Foster Journal
January 2003: Lucky Updates
January 3, 2003
Hey Amy, it's Dani. Today we've been having some problems
with Lucky. She is being very vicious towards us and we havn't
even done anyhing to her. We yell at her to stop growling and she
bites us. She bit my mom's foot and bit my hand. She drew blood.
I can barely type my hand hurts so bad. What can be causing her to
act so vicious?
---
Hi Dani,
I'm really sorry to hear that you are having problems. I wanted
to call you but I can't find your phone number. You need to
contact the trainers at the humane society. You can get some
advice from
them over the phone, and they also might want to evaluate her
in "person." Please call [info removed]. She is in
charge of training and education. She has more experience with
behavioral issues than I do and will be able to offer you advice
and possibly some training. It would also be a good idea to
take Lucky to a vet to make sure she doesn't have a physical
problem
that is causing her to act differently.
I have actually just left a message for her within the past half
hour for a similar problem. My current foster dog has not bitten
but has shown some aggression (barking and snapping). So it is a
pretty common problem. Do not despair, but also please don't take
this problem lightly. Please get a professional trainer involved
so you can make an educated decision about how to proceed from here.
Hope
your hand is feeling better.
January 4, 2003
Amy,
I am Lucky's attorney and I am entering a plea of not guilty to
the charge of a malicious unprovoked attack on humans. I wasn't home
when it happened but I'm certain that there were extenuating circumstances.
For
instance, it is a known fact that Lucky was trained in her previous
life to defend all sleeping humans from all other humans. This includes
anyone lying down anywhere, anyone pretending to sleep, and anyone
occupying a place that
she percieves to be a nest. Lucky has come to understand that I am
her master and that Darlene and Danielle are my other pets. When
Danielle got out the water mister and said "I'm gonna spray
your face" Lucky misunderstood her. She thought she said "I'm
gonna spray you with mace" and she had a flashback to the time
her previous owner had a run-in with the cops and both of them got
maced. At that point she snapped and started biting. She also told
me that she was protecting her master's lair and if it had been another
room she wouldn't have been quite so short tempered. She says that
since she has had no other biting incidents in the year that she
has been here, it is quite obvious that it is the human animals that
need training and discipline, not her. Case closed.
Dean
---
Hi Dean,
Thanks for the update. It's always a tough call, because
it's entirely natural for dogs to bite, and sort of unfair of us
to not just let them. =) Still, it's definitely something to keep
an eye on. Lucky has that "terrier" personality. She is
feisty and won't back down. It wouldn't hurt to be a little extra
careful anytime you have visitors over (especially if little kids
ever visit), because most people see it as a black and white issue,
and you could have a real lawsuit on your hands. (Not saying I believe
it's right -- just that, if she ever drew blood on anybody outside
the family, things could go bad pretty quickly.)
Still, if she had wanted to do *major* damage, she would have. Dogs
tend to bite exactly as hard as they meant to, and not any more or
less than they think is necessary. =)
I'm not at all saying that you have a dangerous dog on your hands.
It's just the safest policy to always say "see and vet and a
pro trainer." I remember Lucky had some other issues
with toy guarding and not wanting her feet handled, so I know she
can be a touchy girl sometimes. Not necessarily a big issue, as long
as you don't allow any lawsuit-happy folks to mess with her.
I have aggression on the brain these days anyway, because my current
foster dog barked and jumped on my grandmother over Christmas (she
swears it "attacked" and "bit" her), and now
she is telling all our friends and relatives about this dangerous
dog that I am harboring.
Anyway, I hope you were able to get Lucky's itchiness under control.
January 24, 2003
Hi Amy! I took Lucky to the vet today for a checkup. She had been
chewing her hindquarters lately til she looked like a baseball glove.
It turns out she had fleas. YECCHHHH!!!!!!!! as they would say in
Mad Magazine. She
sleeps in bed with us! She got her rabies shot and a cortisone shot
and some Frontline for the fleas. Now she's moping around like she's
sick, but I think the shot made her sleepy and her hip has to be
sore from the shots. I
bet she can taste the Frontline, too. She weighs 46 lbs, the fatass.
The vet said she was part Scottie with no pitbull in her. Remember
to dry your dogs' feet when they come inside so that they don't get
frostbite. It's NASTY out there.
Dean
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