Abandoned Feral Dog Survives Unbelievable Odds
Sometime around Christmas 2011, Jimmy was dumped at a carwash as a puppy by his owners. Some months later, he was discovered and trapped near a tree just outside of Fresno, CA. Living in a tree and fighting to survive all alone, can develop fear aggression in dogs.
He found himself in a foreign world of hungry animals and hostile life. Imagine jimmy having to figure out why was there, while at the same time, having to survive alone in an aggressive environment. Jimmy had no prior knowledge of how to survive. That’s tough!
Fresno Shelter Dog Saved
I first found Jimmy, a Pomeranian and Terrier or maybe Dachshund mix at ARF (Animal Rescue of Fresno). The fear aggression in dogs led Jimmy to become an institutionalized dog. Being feral meant that he never would have been able to even be considered for adoption!
Jimmy was one of the many dogs who always ran to the opposite side of the pen when people arrived to get to know and choose a pet to adopt. Jimmy wouldn’t let anyone (except for a couple volunteers) actually get near or even pick him up. Fear aggression in dogs kept the shelter from adopting Jimmy. He was there for 19 months and probably would have died of old age or from a heart attack, due to how tense and stressed out he actually was.
After working with a dozen or more dogs at ARF, it came around time for Jimmy’s turn to be helped. Before I could work with him, I had to catch him, so I enlisted the help of a young volunteer girl. She and I were able to corner Jimmy and throw a blanket over him. I then held him steady enough to put a leash over his snarling, snapping and fully frightened biting face! Fear aggression in dogs can be quite scary!
Not All People Want Dogs to Be Family Pets
Jimmy is like many dogs in America, who for any number of reasons, find themselves dumped on the streets or into shelters. Once there, it is hard for them to get placed into another home. It’s even harder to get adopted if you are a biting dog.
Unfortunately, not all people look at dogs as family members. Many people simply perceive them as expendables and of something they could simply return or just dump on a country road when the dog “doesn’t work out” for them.
Dogs can’t miraculously translate their people’s Great Expectations for them into perfect canine quick action responses. Most importantly, dogs must get their directions and rules and clear understandings from their humans.
Accepting the burden and responsibility of dog ownership means that as a dog owner, you must also be a Dog Trainer. Dog Trainers need to be very concise in delivering clear repetitive actions and directions and requests to their pets! This is accomplished by reaching the dog through three separate means…Sight Sound & Touch.
If dog training isn’t done in the calm and correct manner, then it could actually cause fear aggression in dogs.
In-Home Dog Training Helps Shelter Dog
Dogs take in and understand instructions similar to a 4 year old child. They both will need to learn how to take in information and respond back with some clarity or understanding…eventually! This should be every dog owners goal.
Start with getting a response that is close to what you want from your dog. If you don’t see fast improvements in your child, you wouldn’t then drop them off somewhere out on a country road…right? Why do it to dogs?
One can either know how to help dogs to understand them better, or one can learn to correctly do it themselves. If you can’t do it yourself, then you require a trainer to help you.
Understanding Fear Aggression In Dogs
When working with fear aggression in dogs, it’s not wise to yell at them and/or threaten or punish them for something they don’t understand. You must encourage dogs to like and trust you if you want to ever train them.
The following photo is of Jimmy taken many month’s before I met him. It was taken by one of the two ladies who could actually pick him up.
Clear Guidance For the Dog and Owner Bond
My approach to dog training and fear aggression in dogs, starts with the quality of the human/dog bond. When I enter a home, I look for the type of connection (if any) already established between the owner and the Dog.
Is the dog owner still waiting for a “naturally evolving” relationship between them and their loving Pet? Do the owners wish to super charge a poor or slow connection and get it Jump Started? Hire someone who can help you with fear aggression in dogs.
Shelter Dogs Need to Learn to Listen
I teach dog owners to simply learn how to make their intentions clear and concise when they are wanting to train their dog. For instance, like wanting their dog to stop barking after it has now alerted the owner. You want a dog to alert you to something, but then stop when told. No owner wants their dog to drone on and on barking well after the subject of the dog’s warning has passed.
The owner knows that it was only a kind lady simply pushing her baby along the sidewalk. Like the child, a dog also needs to learn how to perceive the various degrees of understanding. Something amazing happens when the dog actually learns to listen and understand what it’s owner is telling them. It’s a sigh of relief I think.
This is where WAY OF A DOG Comes in!
When dealing with fear aggression in dogs, Jimmy is still learning to accept all the good things in life and to release the bad that he received as well. Jimmy has made great strides by simply letting go and accepting that he is led by a confident leader.
Here’s Jimmy 3 1/2 Years After His Adoption
New Children’s Book on Jimmy’s True Story Due out In 2018
Jimmy’s Tree
Get Your Copy of Joe’s First Book, Shea’s Lounge Here!
Jimmy’s Life and Death Struggle
Suggested for ages between 2-10, Jimmy’s Tree: The story of an abandoned dog who bit the hands that loved him. This true fear aggression in dogs story, reveals the sad truth behind a family dog dumped on the outskirts of town to die.
Fortunately for Jimmy, after fighting for months to eat and survive, Jimmy was finally trapped and taken to a nearby shelter. Having developed fear aggression in dogs from his experience, Jimmy bit the loving hands who just wanted to love and help him.
This Is the Video Documenting Jimmy’s Transformation
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