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What the sam hill did I get??


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Okay, so I go to pick up this BC puppy. It's NOT a puppy! I don't know how old he is, but definitely over 6mos.! And I don't know WHAT he is! He is marked like a BC, but his head is not shaped like one, and his body is kinda weird. I measured him and he is only 15" tall! When I got home with him, he tried to attack Jackson and Skip through the fence. I got mine back from the gate, and with Toby(new name!)still on lead, I went in the yard. Every sniff was answered with a snarl and bite, though when I say bite, it was never enough for pain or penetration. So, then I take the dog off lead. I can only describe the scenerio as a dog that has never been with another dog, and has NO idea of the proper way to be around them. He is really like a wild dog, no self control AT ALL! Jackson had to finally get snarly in his face with lots of teeth showing, and the dog finally back down. Skip, who pretty much has gotton away with a lot with Jackson, and very full of himself, is now "cowed". This dog absolutely will not leave him be. He is constantly humping Skip. I DO intervine, but yesterday, it was a constant, every minute thing. He would not settle and lie down till late last night! I know he slept well, and all night! A lot of this is because he has not had ANY decipline, and not been around other dogs, and not had so much interaction with people at one time! My grandkids, who are here now, ages 8,10,14 and 15 have been great! (I taught them well! :rolleyes: ) Today, he is not so, 900mph at everything. He is learning what aaaccckk means and is able to stop when I tell him to. He is getting the idea not to jump up on us. Jackson still ignores him, and he still tries to annoy Jackson, Skip wants to play with him so bad, but Toby, for some reason thinks that playing means "mouthing" and it is confusing Skip. I have no idea what I will accomplish with him, but I think from the changes I have seen so far, in less than 24hrs., there is hope! LOL It is really worse than if he was a puppy because he has had SO much time with nothing! This will be a real challenge. But, we had a "meeting" and we are all commited to his re-hab/learning. ALL corrections are the same and consistant. My guys are not "attacking" him, but I am letting them give Toby corrections when he gets in their faces. I intervine when I see Toby is not responding and mine are going in stress mode. On the plus side, he is so dadgum cute! And he loves getting loved on! He mouths, but does not bite. And he seems to have a high capacity to learn and seems WILLING to learn! Well, this will indeed be a saga on his road to being a "normal" dog!

 

Here are some pics, maybe y'all will know or guess what the heck is in him! He goes to the vet mon. so maybe the doc will know!

 

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Hehe, you have your hands full, Linda! :D Hopefuly Jackson and Skipp (and you, of course!!!) will be able to teach this wild child some proper manners before he finds his family! He kindda looks like he has spaniel mixed in him, doesn't he? That square muzzle in the 2nd pic... Maybe I'm delirious, I haven't had my coffee yet :rolleyes: He's a cutie, and from the first picture you can tell he has plenty of attitude :D

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Wow, he does have an interesting look...I think spaniel is a good bet. Here is a link to my funny looking mix. He was plenty snarky when we got him...but food training won him over. He was a fun agility partner. The spaniel took a little bit of the "edge" of the drive. Just what I needed as a novice handler. It's great when dedicated folks can teach a dog what it means to be a dog!!

 

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I agree with the others too. That last picture (side view) sure looks like a cocker profile. I am surprised that his ears aren't longer, if that is the mix.

 

ETA: We have wondered if Jack has some spaniel in him. At times, his muzzle seems very squarish, especially if the ears are up. At other times, when he has his ears plastered against his head, everything looks BC. The hair on his ears gets very long. At almost 18 months, he is slightly over knee high and weighs 35 pounds which seems to be solid muscle.

 

Around 6 or 7 months old:

 

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OK, you are gonna think I'm a nutcase, but I think he's got either pug, Cavalier KCS, or shiztu (sp?) in him. More likely the latter, considering the attitude.

 

Here's what I'd do. He needs some time to take a chill pill. Seperate him and take him for frequent walks on leash. Crating is preferable. Pretend he has an illness and requires crate rest, if you feel somewhat uncomfortable doing this. In a way he does. What you are doing is reducing the number of changes he has to deal with all at once. The first one he deals with will be the most important one, so it's got to be you. At the end of the week, if you whisper "Jump" he'll snap back, "How high?"

 

Now you can introduce your dogs one at a time. Don't let him bully them. He's got to learn not to be nasty or it will be so much harder to place him. If he's not a Border Collie and not nice, he's got two strikes against him and people will pass him right by. Any nasty stuff and it's back to the crate for cooling off. Then be sure he gets another chance to get it right in a few minutes.

 

Don't try any physical corrections with him. If he is a lap dog cross, he's likely to simply turn on you and that will be no joke considering he's not really lap dog size. But seperation is quite effective most of the time (unless he's just mental). Zhi will occaisionally turn into an "armpit pirrahna" at another dog when I'm holding her and I instantly put her down - I don't even yell at her. She is immediately contrite and won't even look at the other dog again.

 

Good luck Linda!

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I would lean more to spaniel than cav'y I've had a couple of eng springer/bc mixes come through as fosters and Toby sounds/looks very much like our Blue that was the last foster I had, Im pretty sure that he had springer spaniel in him, mouthy, bouncy, into everybodies faces, slow on the uptake on manners in general, but sweet as the day was long and very gentle with people after he finally realized that people were ok.

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Definitely looks like some bc but I would guess a small spaniel type was mixed in there -Cavvy or Cocker maybe - esp considering his small height. My bc/springer was apparently raised w/other dogs so I don't how she would have reacted to other dogs otherwise but she definitely has the 900 mph thing down! Great w/kids, intelligent, obedient - while I wouldn't deliberately breed a cross, a bc/spaniel is not a bad mix normally.

 

Have fun - you're going to have your hands full!

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It sounds like he really does need a time out. I'm going to mimic the advice given above, give him some quiet time. Whenever I bring a foster dog home from the shelter, the first thing he gets, before meeting everyone, is time to settle.

 

All that energy, aside from being a pushy pup, is a sign of stress and he feels that he needs to make sure everyone knows he's in charge because quite literally, he's been pushed with his back up against the wall emotionally.

 

Even my behaviorist kennels his patients, especially the wound up ones, in his back yard for a few days, up to a week, before he deals with them. It takes the pressure off of the dog to have to take over his environment as all the choices are taken away from him.

 

Good luck!! LOL...sounds like he's very different from the two girls!!

 

Maria

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I have to admit, my first thought when reading this was, "better you than me." :rolleyes: But, even the most obnoxious dogs tend to settle down once they are in an environment where there is some structure, consistency, and rules. I'm afraid you may be in for a bit of a wild ride, though. But, think how rewarding it will be to turn this wildman into a respectable guy.

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Wicket has that same large forehead with a dent :rolleyes: and he is a brittany spaniel mix, So I am going to go with some sort of spaniel mix with Boston Terror and something else :D

 

 

Good Luck!! :D

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I'm late getting to the thread but it sounds like you have your hands full Linda :rolleyes: But in every bad dog there's a good one too. You'll just have to work harder to get it out of him I guess. Good luck, I hope he starts coming around for you. It does sound like he's improving some though. It will probably just take some time to get used to being around other dogs.

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I dunno... pretty teensy for a Springer. They're usually pretty substantial dogs, 65# or more. Ditto on the pit bulls, and though I've seen a few teeny boxers, usually they're a lot sizier as well. I thought he looked a little Cavalier King Charles-y myself, but with a mix, who knows? Could be a Boston mix, or a Cocker mix, or any one of a number of other things....

 

Best of luck with him, at any rate.

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