arthritis can be an issue, especially after excercise. Point being,a medical check up would probably be a good idea too.

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Hello! My name is Melissa and I'm a dog trainer who has a 'thing' for behaviorally challenged dogs. I have a few follow up questions for you. First, how long has this dog been living in the garage?

Is she in there alone?

What kind of enrichment does she have?

I ask these questions because you mention how fast she drinks water... hopefully she has access to water 24/7 and if not she should.

You mention aggression but used with no context it is hard to give guidance. What is she doing that is aggressive? Could she just have a rough play style as vs being vocal(like most hybrids)?

You mention that she could be in pain... that will always cause a dog to be reactive to some extent.

This next bit comes from a place of concern, not judgement. Dogs are pack animals. They need their pack to be fulfilled as a dog being. They were once wolf animals who's sheer survival was dependent on the pack as a whole then domesticated them. But that pack mentality is still hard wired in to them. A Solitary dog with no contact with other dogs and/or limited contact to their people Can have a negative effect on a dog's behavior as a whole. If your dog is part Wolf, Even huskies have that more prevalent in their personalities. Is it possible that this negative behavior you're seeing from the dog could be solved by just making sure that their social requirements are being met? You can't expect a dog to be locked away in a garage and be able to maintain mentally. I beg you to find a balanced trainer who incorporates many different tools in their training method and move forward from there. If you have any further questions or concerns please don't hesitate to reach out!

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Consulting a trainer is a great idea. I'm sure she would love to get out of the garage. She could also be having aggression issues because of physical discomfort. Hot spots can be so bad that they lose sleep and can get really agitated too. I don't know how old she is, but arthritis can be an issue, especially after excercise. Point being,a medical check up would probably be a good idea too.

 

She had gotten hit by a car when I had her, which is something I'm know is bothering her, but I've been noticing getting her exercise has helped a bit. I just don't see her often enough to make a big enough impact on the hot spots for them to clear up entirely. She is around 4-5 years old now.

 

Her current owners have talked to me about some issues she has too, like bladder infections and fleas... Last I checked, they haven't gotten her in to a vet to get checked out..

 

 

Hello! My name is Melissa and I'm a dog trainer who has a 'thing' for behaviorally challenged dogs. I have a few follow up questions for you. First, how long has this dog been living in the garage? Is she in there alone? What kind of enrichment does she have? I ask these questions because you mention how fast she drinks water... hopefully she has access to water 24/7 and if not she should. You mention aggression but used with no context it is hard to give guidance. What is she doing that is aggressive? Could she just have a rough play style as vs being vocal(like most hybrids)? You mention that she could be in pain... that will always cause a dog to be reactive to some extent. This next bit comes from a place of concern, not judgement. Dogs are pack animals. They need their pack to be fulfilled as a dog being. They were once wolf animals who's sheer survival was dependent on the pack as a whole then domesticated them. But that pack mentality is still hard wired in to them. A Solitary dog with no contact with other dogs and/or limited contact to their people Can have a negative effect on a dog's behavior as a whole. If your dog is part Wolf, Even huskies have that more prevalent in their personalities. Is it possible that this negative behavior you're seeing from the dog could be solved by just making sure that their social requirements are being met? You can't expect a dog to be locked away in a garage and be able to maintain mentally. I beg you to find a balanced trainer who incorporates many different tools in their training method and move forward from there. If you have any further questions or concerns please don't hesitate to reach out!

 

Thank you for the responses.

 

We only had her a year in 2013, but shes been living in this garage for about 3 and alone. The family has a few kids and a cat, shes always chased cats, not to hurt but more as a game. The aggression is attacking other dogs and getting into fights that are hard to break up. She gives no warning, and just chases them off, but the GSD that we usually have often usually retaliates back that further insinuates the fight. She is quite a vocal dog, and she is not when she gets aggressive. Sometimes she'll let out a low growl, before jumping on the other dog. When she plays, she usually is very loud, and likes to be chased and just run away from them. When we had her, she would get a bit unsure and speak up, she was very vocal about expressing her discomfort.

 

Another thing, is we had to rehome her a few years ago, I'm thankfully still in contact. I would bring her back in a heartbeat, however we do have two dogs in the house, and just don't want to put them at risk. One of the other dogs has a bad history of being attacked by an older dog that was in the home before I moved in.

 

I contacted a well known dog behaviorist here in Eugene, and she thinks its more of a possessiveness over me than anything else, like Kaylee feels she has to protect me from the other dogs.

Edited by Caffeinatedasian
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You are very young and probably up until now not very able to help Kaylee. Its good that you are doing what you can. The garage situation sounds horrible. Solitary confinement on top of being a wolf hybrid is not likely to end well mentally for the dog. If the garage situation is as bad as it sounds, she'd be better off in a shelter or with a rescue organization. My advice to you would be to look at your resources. Research some shelters and husky and /or wolf hybrid rescues. If you can, first take her to the vet and get her the medical attention and rehabilitation she needs. Board her there. Ask them to evaluate her for you. You can surrender her to a shelter from there if that is the advice. If the vet is optimistic about Kaylee's rehabilitation and I mean temperament not just physical, then I'd put her in the best board and train program for dogs with problems that you can find / afford. Be prepared to bring your other dogs along and participate. At the end of the first week I'd get advice from the trainer and I'd take it, even if that advice was that complete rehabilitation is not going to happen. Presumably you will have seen how she is with your dogs and you in a controlled, neutral environment. You may have the answer based on that interaction. She may require 4 weeks board and train for behavior rehabilitation and obedience training. Even with that you would still have the pack integration at home which won't be easy. Pack chemistry is a funny thing. There's no good way ahead of time to predict what will work and what won't. If you are prepared to set up an outdoor dog run / kennel and have her live her life with a fair amount of kenneling that might be an option - at least superior to the garage situation. I have heard of people keeping dogs separate for months but able to see each other before blending. Good luck and I hope you can find a situation that is better for Kaylee, even if it's not living with you.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Update: My dog trainer, who also trained and knew Kaylee very well, is going to help me out! We've decided to find someone who works with Sheri and is familiar with leadership who can take her. After talking to several trainers and behaviorists we've narrowed it down to possessiveness, similar to resource guarding where she feels as though we cant protect ourselves, and must do it herself, due to lack of leadership she gets in her current home. I am going to talk to the owners, and work with Sheri and we are going to figure out a plan for her. She's a great dog with fantastic training, however she just did not get the leadership or socialization she needed in the last three years she's lived there.. Though, I am not in a good spot to take her, I still am able to do what I can to help her. I'm very happy to say, we're making progress in getting her help.

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  • 5 weeks later...

I hope you will let us know how she is doing. I know she is not an AIDog, but I can't help caring.

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I hope you will let us know how she is doing. I know she is not an AIDog, but I can't help caring.

We haven't made any progress with getting her into another home, but it seems as though shes gained a little weight and her hot spots are getting better. We took her on a walk today and she was pretty dang happy to be out, though she has no muscle on her back legs, she seemed to be able to run around and play with Misha.

 

I noticed blood in the stool, or what it looked like, on the way back to the car and her belly was bloated, making me wonder if she has worms. Regardless, I brought it up to her owners and hope they take action in getting her healthy again.

 

Kaylee and Misha got along surprisingly well, she just complained and Misha was very polite and respected her and would back off when she would grump at her in the car. Misha continually surprises me with how respectful she is of other dogs. She's very good at listening to the other dogs and knows when and how to de-escalate a situation. Kaylee listened really well, too and it was just kept to talking, however only on the way back home, which I'm guessing was because she was tired, she immediately wanted into the car. They even played a bit on our walk! Gives me hope that this behavior is something that can be worked with and eventually resolved with the right people.

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I hope you will let us know how she is doing. I know she is not an AIDog, but I can't help caring.

 

Ironically enough, when we had Kaylee, we brought her to a dog park and there was a woman with two AI dogs there who actually thought Kaylee was an AI dog from first glance, about 4-5 years ago! This was what sparked curiosity in me to research AI dogs.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Bless you for helping her out. I've just completed a canine attendant certification course, and dog aggression is next up. Knowledge is power.

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