Ozzie

[jess83]

I have a 13 week old chow chow his name is Ozzie. We got him around the 2nd week of Dec and at first he was just like a regular loving puppy, i had family from out of town visiting for the holidays so it was a very rowdy time for the lil guy and we had 6 adhd kids running around him from ages 2-12 so i cant explain how much chaos their was! After about 2 weeks all the family left but Ozzie wasnt the same anymore he was totally tramatized he had to deal with 2 yr olds poking his eyeballs 4 yr olds throwing him to the ground just to see if he would cry kids running back n forth stomping and stampeding so he was just hyper and nervous at the same time. Now its hard to pet him cause he wants to defend himself thinking everybody is gonna hurt him and he bites everything he comes n contact with. I took him for all his shots and to have him fixed last friday hes doing better but the vet said hes very territorial and that i should get him under control or i may have a problem on my hand has anyone ever had to deal with any situation like this or does anyone have any suggestions on what might b a good thing to do to get Ozzie to calm down now??

[Sarahloo]

he had to deal with 2 yr olds poking his eyeballs 4 yr olds throwing him to the ground just to see if he would cry kids running back n forth stomping and stampeding so he was just hyper and nervous at the same time.

Wow, why did you not protect your BABY dog from that violent onslaught? Of course he's a mess now and that has nothing to do with him being "territorial"! Being bullied like that at such an early age - how could he not lose his faith in humanity? How can you restore it? I don't know if YOU can. Find him a lovely new home with a childless couple who can slowly, patiently repair the damage those kids have caused. If you keep him and those kids visit again and behave the same way they did this year, he will hurt them, in self-defense and out of sheer, utter helplessness!

[Jeff&Vicki]

I have a 13 week old chow chow his name is Ozzie. We got him around the 2nd week of Dec and at first he was just like a regular loving puppy, i had family from out of town visiting for the holidays so it was a very rowdy time for the lil guy and we had 6 adhd kids running around him from ages 2-12 so i cant explain how much chaos their was! After about 2 weeks all the family left but Ozzie wasnt the same anymore he was totally tramatized he had to deal with 2 yr olds poking his eyeballs 4 yr olds throwing him to the ground just to see if he would cry kids running back n forth stomping and stampeding so he was just hyper and nervous at the same time. Now its hard to pet him cause he wants to defend himself thinking everybody is gonna hurt him and he bites everything he comes n contact with. I took him for all his shots and to have him fixed last friday hes doing better but the vet said hes very territorial and that i should get him under control or i may have a problem on my hand has anyone ever had to deal with any situation like this or does anyone have any suggestions on what might b a good thing to do to get Ozzie to calm down now??

Is this a joke?

You allowed 6 kids to abuse a puppy and now you want to know how to fix it. Chows don't forget.

I hope I'm wrong, but he is going to bite someone down the road. I think the best thing is to find this puppy a new home that will not ever have children around him.

[jess83]

Theres nothing i could do at the time i couldnt beat the kids and i have 3 children and their older 9 11 and 13 and they hardly ever visit nor will i worry about it in the future cause hes old enough to defend his self now lol at that time he was only 8 or so weeks old so he was helpless yes i certain did get on to the kids but they were just being kids and they do have a little disorder but i didnt let them torture him too bad but i couldnt beat the kids what i did was try to keep ozzie in his cage most of the time but i spent time with him at night and he loves me and will listen to me but he dont care for n e one els and he really dont trust kids lol but i just thought mabe u all had some suggestions i explained it to my vet and he said theirs still time to fix him i just have to b patient but thanx for yalls replys n e way.

[jess83]

I raised a rottweiler from 5 weeks old and he was the gentlest giant 185lbs. uve ever seen so i dont think that dogs cant b around children their supposed to get used to children just not children that arent diciplined lol mine r well diciplined!

[Piff Poff]

So let me get this right, you got a 8 week old puppy who was poked and prodded, dropped and pulled around for two weeks by scary misbehaved nightmare children, you then sent him to be fixed and he's only 13 weeks old now? Poor little guy so much going on in 5 weeks, he didn't even have a chance to get used to his new home.

You really are going to have to start from scratch building his trust and your going to have to socialize him, but slowly giving him time to realise that some experiences can be fun and some children can be pleasant - he may never like to be near kids again. I think it's pretty irresponsible letting him be poked and mauled like he was, whether they were your kids or not, he's YOUR puppy in YOUR home with surely YOUR rules.

[jess83]

Well i think ur right about all that and i held of getting him fixed and getting his shots as long as i could. The original situation was my aunt was here visiting and decided shed buy a puppy after she bought him and brought him here to my house and let her grandkids get a hold of him he started to attack the 2 yr old after he got tired of his eyes being poked and etc.. but n e ways i told her to leave Ozzie with me cause her kids would either kill him or hed hurt one of them so she went back to Florida and left Ozzie with me. I thought it was a great idea because she lives in extreme temperatures plus the kid situation was gonna b a mess and we have been patient and Ozzies coming around hes always loved me from the beginning cause ive always defended him and cared for him but i just thought some more opinions on my journey would b very helpful.

[Piff Poff]

It does sound as though your willing to invest time in him, take it slowly and gently, get him into puppy classes and keep him away from noisy kids until he's more used to them. Good luck with him. I'm pretty sure you will have a wonderful chow.

[Tippsy'smom]

One: You did right by him by getting him out of the situation. NO chow/dog deserves that. If I'd treated ANY animal like that as a kid, even 2 y/o, my mother would've beat me!
Two: He should NOT have been neutered yet! He's WAY too young! You should've waited until he's 6 months old at least!
Three: You're going to have to work HARD with him. And if you're not dedicated to it, then find him a new home where they WILL be dedicated to working with him.

If you are dedicated to him and HIS needs, take him out places, socialize him with adults, children, and other dogs. But don't force him to meet anyone, you don't want him getting hurt trying to get away, or for him to hurt anyone. Make it a positive experience! Give him treats, pats, and tell him he's a good boy when he lets people near him without reacting badly. But YOU have to be confident about it all. YOU are his leader, so if YOU are confident, HE will be confident. BUT do NOT coddle him. Don't pick him up and tell him "It's alright", "I've got you", or anything along those lines. If he reacts with a growl, snarl, or tries to bite; give him a firm "NO!" and only take him away from the situation when he's calmed down.

And do a search on NILF (Nothing In Life Is Free) in the training section. I've trained all 3 of my crew this way.

[jess83]

Thank you i am prepared to do whatever it takes and me and my family dont blame ozzie for being how he is we know its not his fault at all but were glad we decided to keep him and i think he will be a fine dog if we just keep at it!

[Tippsy'smom]

I hope y'all can work it all out together. He deserves it!

[jess83]

Well my vet and i talked it over and he thought the sooner the better so i just knoced it all out at 1nce and hes done fine hes actually a little calmer and he stayed overnight at the vet and was really happy 2 c us when we picked him up and i have noticed him being a little more social now mabe i could have waited but ita all over with now and hes fine! I have checked out the NILF website and thats a great resource and ive been trying some of the tips and they really work its nice to know someone els has used it and succeeded thanks for all the great advice!

[Tippsy'smom]

You're welcome! I was just sayin' because it can cause joint issues.

And NILF is great! My crew know that something's expected of them. And the only thing the Dog Whisperer has taught me is "exercise, discipline, and affection", and if you do it in that order you'll have a calm, well-rounded dog.

[Victory]

First find a new vet. Any vet that neuters a puppy that young is not a good vet. Your puppy could be prone to serious joint issues in the very near future for being neutered that young. Also I've noticed that puppies that are neutered or spayed that young never really learn to deal with other dogs proberly. They don't ever learn to read the signals right.

Second, don't try to socialize him with chidern. Chows NEVER forget, and they especially don't forget when they have been truamatized at a young age. It is between 6 and 12 weeks that the base of his personality is formed, every experience at that age MUST be positive. His were not, he will never for get it. The best you can hope for is that he will ignore childern of that age, but he will never play with them or trust them. With NILF you can maybe get him to be calm around children, just ignoring them. But never allow a child to approach him again, and never allow a child to raise a hand to him again, because neutered or not, he will bite that child.

I hope I'm wrong, but after having chows for many years now and many of them rescues and learning to read their behaviors and guess at the cause of those behaviors, I really think your best course of action is to have him around adults only, and to really watch him with other dogs. He's primed to have many fear biting issues, so will need to be handled with expert care from here on out.

[jess83]

1.Well my vets office has been open for over 20 yrs and they r highly recommended by all of our community and they told me as long as the dog weighs 2 lbs theyre able to b fixed with the same complications as any other fixing and that theyve never heard of joint issues or n e thing els and whoever told me that perhaps should change vets theirselves..2. i dont think its necessary for him to interact with other dogs or get to the humping stage before being fixed i think he cant miss what he never knew. 3. i think he will b just fine hes already doing just fine with my kids and their friends and we r all practicing NILF so i c nothing but a positive outcome and he couldnt wish for a better home or family than he has here with us!

[Merlin]

Jess, it's too bad that you left.
Victory is right in saying that two months is absurdly too young for sterilization.
Your dog needs his hormones to help grow and develop both bone and muscle properly, so that is why the universal standard for sterilization has changed to the age of one year or older and I agree, and ethical vet would have asked you to wait. It would have been a different story had you pulled this dog from a shelther, but you didn't, so surgery could have waited.

Also I've noticed that puppies that are neutered or spayed that young never really learn to deal with other dogs proberly.

The above comment however sure sounds like snake oil. That's almost as bad as saying that dogs who eat raw meat become vicious.
Inter dog socialization is based on just that... socialization. It has absolsutely nothing to do with neutering or spaying and progressive up-bringing.

-and Jess, if you do some back and read this, ( and we hope that you do), territorialism isn't based on neutering either. It's something that a dog develops because he/she is allowed to. It's unfortunate that you had this dog sterlized so early, but maybe you'll know this information for some future dog.

[Victory]

Jess, it's too bad that you left.

Also I've noticed that puppies that are neutered or spayed that young never really learn to deal with other dogs proberly.

The above comment however sure sounds like snake oil. That's almost as bad as saying that dogs who eat raw meat become vicious.
Inter dog socialization is based on just that... socialization. It has absolsutely nothing to do with neutering or spaying and progressive up-bringing.
.

As I said, that is/was something I've noticed just my own observations. I live in a area with one of the largest concentrations of dogs in a very few square blocks with nearly 200 dogs, I noticed that many who are neutered very young, don't get along with the others, their behavior when approaching other dogs is normally hostile. Now this may be because of hormonal issues, or it may be because people often thing that neutering and/or spaying a dog will do all the training for a person and they don't actually train the dog. On the other hand the intact males in the neighborhood are for the most part very well behaved dogs...but again that may be because their owners take the time to actually train them.

[Tippsy'smom]

Second, don't try to socialize him with chidern. Chows NEVER forget, and they especially don't forget when they have been truamatized at a young age. It is between 6 and 12 weeks that the base of his personality is formed, every experience at that age MUST be positive. His were not, he will never for get it. The best you can hope for is that he will ignore childern of that age, but he will never play with them or trust them. With NILF you can maybe get him to be calm around children, just ignoring them. But never allow a child to approach him again, and never allow a child to raise a hand to him again, because neutered or not, he will bite that child.

I hope I'm wrong, but after having chows for many years now and many of them rescues and learning to read their behaviors and guess at the cause of those behaviors, I really think your best course of action is to have him around adults only, and to really watch him with other dogs. He's primed to have many fear biting issues, so will need to be handled with expert care from here on out.

Victory, I agree that chows never forget, Tippsy hasn't forgotten being punched in the head by the jerk-wad guy that lived behind us when she was a puppy but I socialized her with men and now she can at least be in the same room with men without freaking out....

[Victory]

Second, don't try to socialize him with chidern. Chows NEVER forget, and they especially don't forget when they have been truamatized at a young age. It is between 6 and 12 weeks that the base of his personality is formed, every experience at that age MUST be positive. His were not, he will never for get it. The best you can hope for is that he will ignore childern of that age, but he will never play with them or trust them. With NILF you can maybe get him to be calm around children, just ignoring them. But never allow a child to approach him again, and never allow a child to raise a hand to him again, because neutered or not, he will bite that child.

I hope I'm wrong, but after having chows for many years now and many of them rescues and learning to read their behaviors and guess at the cause of those behaviors, I really think your best course of action is to have him around adults only, and to really watch him with other dogs. He's primed to have many fear biting issues, so will need to be handled with expert care from here on out.

Victory, I agree that chows never forget, Tippsy hasn't forgotten being punched in the head by the jerk-wad guy that lived behind us when she was a puppy but I socialized her with men and now she can at least be in the same room with men without freaking out....

I had to do much the same with MingToy and LiChi, Ming, Darkwind and Firesong. MingToy had been tormented by some fool who sneezed a lot, he would leave the room if anyone sneezed and panic if he couldn't get away, we got him so he wouldn't panic. LiChi accepted people in the family, but didn't allow strangers in the house, I got him to allow and even like strangers in the house, on the street was a different matter, Ming had no use for children, but I got him to the point where he'd actually go up to them to be petted, (because he got rewards from me, it was kind of cute) Darkwind was scared of crossing the street, large dark vehicles and being restrained, we got through it, Firesong didn't dislike people, she just ignored them, now she enjoys being petted and fussed over. But in all these cases it took a while to get them to where they were comfortable with the situations that scared them or reminded them of something unpleasent. It may take months before this puppy is really safe around small children, I would watch him closely until he was at least a year old over the teenage phase and settled into adulthood. I'm recommeding caution here, because let's face it, if he does go after a small child and injures him/her he'll be put down, because the authorities don't care about how a dog was treated as a puppy, once the puppy is grown and attacks someone.

[Auddymay]

Well...so much said here. I want to only address the current situation. Ozz needs to be socialized, and given some basic training. Now.

Basically, what you are doing here is correcting your socialization. He has learned through interaction with ADHD kids that children are to be feared, and probably those big people, too. HE WILL NEVER FORGET THIS LESSON. It is imprinted on his personality. All you can do now, is give him some 'exceptions to the rule' socialization, and manners to keep him out of bad situations. Let's face it, every dog will eventually need to deal with people. Maybe not alot of people, but still...

Sign up at Petsmart or similar for their 10 week puppy course. They use positive reinforcement, which is the ONLY type a Chow or any other dog should get. Punishment based training never works with a Chow. Even though it will be work for you, take Ozzie somewhere EVERYDAY where he will need to see people and other animals. For God's sake, do not say the phrase "it's okay" or some other soothing thing if he growls or acts improper. Use blocking, where you put your body between him and the object of his discomfort. It blocks his vision, and when he is not making noises of discontent at the sight of people or animals, praise and treat if he was especially good.

There is many other things you should be doing. This is just something you need to start immediately. Never put Ozzie in a dicey situation in order to socialize. That is what ruined him to begin with. Good luck, and Please read more on our Training section.