The dog is dirty . the rug needs hoovering…. but for the first time in years…. gus gus has been without a muzzle on. In the daytime.
Tomorrow will mark one week muzzle-free. It has been such a long and emotional journey to get him here. His fear aggression crippled his life. He is never going to be cured… but he can have some freedoms we never thought would be possible. Much thanks to all the trainers who gave us guidance.
We will always have challenges with him but oh… yay!
Also the cat is kneading in her sleep next to me.
Hello. Your Gus news is heartening. Our dog, a rescue dog who was an adult, cowered in fear and flinched whenever you approached. Thirteen years later she has improved, but that fear lingers. She’s the most affectionate and loving dog ever. She has had a good life and is in her golden years. It sounds like Gus was also a rescue dog.
Gus came from a breeder who… well… it wasn’t good. *nods* He is inbred with a fear aggression and it kind of like him having seizures of violence and aggression. For a long time, he couldn’t even be out in the “general populace” but now he’s crashed on the wooden floor in front of the door and snoring. No muzzle. No excessive barking.
He LOVES cats. His girlfriend is Neko. He LURVES her so much. And he’s a really good boy. Very sweet. He deserved a better life than what was going to be his fate. We had some trainers tell us to put him down because he’d never be able to have a meaningful life.
I took on his life as my responsibility. So…yeah that was never going to happen.
He looks so relaxed – you have a generous heart to take on Gus and to persevere with him. Our pets give us so much love – my Molly is snoozing on top of the bookcase. It took a long time for her to relax. I;ve had her with me for three years now – for the first month, she lived behind my washing machine. With patience and love, she snuck out of the laundry room and gradually has become part of the family. Its such a reward to see her curled up and snoozing. You’re a great Mom to Gus – he’s a lovely little guy.
he is a dear….who is getting a back scratch right now 😀 Heh… and yeah, it’s always nice to see them happy and relaxed
My dog Annie was not socialized with other dogs at all, and gets aggressive with them out of fear. She’s getting better step by step, but we forked out pretty good money for an excellent trainer. My husband was able to take her to my inlaws last week and she went for a walk! She also, eventually, got along well with their dog. We are super happy! She would always lunge and growl at other dogs, stare them in the eye, keep her mouth closed- I didn’t realize the last two were signs of aggression. Our best bet was that since she came to us at one year old with no house training and no socialization, she must have been kept in a pin or something all the time. She is very loving towards us and likes to chase the cats, but we are working on her cat excitement 🙂
Gus Gus was good with the dogs we had. He grew up with them. And he has a torrid love affair with the girl Akita next door. *grins* I have to take him out for a ride soon. He’s not good with other dogs but he has exceptions 😀
And yay for Annie. She must be a dear 😀