Not sure I did the right thing new dog

[Vicaroo1000]

Might help, I fostered a 75 pound bulldog that had been left in a back yard with scabies for a year. Swollen paws no hair etc. Obviously by this time he wasn't much into people. After a few days of growls, bit the kid etc. I had to roll him over, hold my hands on his armpits (carefully but in his case forcefully) and growl at his neck with my teeth lightly holding the skin to get him to submit (rolled his head to the side) after that he would let me touch his paws and do the other things that needed to be done. Sounds mean, but it actually helped him greatly. He quickly learned how to lounge on the couch, eat treats without fingers (at first he thought fingers were the wonton wrappers around the filling) etc. We only fostered him about 2-1/2 weeks and he was already becoming a loving, well behaved bulldog. You probably won't have to growl or anything like that but, rolling him over and gently holding his armpits one or two times a day, until he rolls his head to the side, will help him learn his place in the pack, feel more secure and make him a much happier dog.
This is something my vet taught me. If you are not sure how to do this do a quick search on the web or let me know and I will try to give a more complete explanation.

If this isn't done correctly and with the right energy, it will cause more harm than good. I'm glad it worked out for your foster guy, [MENTION=3914]gobronco[/MENTION]s . How is this dog doing now? Has he been adopted yet? I plan on going to look at your web link too. There's nothing more awesome than a successful rehabilitation of a "throw away" dog. It takes a very special person - or a family completely on THE SAME PAGE - to rehab an aggression issue!

 

[MamaAndi]

I'm just taking a shot in the dark but do you suppose he has an issue that causes him physical pain? Like arthritis or something similar...that could explain why he has some good moments but can turn on a dime. Sometimes animals in pain act out in aggression. I don't know if you have any vets in your area that make house calls. Good luck with him and you are a truly special person to take him in and work with him through his issues!

 

[gobronco]

We only had Tank for a few weeks, while the breeder was sick. He was placed in a home a couple months later. I didn't hear anything after that. We did consider adopting him permanently but we figured he probably needed a home where both people didn't work. He had already spent too much time in a back yard. He was already making great progress so I am sure he went on to become the love of some family.