Charlie The Chow!

This week’s blog question was about trainability…has there ever been a dog I couldn’t train?  Yes, and any reputable, responsible trainer will eventually run into such a dog.  There have been five dogs I couldn’t train and out of the five there were three that were not trainable due to the dog owner and not the dog…of the other two, one of them had a severe health issue that was found through the training and the other one was good ol Charlie himself…who had no health issues.  Let’s discuss…

The year was 2006 and I was only a few years into my dog training business.  I was one of the few trainers in the area who would train aggression cases and I would occasionally get calls far outside my training area because of that service.  This call was much different though…

“My name is Greg and I am currently in the hospital…I would really appreciate it if you could evaluate my girlfriends dog because he is the reason I am in the hospital”

That was a first for me as a trainer!  During the call he told me to contact their mobile veterinarian as well so I could get more details on the situation.  More on that in a moment…

I set up the behavior assessment the next day and off I went.  As I pulled into the neighborhood I took notes of the surroundings.

*busy streets

*lots of houses nearby

*kids playing

These are important details on any aggression case.  A reputable trainer is looking at the health and safety of the entire neighborhood if there is a possibly dangerous dog nearby. 

As I parked I noticed Charlie was outside in a large fenced in yard.  He looked extremely dirty, his coat was long and ungroomed.  He watched me but didn’t bother getting up to come near the fence when I walked by it to go to the door. 

I was greeted by Greg’s girlfriend Carol.  She appeared very distraught and looked like she had eaten in weeks.  “I don’t even know what to do, I am the only one who can even go near him!” were the first words she spoke to me. 

“I will do my best to help you” was my response. 

We sat down and started on the assessment.  Charlie was a perfect storm of no exercise, no socialization, and no discipline when he was a puppy/adolescent dog.  He did exactly what he wanted, and it may have been easy when he was just a young chow but now he was 70lbs and powerful. 

As we made our way through the assessment we talked about all the people he has attempted to bite or has bitten.

“He is not vaccinated, I tried to have the mobile vet come but he couldn’t get near him…”

I knew this story already because the boyfriend had given me the vet’s information.  I called the vet and he warned me that this dog was the most dangerous dog he has ever seen and I need to use extreme caution.  He attempted to approach Charlie and was immediately charged by him.  The vet narrowly escaped him, and it was only because the owner had jumped in between them and held Charlie long enough for the vet to get away!

This led to the next story of aggression.  Her boyfriends bite. 

They had been dating for a few months, but he had never interacted with Charlie.  Charlie was always in the yard, and she warned Greg about going near him.  Greg felt that he had been coming over long enough for Charlie to finally meet him.  Greg walked into the yard and Charlie immediately attacked him and ripped a rather large section of Greg’s calf muscle off in the process.  He had managed to crawl back inside during the attack as his girlfriend held Charlie down with all her power.  She was injured as well during this attack. 

The ambulance came and Charlie was cited for his first bite with animal control.  They noted he was due for his shots in just a few weeks (luckily the owner had them done when Charlie was younger and more controllable) and placed him on home confinement as well during this time.  The problem was Charlie had always been on home confinement and had not left the property in nearly 2 years!

Greg was in the hospital for 3 weeks when he called me.  He had 3 separate surgeries to repair his calf, Charlie was on home confinement and now overdue for his shots and the vet couldn’t get near him to give him those shots…and now it was my turn to meet Charlie.  Lucky me!

First step for me was to go out to my car and get my stool.  I carried a stool to push back against dogs that I know will bite.  Like a lion trainer the stool doesn’t provide any real protection, but it does give the dog one layer to bite before it gets to you.  The goal is to push the dog back, takes it space and get it out of its aggressive zone. 

I told the owner to stay inside but to watch through the door in case I needed assistance.  She was very nervous, but I explained this was the only way for me to do a real assessment and determine the best course of action.  Charlie was waiting for me about 15 feet away from the door.  Still in a down position I saw him position his legs under himself, which meant he could spring up as soon I opened the door and entered his yard. 

I used one hand to open the door and one hand to hold the stool in the push back position.  It was time to find out who the pack leader really was!  As soon as I opened the door Charlie sprung up with speed and intensity.  I had just enough time to get the stool in front of me and WHAM…Charlie had bit it as hard as he could.  He held on and shook the stool attempting to get it from me.  I pushed forward but Charlie wasn’t budging. 

Finally, he let off the stool and regained his balance.  He looked at me for a split second and then WHAM another charge and bite.  This time a little less holding and shaking.  I again attempted to push back when all the sudden I lost the stool and was now a sitting duck for a direct attack on me!  Luckily Charlie was slightly preoccupied by the fact that he now owned my stool and it gave me a split second to make a run for it.  I was about 10 feet from the door and Charlie’s owner was ready to open it for me.

In Benny Rodriguez fashion I ran as fast as I could to escape Charlie.  He had already put one person in the hospital, and I was on a fast path to being the second.  In what seemed like a slow-motion moment the next few seconds lasted an eternity.  I had made it inside just in time and Charlie was so close biting me from behind he had slammed full speed into the barely shut door.

The owner was frantic and relieved I had made it inside.  I regained my composure and watched as Charlie calmed himself down, went back to my stool and proceeded to chew on it!  Charlie had won and he had the power and will to win again if I decided to venture out there one more time.  I knew what the right decision was at this point and so did the owner. 

It’s an extremely difficult decision to make but you can’t put the safety of ANYONE at risk with a dog like Charlie. 

To find a responsible, certified dog trainer near you, contact your local Always Faithful Dog Trainer.