I posted this in another site as well...problem I had with Callie yesterday and it was frightening. I realize one thing I have to remember from now on is to be careful what kind of store or human populated area I take him into. The store we were in had very tight aisles. It was also laid out so you can't see who is coming around the corner. If men make him testy in any case we need to be where we can keep a good distance if we need to. Today I had to take him to try on coats. He knows the store dog trainer-male...so we went in and out and all was fine. There's an art store nearby that welcomes dogs and we went in to browse. He was so relaxed he stretched out on the aisle floor and took a short nap. Two women came by and got down to tell him how handsome he was. He wagged and licked them happy as a lark with the attention. Then an older woman came by to pet him and once again he smiled and wagged. Another young woman came over and gave him hugs and kisses. So he was a popular guy. Everything was relaxed and fine until we got to the door to leave. A gentleman had just come through the door and was trying to be polite by going back to hold the door open for us. In my head at that moment I was thinking "You are a man with no woman or child and you are approaching me, really it's no trouble I can open the door by myself DON"T COME NEAR ME"... too late he leaped Fortunately the gentleman leaped too, just in time. But it really shook me up. I mean it could have been an injury, he could have gotten the police, in the UK they'd be saying off with his head already just by virtue of his breed...I was shaking as I hustled him and my kid into the car. If he were a dog you were working with what could you do? Can you somehow train a dog past gender based aggression? Right after I finished typing this I was talking to my grown son. He walks Callie sometimes as well and I asked him. If men come near you out on the street, what does Callie do? Interesting that his answer was "Nothing, he just keeps walking with me." I think this leads to the possible explanation that he's guarding ME. Okay that adds an interesting wrinkle to the problem...thoughts? Read more: http://therealpitbull.proboards.com/thread/13460/ambassador-breed-fail?page=1#ixzz3K09gUjEb
I think it is logic on Callie's part, Opheila. I am convinced that dogs know the difference between male and female humans, and to Callie females, like you, are Good People, whereas males who he does not know might be Bad People. Therefore he thinks it is his job, his duty, to protect you from a possible Bad Person. I do not think it is because Callie is a male dog. Pereg is a bitch but she is also wary of men she does not know. For example, the other week I took her out on my big scooter and we stopped outside the newly renovated/refurbished macolet [little shop] across the road as I wanted some photographs of Chai, who has taken over the lease, and also some photos of the inside. I took the photos of Chai and then went to hand him my camera to take photos of the interior and also of Pereg and myself - and as he went to take the camera from me she lunged. She would not have bitten him, maybe air-snapped, but I had to pull her in to me. Why did she do that? Because she did not know him, he was coming close to me, and she was protecting me. She did it again a couple of hours ago. I had ordered a meal to be delivered [first time I had found a place to do such a thing - it was recommended by my Vet and was an absolutely lush cheese ravioli with mushrooms and a cream sauce, more cheese on top...] and she was not happy about the delivery guy handing me the bag - she thought he was too close to me. But who can really fathom what is in our dogs' minds?
I think you're probably right when you say the Callie was protecting you because on a couple of occasions a similar thing happened to me with M'boi my previous Shar-Pei. The first time we'd just started walking down the lane when a car drew at one of the holiday homes three doors away from mine and a man got out and started nosing around. Thinking he looked suspicious, and having left my front gate open, I decided to cut short the walk and go home. As we were nearing the car, another man got out, walked up to me and started asking questions about my neighbours The first man then came uncomfortably close to me which made me feel uneasy. At that point M'boi who was a very mild mannered dog, growled and lunged at him as if to say "don't you dare touch my mum". Both men couldn't get back into the car fast enough! The second time was in the middle of the night. Tiny Chloe, who was a brilliant watch dog, woke me up with her barking which also woke M'boi who was sleeping on the living room sofa. She immediately started growling and for the next hour that Peigirl of mine patrolled every room in the house, inspecting all the doors and windows. When she was satisfied the danger had passed, she sat in my bedroom where she had a good view of the bedroom door and window. The following morning I was told that a couple of houses in the village had been burgled.
Opheila, it is what I thought was just a little pizza place, next door to my Vet's old surgery [the surgery recently moved to a glorious larger brand new place] and when I took Pereg yesterday for her regular blood test I asked Ram about the pizza place for emergency meals, not knowing whether they would, in fact, deliver to the Moshav as I am [just] outside of town. Ram raved over it, said that they do wonderful Italian pasta dishes [no meat though as they have a Kashrut licence]. So I thought I would call them and see if they would deliver. Yes - delivery charge 25 shekels [$6.50] - less than half the price of a one-way taxi fare from here to there - and the pasta was 45 shekels, so the total was ~$18.14 but there was enough for three meals. Although I am not sure how the rest will heat up as it was freshly cooked when I ordered it, and brought here piping hot maybe just over half an hour later. Actually, as my microwave has an, as yet unused, grill, I reckon a sprinkling of a bit more grated cheese on top of the other two portions will work. But oh was it lush - sez Malka drooling! Probably calorie-laden but as I will not be making too much of a habit of it [I must try and understand what else they do...] a once-in-a-while lush meal cannot hurt. Except my waistline! But Pereg definitely did not like the guy bringing in the bag - and I had to wrap her tether round one of the handles of my chair so she could not get near him, as she definitely started to lunge towards him. And yet Mikhaël from the poultry stall just delivered 5kg of fresh chicken backs, walked straight in and through into the kitchen to put the bag on the sink unit - and Pereg did not even blink. Because she knows him and he knows to just walk in. Who can fathom these dogs of ours. Who knows what goes on inside their heads. But I am convinced that Pereg is protecting me when a man she does not know comes what she thinks is too close to me.
Yet you say hes ok with your son, Quote) In my head at that moment I was thinking "You are a man with no woman or child and you are approaching me, really it's no trouble I can open the door by myself DON"T COME NEAR ME"... its possible that your unconsciously giving out vibes through the lead or body language as your aware of his not being keen on some men and he’s picking up on your anticipation causing him to react feeling the need to protect you One of my Akitas didn’t like men with glasses on, it took me a bit to figure that out but if they took off their glasses he was fine with them, sometimes there are strange triggers that affect dogs behavior. Id do obedience with him as it helps develop a good bond and learns them to trust your decisions’ if you want to talk to someone on the street, or are awkward position place him beside you in the sit or down.
Vee - I do not think anything such as "do not come near me" with Pereg - she is the one who is uncomfortable with some people - men as I have never known her to react to a woman - such as the pasta delivery guy. I had told him to come in and put the bag on the table, just inside the door, but Pereg did not want him near me. Who can fathom what goes on in their heads? Pereg and I have a - probably silly - little "chat" every evening. She gets on the bed before I get in and I also get on the bed and it is nose to nose, and we "chat". Or rather I do. And I ask her what is she thinking - is she happy - does she love me - silly things like that. And she looks at me and I know that something is going on in her head - thinking? Do dogs think? But then she touches her nose against mine, as if to say OK, you get into bed now so we can have our little mantra and prayers and then go to sleep. My imagination or is she really thinking? I do not mean does she understand what I am saying and I do vary what I say - but thinking? Who knows. I for sure do not.
I think they do think more than we know sometimes. He is good with the "Look at Me" command. The problem being I have to see the person well ahead of giving the command. Something else I'm noticing now. He's walking with one leg pulled off the ground. It's happened before. He'll catch himself climbing stairs or trying to jump the wrong way. I'm going to try a warm compress and call the vet if it gets worse. Could he have been in pain? Something else odd he did yesterday. We were at the gas station. He usually sits in my lap and quietly watches the guys but no growling or anything. Yesterday there was a young man parked across from us. He looked what...scruffy. Low pants and greasy unkempt appearance. When he passed Callie threw himself at the windshield. Any other time he sits silently watching the view then curls up to sleep while I drive. But when this guy passed in front of the car Callie flew into a sputtering rage. The gas guy stepped back like he saw a demon. Callie didn't stop the chesty growling until we were out of the parking lot. Then he went to sleep. Then again skateboards make him angry. Someone standing around, no interest. If that person picks up a skateboard....GRRRRRRRRR Our dogs can be weird. It's just when you have an imposing breed you have to try to sort out the weird more carefully than with say a beagle...
Not really any dog can bite, and the outcome will be the same regardless of breed. Unfortunately you are encouraging this behavior , even if you don`t know or mean to. if he was my dog he would not be put in any situation where this behavior is triggered, i.e. the car, if you allow him to sit on your lap, you are encouraging the " protective" behaviour to escalate, you need to travel him either strapped in on the back seat, or preferably in a cage with a blanket over the top to prevent him seeing people and feeling he needs to act on it. Same with the shop, I would NOT be taking him into confined places where I knew he may take a dislike to a random member of the public. you are lucky he did not make contact with the man he went for. The more you can discourage this behaviour, the less its going to happen, then more it happens the more its going to happen, You need to walk /exercise him in places where you can see for a good way off , so you can make sure no one comes within his "space" , I would also be seeking professional help to sort this, before he actually bites someone and them you are stuffed. P.S..... the limping is a separate issue, and you need to seek veterinary advice.
I don`t believe dogs "think" in the same terms as we would, i.e.... I have thought this through and I know I need to protect A from B, I think instinct plays a part along with conditioning.... What do you think?
@Jackie - what do I think? I do not know but what I am sure of is that "something" goes on in a dog's brain - call it instinct - that is similar to a human thinking, without the "thinking it out" process. Conditioning? Training? They both have a part to play in how a dog "thinks" and reacts, and it is very possible that I am more in tune with Pereg than I have ever been with any dog before her even though I loved them all. But Pereg is different because of her problems, and it is more than likely that she and I are more "in tune" with each other because of that. Or maybe not. Who knows? I just know that something goes on in her head, her brain, when I talk to her, especially our night-time "chats". I do not know what it is but there is definitely something responding to me, and as I said, I do not say the same things all the time so it is not repetition that she is responding to. Tone of voice? Maybe. But when we are nose to nose, eye to eye contact, and she listens - what is she thinking? Is she thinking? There must be something going on in her beautiful head apart from just instinct. I think.
I think that their grasp of body language is far more subtle than ours, and they can read lots of micro signals which we miss. Most dogs know when another dog or person has the potential to be threatening or unpredictable, but judging just how likely is a learned skill. Young or undersocialised dogs will sometimes make mistakes, and react before anything has happened, or simply just out of fear. Unfortunately, the law does not allow any leniency for these mistakes, (and though it should be impartial), especially for anything that looks Bully. The only way is to try and make sure that dogs are allowed a safe distance from which to evaluate their triggers, until they become bomb proof by repeatedly exposing them under controlled conditions. eg. obedience classes with a variety of dogs, and male and female trainers, or allowing other trustworthy people to handle and treat your dog. It can be a slow process, especially with a dog with an unknown past, but patience and a full treat bag usually work in the end.
I think you misread the gas station incident. When I drive Callie sits in the passenger side. He'll observe the world for awhile then curl up and go to sleep. People, other dogs, nothing normally fazes him. When we stop for gas he'll sit and watch the gas people without a word. Some of them wave and tell him how handsome he is and he's fine even if they come near the car. I had someone else theorize that he was reading tension from me around men and projecting on it. I don't feel that is accurate. Personally I'm often more comfortable around men than women. But maybe knowing his past behavior does make me tense up sometimes. Another side to look at is that we live in an urban area where cars are jacked in broad daylight and seniors have been mugged at night. So in some ways protecting me can be positive. But yeah we need to avoid places like that store with too tight aisles and not being able to see who is approaching. Responsible bully ownership is keeping him safe and everyone else too. Bye the bye treats don't work with him. He won't accept food outside our house. Historically bullies were bred to please their humans. With Callie, kissing him and rubbing his tushie seems to be a terrific reward. We definitely have a strong connection. I just have to work on " It's okay I have the situation under control, you don't have to be on high alert".
