Serious Aggression?
Hello all.
I signed up for this website for the same reason everyone did: I love my corgi. Loki is 1 1/2 years old and he is a typical, red, pembroke. Very high energy, very smart, and very cute. However, he has been seriously aggressive since the day we got him. I have done my research on the types of aggression and it's hard to know exactly what types he has, but he certainly has dominance aggression.
I am relating my story in the hopes that someone has had a similar situation (misery loves company), or even better, that someone has overcome a similar situation and can give my fiancé and me hope that Loki can be the loving companion we always wanted.
Loki has graduated with flying colors from obedience class. He gets hours of exercise a day ranging from long walks, to long play sessions, to serious mental training exercises. Yet, he still will seemingly snap and bite either myself or my fiancé for what appears to be no reason.
For instance, about an hour ago, my fiancé and I were sitting on the couch making wedding plans. Loki wanted to get on the couch and he came to me first. I told him no, and he listened like he does and just laid at my feet. After a few minutes, he went to my fiancé, who ignored him. Then without warning he lunged at her and latched on to her arm. He was blind with rage. No command in the world would make him stop, so I pulled him off her by the scruff of his neck and kept him scruffed until he calmed down. I had to hold him for an hour before he would stop baring his teeth and growling. I am not an advocate of physical punishment or correction towards animals. I feel cruel having to scruff him even when he is attacking my fiancé. Finally, we both got tired enough that I got him to go into his kennel (a place he enjoys and in which he feels safe). Yet, he was still trying to bite me while I guided him into his kennel.
This is not the first and not the worst instance of violence Loki has instigated. And I use the word instigated because these are moments in which the worst we might be doing to him is ignoring him while we have a conversation. I don't try to blame animals and I fully believe that the owner is responsible for bad behavior. But I just don't understand!
Is this typical of the breed? Is this a what dogs do? I had a dog when I was younger and she was sweet and never so much as growled let alone bit anyone. However, Loki is the first dog I have raised from a puppy as an adult and I am seriously worried that I may have to find him a new home - which would break my heart and I would probably never get another dog.
We have seen behavoralist, we have had vets look at him and had blood work done, we have contacted the breeder, we have made it a point to constantly learn training techniques and adjust our own shortcomings as owners, but it never seems to be able to break his aggression. I don't want a perfect dog, I just want one that won't bite me.
So that's the basics of my corgi horror story. I love Loki, but this entire last year and a half has been like nothing I could have imagined when I picked him up from the breeder with everyone all smiles. Don't get me wrong, there have been some amazing, wonderful moments, but there has also been a lot of blood (all mine and my fiancé's).
Anyone else have corgi horror stories? Anyone have corgi success stories that grew from a dog with serious aggression? Any input will be gladly accepted (even if it's to tell me that I am a terrible dog owner).
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Snickmom on
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Matt: please please please get another dog. Do not let this extremely rare occurrence keep the two of you from enjoying the love and companionship a dog brings. Whether you try another corgi or choose another breed, we are all animal lovers here, and would support you in whatever you decide- feel free to come back when your heart has healed.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I am so sorry for your loss BUT I believe you did the right think not only for you BUT also for Loki!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I work with people with mental illness and know how difficult it can be so I can't imagine if this was true for Loki how horrible it was for him too as he probably tried hard but his brain just couldn't get past some of his issues.
Please get another dog but never from that breeder. Dogs are amazing companions and my wish would be that no one would ever have to go through what you did.
RIP Loki...
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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Matt, I know this is a very sad time for you and your fiancee. It took courage to take the decision you took and I applaud you for it. It was a loving thing, in spite of what some may think or say. Somewhere in your future is another sweet dog like the one you grew up with, just waiting for the right time to come into your lives.
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I agree with Anna...it took courage and love to make your decision!
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Permalink Reply by E on
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I'm going to be the unpopular voice here: I don't understand why this person posted this topc, asking for help. This thread was started on Sunday. Two days later, the dog was euthanized. Did something happen between Sunday and Tuesday? In a prior comment, the person posted:
"For now, we are going to keep working with him and we are taking him to the vet to get blood work done to see if he might have a thyroid issue or something of that nature (something the behaviorist suggested)."
And now the dog is dead? Did they even take the dog to the vet? Something doesn't seem right here. Was the person simply looking for validation for a choice they had already made? Is this a spam thread?
I recognize that I don't know their history - that I haven't walked in their shoes, that the situation is difficult and that euthanasia is a hard choice to make. But to go from "we're going to keep working with him, get blood work, etc" to "he's been euthanized" in a span of 2 days? Pretty quick 180 turn.
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E, in answer to your question, between Sunday and Tuesday Loki's owners gained the clarity they needed to make the hard choice they did. The decision was not driven by what may have transpired during those 2 days ( although more may have indeed happened ), but rather by all that had happened from when the dog was 10 wks old until this time. What seems to you as a quick turn around was a year and a half in the making.
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E, His name is Matt and he was asking for help with not only difficult but dangerous situation. What did or did not happen from the discussion we may never know BUT just as you gave your advice several of us gave ours. I help a humane society near us occasionally and the head person has had to do the same thing as it can be a VERY dangerous situation and it hurts anyone who has to do this BUT I would feel horrible if this dog were to bite someone else or hit an artery...sometimes we can only support a person and the decision they make.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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They'd already had him to vets and a behaviorist. I think Matt posted here already at the end of his rope. Perhaps something happened, perhaps reading responses made him realize that he could never rehome Loki.
A dog who snaps when you reach for a bone is one thing. A dog who will lunge and grab someone's arm so hard he has to be manually pulled off, all for the "sin" of ignoring the dog when the dog wants the couch, is unsafe to live with. I don't know that any amount of training would have fixed this, and the alternative is having a dog who lives his life in a kennel. Based on the description in the original post, the dog continued to growl and try to press the attack for the better part of an hour.
People can't live that way.
My heart goes out to Matt. I'm with Anna: breeders need to take temperament seriously. Dogs with iffy temperaments should never be bred from, no matter how gorgeous or correct or talented they may be. At the end of the day, the safety of the people who live with the dogs has to come first.
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Permalink Reply by Julia on
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Matt, if you're still reading this,
Don't blame yourself for this sad situation. Our sympathies are with you. It can be hard for many people to accept it, but not every animal can be a safe pet. Not every animal is healthy in their mind, or body. I hope you can find a dog someday who can be a happy part of your family.
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