I know NO dog is ever 100%, but sometimes the impression is given that when a dog is rehabilitated its cured, Sadly this is very much not the case.

How do you think I got the knowledge I have ? Probably the same way I have !

I agree there are many owners how want to help their dogs, but I don't agree they are the majority, yes the Internet is full of information, but lets not get carried away and think, the majority of owners use the Internet to seek help, I can think of many people who own dogs, only a few use the Internet to educate themselves about dogs.. The percentage is tiny compared to the number of dog owners.

Have to disagree with you I've had a dog that was not only 100% he was 150%, he never retaliated no matter what was done to him by humans or other animals. He was the perfect "stooge"dog for me when working with difficult dogs

However I would never allow children or anyone to be left alone with any of my dogs, I trust my dogs, I don't trust humans.

I haven't seen anyone on here say that a rehabilitated dog is cured, those are your words.

As I don't know you I wouldn't know if you got your knowledge the same way as I did but as we have had different dogs with different problems, I know this because every dog is different, I doubt it. Your experiences will be different to mine so your knowledge will also be different.

Again you are putting words in that are not there, nobody has said that the MAJORITY of owners are interested in helping their dogs, these are my words:

Yes there are owners who are not interested if their dogs have problems but there are also many who do want to help their dogs, you only have to see how many forums there are were owners are asking for help and advice to see that, many of these dogs bite.

It doesn't say that the majority of owners just that there are MANY owners.

I am happy to talk about things, discuss things but please don't change what has been written.

My dog has never given me any reason for concern, she's as placid as they come. Not sure she even knows how to growl.But truthfully if I had to put a percentage on how much I trust her, I'd say 99%.I also would never leave her alone with children,for obvious reasons where children are concerned.I know my own dog and her reactions to whatever situations she has encountered,I truly believe she wouldn't as much as snap at someone,I'd be totally shocked. In saying that,I would be wrong to say I could guarantee 100% that she never will.

OMG.... It seems that I've started a war lol. Some members feel i should have given the whole story even though i have posted before. So here it is. Hope you're sitting comfortably & have a fresh coffee/tea to hand. However you may need to make a pot.

Kixi is a 2yr old Mastiff X. Her mother is a Neapolitan Mastiff & her father is a Presa Canario X Lab. My stepson had her from 8 weeks old & when I first saw her I thought she was a Lab. When I read up on the breed/s my first thought was. OMG thats the wrong dog for him. She was his first dog & at first all seemed ok. Due to my partner going round to the house every night to see his sons along with my JRT, he & Kixi formed a great bond. As time went on my partner would go & get Kixi & take her out with our JRT. Kixi then started coming to our house more & more. At first it was probably an hour at time & then it got to the point where she would stay for the weekend as my stepson was out. My partner & I were growing more & more concerned that the dog was being left for hours on end.

The home situation when Kixi arrived at 8 weeks consisted of stepson, his mum & brother. It has been this way up until around April this year when the house was sold. My Stepson stayed in property until completion & his Mum & brother have moved to another property where dogs are not allowed. Hence Kixi being left at the other property with stepson. As I have already mentioned due to my stepson working full time & then coming home & showering & then going back out. He relied more & more on his Dad to exercise Kixi (if it hadn't been for his Dad she would not have gone out at all). It then moved to the point that she was then with me all day as I could not stand the thought of knowing she was going to be stuck in all day on her own. Stay on own or come to me, those were the options. We are now at the point where she is living with us & if the stepson wants to come & see her he can.

My partner has mentioned to me on more than one occasion that Kixi has bitten either a friend of the Mum or as mentioned in previous posts the Postman. Part of me felt unsure as my thoughts were "if she has bitten as much as you say she has, wouldnt you have had the Police at the door??? I have seen Kixi be aggressive with other dogs, but not with people before. However I saw something interesting when we went for a walk in woods with my JRT, Kixi & our neighbours 2x french Mastiffs. As soon as they got together Kixi held back behind them her tail was between her legs & every time one of them went up to her to play she got aggressive I was by her the whole time & when it happened I would talk to her & try to reassure her, she didn't go to fight with the other dogs just warning them. However I wasn't stupid enough to let them get on with it either. Near the end of the walk she was just ignoring the other dogs. I feel she showed that behaviour because she was scared. It was only the bitch that was trying to play & the dog didn't bother her at all so she wasn't bothered by him. I said to my partner then that I felt she was scared & that she needed socialising & some training to start with.

I have had some advice from a family friend whose is a Veterinary Nurse. As soon as the incident happened I rang her & asked her advice. She advised me to do 3 things. Firstly get Kixi spayed, buy her a Baskerville muzzle & also try pheromone plug in or the spray & went on to explain why these 3 steps. Even though I had already sought advice I have used this site & always found it a great source of info. So hence my reason for posting.

I believe she had a reason for biting however it does not take away the fact that she did it. The reason I said in an earlier post about being slated was that I am trying to find the best way forward & to make sure that this does not happen again. Perhaps I should not have took her on, but I could not knowingly let her stay in that house & not see anyone for hours on end, not to mention the fact that she may have been rehomed to a total idiot with no common sense at all.

Kixi has made some positive changes since she has been with us. When she first came it didn't seem that she knew what pees or poo's meant or even wee-wee's. so now I have got her to the point that I can ask her if she wants wee-wee's, I then walk to the door with her & she will go out. I then watch her & as soon as she starts to go I praise her & tell her she is a good girl for going to wee-wee's lol. I did ask my stepson what command he used for her to go out to toilet & he just said that he used to just open the door (see what im up against). The other thing she was doing was being sick, normally after she had had a drink. However now she hasn't done it for a good couple of weeks. I believe she wasn't having enough food. So I have her on a dry diet, Salmon & Potato with a slither of Nature Diet mixed in, it encourages my JRT to eat all his up lol.

Just going back to the Baskerville Muzzle. My partner said he didn't like it. I have to say it did feel very rigid & there was no padding inside. My problem is even though I say I have taken her on which as she lives in my house then to me I have, it is really my partner who has taken her on from his son. So unfortunately I in a way don't have the last say. ( I know what you are all thinking). Plus my partner is the one paying for her spaying etc.

I hope I have covered all points. If not please let me know.

Sounds like under socialisation or nervous dog. It sounds like you are not sure if she has bitten before and are only surmising. Ollie was never under socialised but he was a nervous puppy then dog and in the socialised but nervous case it it is a bit more difficult because it is hard to turn them around to trust everyone in Ollie's case anyway.
If it is under socialisation you may turn her around with a lot of hard work a good behaviourist and time.

In either case and I will stick by what I have said keep her away from people visiting if she is unsure of them behind a gate that she see can see you from and hear you if possible and every so often give her a treat and fuss you can do this through the gate or pop in with her for a few seconds for reassurance. If she is truly a a nervous dog like Ollie was she will be more than happy to be out of the way so she can relax if there are visitors around she is not comfortable with.
With visitors she is happy to be around plenty of treats from them and fuss from them and you.

I think a muzzle would be good way to go they can pant, drink and eat through the baskerville type. Especially while trying to socialise her.

One important thing I was told never ever push a nervous dog past its comfort zone. Watch the signals slight turning of the head, yawning a lot and licking of the lips these are all warning signs if she starts showing any of these signs remove her . Also low grumbling or growling. Any or all of these means she is unhappy and cannot deal with the situation and you need to deal with it for her.
You may never get it 100% that she is happy with all people and situations but you might get it to a point where you can manage it and come to a compromise it's not easy and it's not always easy living with a dog like this especially a big powerful breed. I have done it and don't regret it but you have to be one step ahead all the time and like I have said always make sure the dog is secure and away from people if you feel or know she will not be happy. That way your dog is safe and more importantly your visitors

Have you seen this Baskerville muzzle

I didn't know the full story because it is a long time since I have been able to get on here, it is a good idea to refresh peoples memories of what has happened previously, my advice would still have been the same but I would have had a better idea of why.

You were right, he is the wrong dog for your stepson, the fact he never bothers with his dog, is happy to leave him the way he does, sorry but any dog would be wrong for him, he is lucky he has you and your partner to pick the pieces up.

Sorry, your stepson is very selfish to take on a dog no matter what breed it is then neglect it, this is neglect on his part and is mainly why you are having problems with the dog now.

Do you have any more information about these incidents?

Poor dog, she doesn't know how to interact with other dogs and is frightened of them.

Spaying her won't make any difference to her fears but there are the odd dog that spaying can make worse, I would try and sort out her problems first. The muzzle will give you more piece of mind but won't do anything for Kixi, even when a dog has a muzzle on they can still do a lot of damage to another dog and they has been an odd case were a muzzled dog has killed another.

Dogs always have a reason to bite, we usually don't know what the reason is. Nobody saw Kixi bite your brother no see if he did anything to her first. You only have your brother's word for what happened and he refused to let you see the bite marks.

Sounds like you are making progress well done.

Short nosed dogs do have problems with muzzles but it is personal choice but she must be kept under control and not allowed to meet visitors to your house, gates will let her see the visitors but not meet them.

TTouch will help her, so will the body wrap, there is a lot of information on the internet about TTouch. Also clicker training will help build her confidence which she needs.

Personally I wouldn't get her spayed until she had more confidence but a bitch is better spayed.

Good luck with her, she is lucky you have taken her in.

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All I can add to this thread is my experience with a very powerful, aggressive dog... and I was lucky enough to have a wonderful friend who wasn't fazed by her aggressive behaviour (all 5ft, 8 stone of her). I should say that I took her as a rescue that was going to be PTS.

When I had visitors (if anyone was fazed by her she was put in a seperate room) I would ask them to just walk in. ignore her, throw a treat down and turn their back on her. She would run at them growling and literally make their shirts shake her breath was so close but that was all she did (I say all, but only the brave dared do it). I should add that she was wagging her tail whilst doing her scary stuff! Once she realised she was being ignored and all her bravado was going to waste she stopped and we just resumed normal behaviour and she wasn't included till she remembered her manners. If anyone knocked on the door she would leap at it.. and she was BIG. The man that came to read the meter actually ran off.

Im sure you won't find this in any journal, and Im sure lots of people would advise against this.. but I knew that dog loved me to bits and I was the gaffer.. I would play with her and give her lots of loving attention but when she got over excited I would physically floor her and lie over her till she calmed down.. I was the Alpha in the pack !!

If anyone came to the house that was not comfortable following my instructions then she was put in another room till either she behaved or they left. It took me two years so its not a quick fix.

Always remember you are the leader of the pack and if you want your brother to visit then your dog behaves as you require or removed till they learn manners.. The more people visit the better but also try to encourage your visitors to include her in a positive way and if they can't then the dog is removed or the visitors aren't welcome.. that is your call.

One more thing I found really useful is a air blower I got off Ebay.. its just like a hair spray canister that blasts air.. a bit like an air horn. When she behaved badly she got a blast and ran off !!

Good luck xxx