URGENT!!!! Need Help..... I don't even know where to start .....

[lockedhearts]

We have 6 dogs. 4 Jack Russells, a German Shepard mix and a Bouvier. 3 males are unaltered and 2 females are unaltered. I male is altered.

Lucy is 10 yrs old Jack
Erin is almost 3 and a Jack
Lucky is almost 3, erin's brother and a Jack
Comet is 4 Lucky & Erin's half brother and a Neutered Jack
Corky is a German Shepard Mix 1 1/2 years , unaltered and has some physical deformities

Gordy is a 2 yr old Bouvier Des Flandres and unaltered

We found Corky as a 6-8 wee old puppy and the orginal plan was to make sure he was healthy and find him a good home. We then discovered his "issues" , he needs no special medication or attention he just looks different.

We have had Lucy since she was almost 2 , the other Jacks were born here and Gordy was a rescue.

The jacks and Gordy get along except for the occassional snarl, which is generally Lucy being Grumpy. Gordy protects the Jacks.

Which brings me to the problem, Corky, we boarded him at Christmas, while we went to FL, the other dogs went with us, COrky has never traveled well, not even for a few miles, so we felt it was best to leave him here.

When I picked him up he began pestering the other dogs, even more so than usual. The thing is he is not pestering them in a mean or malicious way, just picking and getting in their faces until they growl, if he continues they snap at him and he fights! I have tried everything I can think of and YES I know spaying and neutering will likely help, but I am working on that as fast as I can.
Today, the dogs were in the house because the weather was nasty and I was home. Corky up and decided to pester Lucky and Comet, Lucky snapped at him and before I could make a move or sound, Corky grabbed Lucky by the neck, Gordy tried to jump in and I had to grab him and throw him in the bathroom and close the door, I grabbed Corky as he was now shaking Lucky, of course the other Jacks were now latched on to Corky. I finally got Corky outside and everyone calmed down.
I took Lucky and Corky to the vet, Corky is not hurt, Lucky needs stitches.

So , after talking at length with the vet, I have decided I need to find Corky a home. He really is smart and very affectionate, but I think he needs to be an only dog and i think the optimum situation would be something where he can have a job. My vet tends to think he is possibly mixed with a working type dog like an aussie.

I think Corky has some confidence issues due to the young age that he was abandoned. He is not agressive at all, he just does not fit in here with the Jack Russell who are by nature gritty and tenacious.
Frankly, if I can't get him in to a home that is a good fit, I don't see another choice but to have him euthanized.

This is breaking my heart, I love all my "kids" and I hate that it has come to this with Corky, but this just is not the home for him.
The Shelters around here are full and they are not "No Kill" and truly I would rather see him go with some dignity.

If you can find it in your heart to give him a home, I would be greatful and Corky would make a loving companion.

Please don't flame me or judge me over this, it is a very hard decision. For the weekend my Vet offered to keep Corky there so we can think about things.

I wish I could just reason with them and give them the "Can't we all just get along speech" but that does not work and this situation has to change.

Contact me by PM or email if you want information,I prefer not to disclose his physical issues here. He is UTD on shots and worming, just had his rabies at Christmas Time.

This is not a great picture:

This one was taken a few months ago:

He weighs about 50 lbs.

I guess I should add, we are in GA, I am willing to drive a bit to meet someone, or try to figure out another way to get him somewhere.

 

[jerseygirl1]

I'm so sorry, I wish I could help.................

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Wish I could help, but I'm in TN and have 2 dogs already. Maybe someone on here will see him and give him a nice home!!

 

[ChickenFanaticAB]

He is a cutie, and I'm sorry that you are having to do this. I would suggest posting him on Craigslist as well as Petfinder. You never know. Also, I would really encourage you to try to work out something with your vet to get him neutered before you get rid of him. I'm sure you will be cautious about who can take him, but I always think it is in the animals best interest as well as the dog populations best interest to neuter/spay before getting rid of a pet. I understand if you do not have the ability to, but once he is out of your hands, you cannot be sure that the next person will be responsible about keeping him contained at all times. Have you tried contacting any german shepherd rescues? He looks pretty close to purebred, and they might be able to help...I hope you can figure something out without having to put him down though!

 

[duckluck]

I agree with ChickenFanatic, and I have to add that that's an awful lot of unaltered males to have in one place...if he were neutered, it might help to solve the problem if not fix it entirely. You might solve both problems by having him neutered if his temperament mellows out and you don't have to rehome him.

 

[lockedhearts]

Quote:
Honestly, I really think this has less to do with Testosterone as it has to do with Corky's confidence issues and the way he relates to other dogs. I have raised different breeds of dogs over the years and they have all lived in the house and I have always had several males & females together altered and unaltered and never had these issues.
The issue is that Corky is pestering the other dogs, and seriously not in a mean way, he gets in their face and licks at them and then it escalates from there. He does not "attack" until one of the dogs snaps at him. He has also jumped on Erin, he got in her face, she snapped at him and he grabbed her, luckily he did not hurt her like he did Lucky tonight.


My vet and I spoke at length tonight about how we found Corky and he was awfully young to have been alone in the world. The vet thinks neutering may help a little bit, but he also thinks Corky is having other issues besides hormones.

 

[kayjuggler]

I can't give your pup a home (2 dogs, 3 kids, 3 cats, 16 chickens........and of course there's more) but I thought I would comment that I think you and your vet are probably correct about there being more to his issues than the hormones. Dogs have very critical developmental periods as young puppies and his loss of his littermates and mother too early meant he missed out on some essential dog socialization that he needed from them. I think you need Ceasar Milan, the dog whisperer. Since he is unlikely to show up on your doorstep to film your dogs, you should at least look into his teaching. He keeps packs of dogs together and uses the pack to help socialize the "misfit" dog. You can find his website online. I think he is a truely gifted dog wizard! I have caught some of his videos on cable tv. Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

 

[Skyesrocket]

Sorry your having problems. You might have a female coming into heat which is causing the fighting. Dogs put up with a lot from each other, but if a female is in heat that all changes and the males act more aggresive than they normally would. Once the gal is out of heat everything calms down again until the next time. The issue might not be with the shep, but with the other dogs not willing to put up with it when a female is cycling. The females even act different towards each other when one of them come into heat.
I hope you find a great home for him, he's cute. In the meantime check your girls to see if that could be what is going on.

 

[lockedhearts]

Quote:
No the girls are not coming in to heat, both were in heat in Dec so that is not the problem. I am looking into some rescue situations where they could re-home him and get him in to a situation that is right for him. This is truly breaking my heart but I don't think he is happy here and I know none of the other dogs are happy.

 

[luvzmybabz]

Our family resuced a GP or at least mainly GP ( the owner of the land thought she had been dumped due to a cloudy eye, which ended up resolving itself)that had been dumped on some land we went to an auction at hubbie was talking to owner of land and the puppy came up we had to go back for 3 trips to pick up some bricks we had bought at auction and finally decided to bring the pup home with us the owner of the land was so grateful about it. ND (she was the New Dog at the time we rescued her and it just stuck) even after 1 year has some food agression issues. She has gotten OK with the humans touching her food and SOME of the goats ( Before she was moved if the goats were out grazing when we fed her we were always right there with the goats) can get close to the bowl but NO other dogs and definately not the cats. She loves the other animals as long as they are no where near her food. We spoke with out vet about this just the other day and he said that we had done well to get her even partially over her food agression before we could not even pet her head while she ate. She is a great protector and does her job well. She was about 2 or 3 months when we resued her and she had been there at least 4 weeks according to the guy that owned the land vet said she was 2 month size but probably closer to 3 months but stunted due to being out attempting to catch her own food.

Back to OP: You did not mention, Did you have this problem before taking Corky to be boarded? I wonder if another dog could have picked on him while boarding and he is now transferring to your Jacks?