Hero Came Home Today

[Platinum-blonde]

Wow! This is amazing news. Although, I certainly wouldn’t have passed any judgment if you had given him to another family that you felt would have been right fit.

You’re a strong woman. I can only imagine all the feelings going though your head since you got Hero. It’s a shame that the rescue wasn’t as selective as you were about his potential homes. Also, the fact that they weren’t willing to assist you really frustrates me. I think that some rescues are in it for the wrong reason.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

What a handsome boy and I’m so glad you’ve been sharing the story even though it has had its share of heartache.

I handle a dog that weighs more than I do and I have to say the “gentle leader” is the only thing I can use to control him effectively when he’s feeling stubborn. He’s not aggressive but sometimes when something looks or smells particularly interesting he goes for it. The gentle leader is almost like a muzzle but I think it’s effective because if you pull on it the correct way you turn the direction of doggos nose so he can’t really keep going full force forward. I will walk him with a collar sometimes when we are just around the yard but I always use the gentle leader around new environments that he might find overstimulating. He’s a gentle giant but he’s a giant and other folk get scared when he goes at them excited to lick their faces lol. He is a rescue due to him jumping on his prior family and their guests and accidentally injuring one. He will sometimes still try to jump when he meets new people but is easily directed not to.

Wishing the best with Hero!

Edited to add a photo I found of my bear in his gentle leader.

 

[AGBF]

I handle a dog that weighs more than I do and I have to say the “gentle leader” is the only thing I can use to control him effectively when he’s feeling stubborn. He’s not aggressive but sometimes when something looks or smells particularly interesting he goes for it.

...​

He’s a gentle giant but he’s a giant and other folk get scared when he goes at them excited to lick their faces lol. He is a rescue due to him jumping on his prior family and their guests and accidentally injuring one. He will sometimes still try to jump when he meets new people but is easily directed not to.

Thank you for the information, MakingThe Grade. I have seen the gentle leader and heard its praises sung, but never truly understood it. I have pretty good control, although not perfect, with the prong (or "positive correction") collar. Ironically, Hero weighs less than my three previous dogs and is infinitely less strong than my last one (a large male Newfoundland), but I never had to use a prong collar on any of my former dogs!

Your present dog sounds a lot like my late Newfie. What breed (or mixture of breeds) is he? Do you have any other pictures besides the one on your icon? (I cannot see that one well.) How big is he? My Newfie was about 125 pounds when we got him at 16 months, but grew to be about 160 pounds.

Deb

 

[MakingTheGrade]

My big bear is a leonberger. Which I think has some Newfie heritage in the bloodline. Also 160lbs. And extremely stubborn at times! I don’t think a prong collar would even get his attention lol. If he pulls while on his normal collar I just end up tumbling after him. He can’t tug too much on the gentle leader though.

Here’s some other pictures of my big fluff. I make a cameo in the last one as size comparison during our nap lol.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Funnily the times when his gentle leader has been most necessary is at groomers and vet visits when they need to take him away from me. He never wants to go and if not for the gentle leader he probably would have knocked over many well meaning groomers and nurses in his attempts to chase after me or to resist leaving me. He’s totally fine and a sweetheart once he can’t see me anymore though. Go figure.

 

[AGBF]

Your Leonberger is absolutely amazing. He reminds me enormously of my late Newfie, who was of similar size and , it sounds, temperament. I happened to find some postings about him in another thread right after I read your above post in this thread last night (before you added his photo). As I wrote in that thread, I only learned about Leonbergers a few years ago while participating in another forum I belong to about Golden Retrievers. In that forum one member has both a Golden and a Leonberger and regularly posts photos of the two of them playing. What a fabulous breed! And they really look like lions!

I do miss having a huge stuffed animal I can fall on without hurting him! Enjoy your beautiful baby!

Hugs,
Deb

 

[AGBF]

Hero has been an ongoing source of trouble for the past month. He completed his obedience class and has had weekly sessions with the trainer who led the class. (This is the same trainer I used both for my late Newfie and for the crazy Lab I had before him.) However, he has escaped through the fence (under it and through the side of it) as I contracted to have it redone. And for his greatest achievement he broke through the fence and bit two other dogs, causing the police and Animal Control to come down on me! That cost me $167.00 plus the vet bill for the dog next door. I do not even know, yet, how much that will be. And I have to take him out on a leash to urinate and defecate since he can escape through the broken fence...only he is so strong that he can pull away from me on the leash. Yesterday he pulled hard while I had him out on his leash and escaped. It took ages to chase him down (it meant he had to get tired) and get him back to the house and the entire time my daughter and I were chasing him we were worried he could bite another dog. When he finally came in he drank water for about five minutes then lay on the kitchen floor panting, his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth, looking tremendously happy and satisfied with life. Now that is one bad dog!

The fence has been repaired today (the problem was loose screws) and will be completely replaced as soon as the contractor gets to me.

AGBF

 

[redwood66]

@AGBF I am sorry you are having such a hard time with Hero.

 

[Ellen]

Have you made a decision on if you are going to keep him or not Deb?

 

[AGBF]

Have you made a decision on if you are going to keep him or not Deb?

Oh, yes. I always adopt the troublemakers. He is legally mine. The biter of people, Biscuit, was mine until he died, too.

(My good dogs have been my purebreds, my Golden Retriever from the Tigathoes lines and my Mooncusser Newfoundland .)

 

[Ellen]

Oh, yes. I always adopt the troublemakers. He is legally mine. The biter of people, Biscuit, was mine until he died, too.

(My good dogs have been my purebreds, my Golden Retriever from the Tigathoes lines and my Mooncusser Newfoundland .)

Oh, ok. Admittedly I have not kept up with this whole thread, and the last I was reading you were undecided. Well, I wish you much luck with him Deb, and much patience!

 

[House Cat]

Have you given any more consideration to the idea of the gentle leader?

I’m really sorry he’s been so much trouble lately. Did the trainers say anything to you during training about how he was doing?

 

[AGBF]

Have you given any more consideration to the idea of the gentle leader?

I’m really sorry he’s been so much trouble lately. Did the trainers say anything to you during training about how he was doing?

I really had not given any more thought to the gentle leader. There has been far too much going on. I was considering dogwalkers and my trainer wanted me to buy a dogpacer because he felt walking was not enough, that although the dog should get outside for a walk that he needed running on a treadmill, too. Then there was the fence: I needed a quick repair and a long-term fix. And there were his training sessions. Plus I had to make a trip to Virginia, so I was gone for a while. The last time we saw Hero's trainer the dogwalker was with us. It is amazing how much time and energy that dog takes up!

The trainer is pleased with him. When he isn't in trouble, I am, too. He is very smart and understands everything and also very sweet. he is a really lovable baby.Thank you for asking.

AGBF

 

[arkieb1]

My only words of wisdom is if he gets into a fight with any other dogs make sure that the other dogs owners or in fact children don't try and break it up, if your dog or another dog accidentally bites a person or a child someone could get seriously hurt. And I say that from a place of kindness because I have 5 dogs (two rescues) and have been bitten a couple of times, once when a large dog ran out from a house when I was walking one of my dogs and started trying to kill my dog I've owned 4 different Scotties that won't back down, and once in another similar situation through our own front fence. And I know not to put my hands down in the middle of a fight, and I've still managed to get bitten and mauled a couple of times. Not many people realise male Scotties can have the teeth and muzzle size of a doberman....

 

[AGBF]

For the second time today a woman walking her dog on the other side of the street from mine, on the sidewalk, called to me to take my dog inside. (The reason I heard her was that my dog, as he always does, had started to bark when he saw another dog (in this case her dog) and so I had gone to the door in my pajamas to get him in.)

When she did this yesterday I was just annoyed, but took my dog in, thinking she might be the woman from up the street whose dog Hero had bitten. But when she did it again today, confirming that it was her dog whom Hero had bitten, I told her he had a right to be in his own yard. She said she knew that, but that he had bitten her dog and that sometimes he broke down the fence and got out.

Now if this woman had a great fear of my dog, why was she walking her dog by my house every morning, when there were many other routes available to her, then stopping just short of my house-getting my dog agitated-and demanding that I take my dog inside before she walked by it?

My daughter, who had a sore throat, heard us carrying on and burst out of the house yelling, "What the HELL is going on here? My dog can be in his yard!" at which point the woman started to dial on her phone.

I took Hero into the house. He has really been a very good boy recently. I comforted him inside. I told him that it was hard when people were prejudiced against you. I explained that all he has done was to bite two other doggies and now no one liked him. It wasn't his fault he was a biter. It was in his nature. He was very grateful to me.

I have to make sure that fence is well enforced!!! In the meantime he enjoys the yard and also has a strong, young, male dogwalker who runs with him for 45 minutes every day. He gets a great workout!

AGBF

 

[House Cat]

It sounds like this lady is a trouble maker and is trying to bring this situation to a head.

I wonder if you can solve this diplomatically?

Your dog has a right to be in his yard. If your fence is truly secure. I don’t see the problem. Maybe you can inform her that the fence is secure and then stop fulfilling her wishes. If she doesn’t like that, she can walk another route or call the police.

 

[AGBF]

I do think this woman is a troublemaker, House Cat. I thought that fences were supposed to make good neighbors, but I realize that she saw my fence give way so she had empirical evidence that it was not, at least at one point, secure! Nonetheless, the fence is back up. The police dealt with the issue that occurred before. And she has a choice of route. If I have a chance to speak to her up close at some point, I will tell her the fence is fixed. If she shouts from across the street early in the morning before I am dressed, it is difficult.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[House Cat]

I do think this woman is a troublemaker, House Cat. I thought that fences were supposed to make good neighbors, but I realize that she saw my fence give way so she had empirical evidence that it was not, at least at one point, secure! Nonetheless, the fence is back up. The police dealt with the issue that occurred before. And she has a choice of route. If I have a chance to speak to her up close at some point, I will tell her the fence is fixed. If she shouts from across the street early in the morning before I am dressed, it is difficult.

Thanks again for the advice.

Oh I see. I had the wrong impression of the situation. I’m sorry.

 

[lyra]

Make sure the fence is completely secure, and post Beware of Dog and No Trespassing signs. They would not stand up in court, but really, it is your property and he has a right to be out there. I think it would send a subtle and informative message.

It's great that you found a dogwalker for him! He sounds more like a gym personal trainer, that's wonderful for Hero. A tired dog is usually a good dog. I bet he loves his daily run.

 

[AGBF]

Make sure the fence is completely secure, and post Beware of Dog and No Trespassing signs. They would not stand up in court, but really, it is your property and he has a right to be out there. I think it would send a subtle and informative message.

It's great that you found a dogwalker for him! He sounds more like a gym personal trainer, that's wonderful for Hero. A tired dog is usually a good dog. I bet he loves his daily run.

There are two large "Beware of Dog" signs that have been up for months, one at the front of the property that anyone can see from the street and one at our gate that anyone can see before entering our fenced in front yard. My brother is an attorney and he insisted that we have one sign put up when we owned my gentle, but huge, Newfoundland, Griffin. Griffin once accidentally knocked down a small child on Hallowe'en because he was so big and little children were coming and going at a quick pace in our yard. That is when my brother said we had to put up the sign. If trick or treaters come onto our property, he wanted them to know we had a dog. Griffin would never have bitten anyone, but he could not help his size. Just walking made him a danger to tiny people, even though he was quite aware of children and smaller dogs and tried not to hurt them.

AGBF

 

[AGBF]

Some of you have followed the saga of how I attempted to adopt Hero, almost gave up on doing so and agreed to foster him while the agency looked for a home where he could have a stronger, athletic owner who would hike with, run with, or work him and give him lots of land to roam on, then decided I had to keep him. He has given me a run for my money, but I adore him. He is incredibly affectionate and wants to cuddle like a lap dog. He is also full of personality. At any rate, he came to me described as a "Lab mix". He is yellow and looks pretty much like a yellow Lab. I owned a purebred yellow Labe (also adopted) in the past, though, and he did not look like a purebred. I decided to have his DNA tested. It certainly solved a lot of mysteries about his behavior!

I received the DNA results on Hero. It says that Hero is 25% Labrador retriever; 25% American Staffordshire Terrier; 25% Toy Fox Terrier; 12.5% German Shepherd Dog; and 12.5% "Breed Groups: Guard, Companion, Sporting".

When I read descriptions of the three main breeds I found characteristics of each breed that were truly present in Hero.

For example, the Toy Fox Terrier is descended from the Smooth Fox Terrier. The Smooth Fox Terrier used to be used in fox hunting. The Toy Fox Terrier was originally a ratter, and is but is described as better suited to have squirrels than foxes for its prey.

Well Hero is most obsessed with chipmunks. They drive him absolutely wild. He stands on the deacon’s bench in front of our bay window looking out at everything that might be a threat to our property, and barks. He used to bark all day. Now that all the nuts have fallen from the oak tree the chipmunks are no longer all over our lawn, but they were here in droves. Now only the squirrels, our regular visitors, are left. (And, last night, some deer.) The barking is another thing I have to mention. The Toy Fox Terrier also barks a lot to defend itself. Only my neighbors and I know how much Hero barks! One actually brought me a device with high pitched sound to try to stop him from barking!

Toy Fox Terriers also have Italian Greyhounds in their ancestry. I have a friend who said Hero reminded him of a greyhound from the way he raced around. When he visited his father in Florida and went to the dog track he got a brochure so that he could show me what the greyhounds look like. And it says the Toy Fox terriers are agile, intelligent, energetic, and playful. Hero is all of those.

Now the American Staffordshire Terrier is good with children but may not get along well with other dogs!!! The Staffy is also agile. He was bred to guard people and/or property. Hero’s trainer noticed how territorial he was from the start, how quick he was to start guarding this property. And his need to bark at every dog who dares to walk down the street shows what he thinks of other dogs (not to mention his biting them when he broke down our fence).

But our veterinarian said on the first day she met him that he didn't seem abused because he seemed too "happy-go-lucky" to have been abused. That is the first term used to describe Labrador Retrievers in my report. The report said that some Labs may be "energetic", though! And that they are friendly and good family dogs. Hero is. He is good at tracking and agility as Labs are. He digs in the dirt and tracks. Terriers dig. Labs and Toy Fox Terriers track. I think they really have Hero nailed down!!!

 

[Tekate]

Yay to a new dog Deb! Your daughter looks so happy!!! I love animals.

 

[lyra]

We had a Smooth Fox Terrier. She was the ultimate hunter, which didn't really coincide with our own ideals. We'd find dead things in the house, and she'd put up a fight about letting them go. She was never a very affectionate dog, she was all energy and focus. She was loud too. She got away out the front door once and cornered a Pit Bull in its own garage. The owner was amused, we were very disturbed. She chased skunks. She didn't stop after they sprayed. Oh, it was a very hectic 14 years!

I'm glad you gave Hero a home. I think he will settle down eventually. At least he likes people and cuddling.

 

[AGBF]

We had a Smooth Fox Terrier. She was the ultimate hunter, which didn't really coincide with our own ideals. We'd find dead things in the house, and she'd put up a fight about letting them go. She was never a very affectionate dog, she was all energy and focus. She was loud too. She got away out the front door once and cornered a Pit Bull in its own garage. The owner was amused, we were very disturbed. She chased skunks. She didn't stop after they sprayed. Oh, it was a very hectic 14 years!

I'm glad you gave Hero a home. I think he will settle down eventually. At least he likes people and cuddling.

You made me laugh. I am glad that my Hero is only 25% Toy Fox Terrier, since a 100% Terrier bred to go after foxes or rats or squirrels sounds like a real handful! I have to say that the 25% of him that is American Staffordshire Terrier is the part that has given me trouble with my neighbors and the law, though! My nice little DNA report simply states, "Very loyal to family and usually good with children. May not get along well with other dogs." Hahahahahahahahaha! It doesn't mention that he wants to eat all of them for lunch!

 

[lyra]

Well Deb, after our experience with the terrier, we made a definitive choice to switch to couch potatoes instead. We are good with that decision for the most part.

 

[AGBF]

Well Deb, after our experience with the terrier, we made a definitive choice to switch to couch potatoes instead. We are good with that decision for the most part.

In another thread I said that one thing I couldn't deal with was escape artists, that I could deal with enormous dogs, but not dogs that have the urge to run away all the time. I remember whitewave saying she loved her bulldogs because of their pace.

I have to say that Hero does run away if he can get out, but I know that-unlike a Siberian Husky for instance-he will not take off forever. He's really attached to us. My only fear would be that he would bite another dog if he got loose...and that would be truly terrible. I never, never had to worry about my Newfie biting a person or another dog. And he sometimes got loose, too! But the times he got loose in his entire life I could count on one hand. And he was so huge that it was less likely he would be hit by a car than that another dog would be. He was very hard to miss...except on a moonless night if your car had no lights (he was black)!

Deb

 

[AGBF]

It was the dogwalker's fault!!!! She came to get Hero to go for a walk and she broke the most important rule of the household: thous shalt close the gate so that it clicks and then put the bungee cord around it! (Because otherwise Hero can open it.)

She opened the front door and in a split second he was out the open gate. She said blithely, "Oh, he'll come back". I said, "No he won't". And I was right. She went looking for him with his leash. I had to put on shoes and socks and then I went looking for him in my Jeep since he will usually get it it if he sees it.

Not only could he have been hit by a car, but he could have encountered another dog.

At the end of my drive, after I did a big loop, I saw him running towards home with something in his mouth. It looked like a piece of cardboard.I called him to come get in the jeep and he started towards me, then decided not to come. He turned around and ran back towards our house. Eventually I saw the dog walker who had been trailing him on foot. He had a dead rabbit in his mouth.

The dog walker said he hadn't bothered any people (and there were many around, lots of men working on the road). But she saw him attack the rabbit. She got on the phone with my dog trainer who told her not to try to put his prong collar and leash on because he was guarding the rabbit and it was fresh kill. I went right up to him and snapped his collar on him. He didn't object to it and even left his rabbit behind.

I know many people have dogs (and cats!) who bring them these presents, but I never did. And this was not some tiny mouse; it was a large rabbit. And I think they are adorable. Hero cannot help it. It is in his genes.

 

[AGBF]

Hero has been doing a lot of retrieving. He will pick up a roll of paper towels or a box of Cottonelle wipes that I put on the stairs to remind me to take them up. Sometimes he will bring the object upstairs to my bed, sometimes downstairs to the couch where he can dig his teeth into it. Sometimes he will pick up a cardboard box and shred it on the couch. (I was very unhappy when he shredded a brand new, full box of Kleenex on my bed.) When I am using the computer, he often searches my office for items to take out to the living room to chew. I have shoe boxes stored here and he has gotten hold of boxes and shoes. He has also tried to take the printer paper off the printer. But what really made me laugh has been his attempt to take one of the two two-pound barbells on the bookcase. The American Staffordshire in him makes him a kind of Retriever on steroids, I think. I kept hearing clinking as he hefted a barbell, shaped like a bone, to move it! I had to get onto the computer again to share the story!

 

[lyra]

Sounds like Hero needs some legal chewables!

 

[House Cat]

Maybe Hero needs a Schutzhund dumbbell!

Deb, it sounds like you’re keeping an optimistic spirit about you. Hero is lucky to have such an understanding mom.