Our Lad Toffee

[Lins]

Hi Roy, are you sure that this is the same Toffee that I remember being sooooooooooooo nervous, or have you got a stand in.

[benjiesmum]

So great to see these piccies. You seem to be working wonders with the lad!

[mollie]

Everyone else has already said what I would have said!

Marge x

[royuk]

Toffee is coming along in many ways, but one problem seems to be getting worst. When we got him he growled at my wife a few times but recently he has gone for her twice snarling and growling. Today she was just stroking him and talking to him and in a flash he went for her. If I hadn't have been there he would have got her. He was sent to his bed and soon calmed down. I ring the centre today to see if they had any advice but no answer on the phones. Maybe my wife look or sound like the previous oner- I don't know

Dose any one have any advice.

[mollysmum]

Sorry can not help with the growling but hopefully someone will be able to. I hope that you manage to get to the root of the problem and sort it out. Good luck

[playpen]

A dogs first sense is scent and then sight and hearing.
Maybe Toffee is passing judgement on your wifes choice of purfume/deoderant.???
It may be the trigger from his unhappy history???

[Linda&David]

Who does the feeding Roy? i know of someone who had the same problem where the man
of the house did all the feeding they changed so one fed morning and one fed at night
it sorted the problem out, you know what labs are like with there food.
Hope this helps.


David.

[LabRes1]

It is wonderful that considering his past, someone was prepared to give Toffee a chance - it was his last chance and because of his aggression we would not normally have been able to help him. It is also good that someone is prepared to put in the time to give him a chance, settle and work with his problems as only too often we find that dogs are brought back after only 24 hours because 'it hasnt settled', 'it is wihining' or 'it isnt doing exactly what I tell it to'!

I do however, on behalf of the rescue have to throw in a cautionary note here -

It was made very clear when we tried to re-home toffee that there was a problem with children and he must not be in the vacinity of children and I believe this was made clear during discussions with Glenys. Whilst I can see from the photos he was supervised with the youngster Toffee is approximately 5 stone of powerful working line Labrador who could, if he chose to, lunge at and seriously injure a child or adult far quicker than anyone could stop him.

He has only been in his new home a short time after quite a period of torment and abuse - which I believe came mainly from a child. It is far to soon in his rehabilitation to be taking chances with this dog.. noone can know if, or what may make him snap unexpectedly. Also, his big football was the only toy he had - it is his special toy which he was, and probably can still be quite protective of - letting a small child touch it, take it from him or try to play with him using it again could be risky and should really be avoided at all costs.

Toffee has now shown signs of aggression - something that now causes even more concern - Glenys has been informed and will be contacting you shortly and we are hoping that John may also be able to intervene with some advice as soon as he can spare the time.

Any rescue dog is an unknown quantity. We do our best to find out about them, assess them and pass on as much information as we possibly can - most dogs come from good homes and apart from the usual pulling on lead and mischeviousness dont have any problems but I think it is important to point out that all dogs, particularly those like toffee, should be given time to settle, and you should all take time to get to know your dog before you start trusting it in situations where things could go wrong.

Sometimes problems can simply arise because the dog has been taken from its home, brought to kennels, then taken to someones home - it has new routines to learn, it has its place in the pack to learn and it can be very unsettling for some dogs and through this or fear a dog must be considered as unpredictable until it has time to settle and prove itself.

[royuk]

Thanks for the advice. I do most things, feeding him, taking him for walks' etc. But my wife dose brush him and comes on a walk sometimes and give him treats. She is also the one who can get him to behave himself better then me.

I see what you mean about the grandkids. They came and wanted to see him and he dose love his ball, he love others to kick or throe it, so he can go and get it - he will play like that for a long time.

[LabRes1]

It wasnt intended as a critisism roy - you have taken on a challenge and i know from experience how easy it can be to forget the background, accept everything is wonderful and then get caught out with a rude awakening..

Big Ben is one of the biggest cuddle monsters there is - when we got him he was about 50kg (getting on for 8 stone) - daughter dropped a packet on the floor when making her tea - ben got it and when she went to take it off him like she would with the others he snarled at her like a dog posessed - he went for me on one occasion and there was a lot of work took place to overcome this - in fact I would say it took about 2 years for me to get to a stage where i can take something off him - and yet if a child gives him a treat he is so very gentle with them - there was no way of telling this problem existed and it was his only problem - if we had left him alone with a young child who knows what may have happened - as it happened she knew to stand still and call us.

This is one of the reasons why - as a general rule - we dont place dogs into homes with children under 5

[kathryn]

As others have said when people take on a rescue they feel sorry for them, people often think that by taking on a rescue it is just simply a case of giving them a nice warm home and some love. Start as you mean to go on, from the moment you take that dog into your home,if you dont want them to go on the sofa etc then start then, not 2 weeks later this will only confuse the dog...

A dog is a dog at the end of the day, he must know who is the boss, by feeling sorry for that dog he will only pick up on this and in some they take advantage of it. Your wife should do more, feed and also take him for walks on her own, he needs to know he is at the bottom of the pack,if she takes him on her own this is when they bond, walking your dog is the best thing you can do for them. As for treats he only should get them when he has earned then, but a walk is enough of a reward for him.

If no-one assumes the position of the boss the dog will take it, its a natural thing for him,to do, and this is when problems occur.Toffee is from working lines and he needs to use his brain, if he doesnt he will get bored, not just a case of walking 5 miles etc, but also do some retreiving with him,so drain the energy and he will be far more content.

HTH...

[royuk]

Thanks every one for the helpful advice. Today I took toffee, with his ball, to the playing field. He and I had a great time. I have contacted a retired police dog trainer who now works privately. He is coming on Friday, so hopefully he will be able to help out. I will kept you posted.

[Glenys]

Good Luck Roy and thanks again for giving the Lad a chance

[royuk]

Good Luck Roy and thanks again for giving the Lad a chance

Thanks Gaenys. did you manages to get toffee's medical records or should I start over with his injection?

[Lins]

Good luck with toffee Roy. I had to establish myself as pack leader when I took my dads lurcher on after he died. Unfortunately, Pip (lurcher) had been pack leader for a couple of years and had got quite dominating. Once I took the responsibility for pack leadership, she was a far more happier and contented girl. It is a big resposibily being a pack leader and my experience tells me that dogs are far happier once that resposibility had been taken away.

You have done wonders with Toffee up to now, and I see no reason why you should'nt succeed and achieve the outcome that is best for all concerned. Good luck again.