angelbears
Well-Known Member
This is the hardest thread I have ever had to write but I have been an open and opinionated book on here. So, while I would rather run and hide, I won't.
We put Ziva to sleep Saturday night. In a prior post I had written that Ziva had started showing aggression to our little ACD bitch, Jezzy. Saturday was just a fucking nightmare. It started when we had a guy come out to pump our septic tanks. I stayed back in the bedroom with the 3 dogs. Which is what we always do when we have workers out. Ziva was very anxious, the whole time. Usually, she will settle down after a few minutes. When Debra came back into the bedroom, Ziva went for Jezzy. It was pretty minor. Debra took Ziva to the front of the house and I stayed with Cane and Jezzy in the bedroom.
After about 45 minutes, it seemed that Ziva had calmed down. Her and Debra were back in regular routine. I let Jezzy come out with me, Ziva did posture for a minute but I got a couple of treats, they ate them side by side and everything seemed fine. I hung out with them for a few minutes then went back to the bedroom. 15 minutes later I hear Debra scream. I ran to the kitchen and Ziva had Jezzy. I was able to slide my fingers into her lips and she let go long enough for Debra to drag her away. Looking back this was not a reprimand from Ziva, she was trying to kill her.
I did realize that we had a very serious problem and reached out to a few people that I trust and respect for their knowledge of dogs. I can say that the replies were not optimistic. The best for the time being would have been a crate and rotate scenario. We could try some intense training but with a Fila we just didn't think we could get that to work. Plus most everyone thought that it wouldn't work anyhow.
Crate and rotate was something that Debra and I couldn't do to her. She slept every night on Debra's legs with Jezzy curled up next to Ziva. 2 1/2 years this was a nightly ritual. Not to mention that everything else around here was done together. She was never forced to stay in her crate. We just didn't think that she could stand or would be happy crated and away from her family. I believe in quality of life not quantity.
We did try to introduce them one last time. After we had had Ziva and Jezzy separated for many hours. I brought Ziva back into the bedroom and it didn't take even a second before she lunged. Very violently and purposeful.
There was a brief thought of trying to rehome her. I just didn't believe that was right for Ziva or whoever would have taken her. In my heart I always knew she was a dangerous dog. She had many fears and could become unstable very quickly. She would also very bad about redirecting when she was agitated. I was just able to keep her out of situations were she felt the need to. We had to be very careful with clicking noises around her. Like the sound the TV makes when you turn it off or the sound a camera makes when you take a picture(that's why there's not many pictures of her). I think she was abused with either a shock collar or beat while being clicker trained. I just don't know.
I just don't know where I went wrong. I tried to keep the stresses to a minimum and work on them in a control environment. I saw the difference in body language over the past month and was working my ass off to head it off. I reinforced that she was over Jezzy. She got treats and was petted before Jezzy. I did it the way I understood it needed to be done. Somehow I failed her. I'm out of the rescue business, the purpose is to save them not destroy them.
Jezzy did suffer a couple of deep puncture wounds and a couple of minor bites. Luckily, the vet didn't feel the need to staple them. She said they were down to the muscle but were clean and starting to heal already. She put her on antibiotics and a pain pill. She will be fine physically. Hopefully, I can help her heal emotionally. I hope that I don't mess that up.
There is even more to the story but that is the gist of it. I'm tired and emotionally drained. I'm sure there will be many that disagree with our decision and that is fine. Fire away. She was and is very much loved.
Run free and without fear my sweet girl. You are loved and will always be in o heart.
We put Ziva to sleep Saturday night. In a prior post I had written that Ziva had started showing aggression to our little ACD bitch, Jezzy. Saturday was just a fucking nightmare. It started when we had a guy come out to pump our septic tanks. I stayed back in the bedroom with the 3 dogs. Which is what we always do when we have workers out. Ziva was very anxious, the whole time. Usually, she will settle down after a few minutes. When Debra came back into the bedroom, Ziva went for Jezzy. It was pretty minor. Debra took Ziva to the front of the house and I stayed with Cane and Jezzy in the bedroom.
After about 45 minutes, it seemed that Ziva had calmed down. Her and Debra were back in regular routine. I let Jezzy come out with me, Ziva did posture for a minute but I got a couple of treats, they ate them side by side and everything seemed fine. I hung out with them for a few minutes then went back to the bedroom. 15 minutes later I hear Debra scream. I ran to the kitchen and Ziva had Jezzy. I was able to slide my fingers into her lips and she let go long enough for Debra to drag her away. Looking back this was not a reprimand from Ziva, she was trying to kill her.
I did realize that we had a very serious problem and reached out to a few people that I trust and respect for their knowledge of dogs. I can say that the replies were not optimistic. The best for the time being would have been a crate and rotate scenario. We could try some intense training but with a Fila we just didn't think we could get that to work. Plus most everyone thought that it wouldn't work anyhow.
Crate and rotate was something that Debra and I couldn't do to her. She slept every night on Debra's legs with Jezzy curled up next to Ziva. 2 1/2 years this was a nightly ritual. Not to mention that everything else around here was done together. She was never forced to stay in her crate. We just didn't think that she could stand or would be happy crated and away from her family. I believe in quality of life not quantity.
We did try to introduce them one last time. After we had had Ziva and Jezzy separated for many hours. I brought Ziva back into the bedroom and it didn't take even a second before she lunged. Very violently and purposeful.
There was a brief thought of trying to rehome her. I just didn't believe that was right for Ziva or whoever would have taken her. In my heart I always knew she was a dangerous dog. She had many fears and could become unstable very quickly. She would also very bad about redirecting when she was agitated. I was just able to keep her out of situations were she felt the need to. We had to be very careful with clicking noises around her. Like the sound the TV makes when you turn it off or the sound a camera makes when you take a picture(that's why there's not many pictures of her). I think she was abused with either a shock collar or beat while being clicker trained. I just don't know.
I just don't know where I went wrong. I tried to keep the stresses to a minimum and work on them in a control environment. I saw the difference in body language over the past month and was working my ass off to head it off. I reinforced that she was over Jezzy. She got treats and was petted before Jezzy. I did it the way I understood it needed to be done. Somehow I failed her. I'm out of the rescue business, the purpose is to save them not destroy them.
Jezzy did suffer a couple of deep puncture wounds and a couple of minor bites. Luckily, the vet didn't feel the need to staple them. She said they were down to the muscle but were clean and starting to heal already. She put her on antibiotics and a pain pill. She will be fine physically. Hopefully, I can help her heal emotionally. I hope that I don't mess that up.
There is even more to the story but that is the gist of it. I'm tired and emotionally drained. I'm sure there will be many that disagree with our decision and that is fine. Fire away. She was and is very much loved.
Run free and without fear my sweet girl. You are loved and will always be in o heart.
