# Jesse Bit



## Chere (May 22, 2009)

My 20yo DGD came to help me in the house today. When she was trying to walk into the kitchen, Jesse barked and bit her. While the skin was not broken, it was definitely a bite with very visible teeth marks. Jesse has been our "hand full" child since he would charge and bark when we got him. We have worked with him pretty hard and he did beautifully when I had five younger grands here recently but we really worked to help him and them. I have been gone for several days and they were with just DH; he had several peeing and pooping accidents with them while I was gone but no charging.

A ten year old walks him and she does fine with him but he didn't get a walk today, or really since late last week. 

Once he bit Amanda I immediately leashed him and tethered him to me the rest of the time she was here. He did bark seriously at one point and I immediately made him stop.

This really concerns me and I am wondering if any of you have any suggestions to help me help him. I cannot have him "snacking" on the guests!

Of course, the entire thing scared Amanda so she wants nothing to do with him and that closes the door to helping them get along. Very upsetting to all of us.

Since Jesse is a rescue I am hoping someone might have some tips other than what I have thought of doing.


----------



## Miss Paige (Apr 4, 2008)

Chere:

Please go to the rescue web-site there are a lot of great links there that might be able to help you. And I know we have very knowledgeable people here that will be able to guide you.

Sorry to read about the bite-I don't have any suggestions. But I am sure someone here will be able to guide you.

Pat (humom to)
Miss Paige
Mr Roman
Ms Frannie


----------



## Chere (May 22, 2009)

Thanks, Miss Paige.


----------



## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

*a little off topic, but if you know of a havanese who does need rescue:*

WHAT DO I DO WHEN I HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT A HAVANESE THAT MAY NEED RESCUE? WHO DO I SEND THE INFORMATION TO?

These questions come up often. Here is what you do:

1) If you hear from an individual that has a dog they want to surrender, it's best to send them to our WEBSITE. On the right hand side is a large "button" that says: HAVANESE HELP REQUEST HRI ASSISTANCE. Have the individual fill out the form that pops up when you click on the button.

2) If you have first hand information about a dog needing rescue you can use the same procedure. Go to the website and click on the large button that says HAVANESE HELP REQUEST HRI ASSISTANCE. Please include any contact information and links if possible. An intake volunteer will get more information from the individual or organization with the Havanese and will take care of contacting the state contact as well. You can also write directly to the intake committee using the address [email protected]. Again, include all the contact information and links if possible.

Thank you for keeping an eye open for Havanese in need of rescue's assistance.


----------



## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

*have you talked to Lu Wyland...*

She has a lot of experience at HRI, I'll bet she knows...


----------



## Chere (May 22, 2009)

Just to avoid any confusion, I am not at all thinking of returning Jesse to rescue; he is a wonderful dog and I don't want to give him up, I want to help him. I will use the resources at HRI to see if they have suggestions beyond what has been offered here and what I have thought of doing. I am a little confused about exactly what the "list" is that some have suggested I write to; is it the e-mail that Rikidaisy kindly posted? 

Jesse does very well with the two of us and he did very well with five grandchildren, especially after we really spent a lot of time with him and them getting them socialized together. He does well with the ten year old dog walker. He does not do well when people unexpectedly (well, to him) come into the house and if they approach his "space" (and he seems to have decided that a large part of the house is his space). If Amanda were not returning to college soon and working right now, I'd have her over here every day helping me with him. I know that he would come around then.

I think the best thing for him and us is to recognize that he might always be fearful in a situation with strangers; we will have to lease and keep him by us or confine him until he can socialize to the new people. If it is a repair person, they don't have time to fool with that so he'll be confined. 

It's possible that he will grow out of this but I don't think I will ever be really able to completely trust him so I have to change the way I handle him and guests and that is fine. He is not my former dog, Sadie, who loved everyone who came to the door and he is not Shadow, who if fearful, will just run away. We love him and want to do what is best for him while also making sure guests are safe in our home. I know we can do this. We are devoted to him and he just spent an hour curled up with me while I read the paper; six months ago he wouldn't come near me.


----------



## Miss Paige (Apr 4, 2008)

Chere:

We know you are not giving Jesse up-just wanting to make everyone including him feel safe. And as you know he had such a bad start long before the baby got in HRI and then to your loving home.

www.havaneserescue.com is the HRI web-site. And there are great links there.

Pat (humom to)
Miss Paige
Mr Roman
Ms Frannie


----------



## Chere (May 22, 2009)

Miss Paige, thanks for the link; I did spend a lot of time last night exploring all the links at HRI and I even saw Shadow on one of the slide shows (videos) and think I saw Jesse but it went by too quickly to be sure. When Jesse's hair is long you can really see his gray mask and that's how I know old photos are his but when it is cut shorter, you can't always make out those cute eyebrows. You would love seeing both of these guys in our home, both curled up with us on the couch this morning. Jesse freely comes up to us for affection now, this is pretty new for him with me (must be all those treats I so freely give him in an effort to bribe him). They are cute, cute, cute. BTW, if I can have your addy, I think I can send you a couple of photos for HRI, if you would like. You can e-mail me at susnchg at hotmail.com (close up the spaces and make at @)


----------



## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

*We know you want to help him!*

Chere, there is a list of the HRI volunteers where I can post you concerns and get an answer for you, just email me at [email protected], and I'll post for you.

These gals have lots of information and experience.

Linda


----------



## marb42 (Oct 19, 2008)

Chere, it is wonderful that you have taken Jesse in and are willing to help him with his fears and socialization. He is lucky to have you! I hope you are able to get some good information at HRI to help prevent bites.
Gina


----------



## Chere (May 22, 2009)

Well, DGD came today and he was really good with her; she is afraid of him though so I couldn't do as much with the two of them as I would have liked. But she gave him treats and I kept him leased and with me or in the bedroom when I couldn't have him right with me. He's out walking with the ten year old dog walker right now. She does dog training with her 4-H group so is just more comfortable with the dogs.


----------



## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

*Chere, a suggestion from HRI...*

I asked HRI the best way to get in contact with those who have rescued dogs and have wisdom to share, and this is what they told me:

If you go to the main page, www.havaneserescue.com you'll see on the left hand side the table of contents. Under Resources is a "contact us" link. that will allow you to type in your question and concern. There are people on a committee who are there solely to answer questions as they come up. That's what I would suggest you do.


----------



## Chere (May 22, 2009)

Thank you , I will follow up with your suggestion!


----------



## christie6104 (Apr 8, 2009)

Chere said:


> Just to avoid any confusion, I am not at all thinking of returning Jesse to rescue; he is a wonderful dog and I don't want to give him up, I want to help him. I will use the resources at HRI to see if they have suggestions beyond what has been offered here and what I have thought of doing. I am a little confused about exactly what the "list" is that some have suggested I write to; is it the e-mail that Rikidaisy kindly posted?
> 
> Jesse does very well with the two of us and he did very well with five grandchildren, especially after we really spent a lot of time with him and them getting them socialized together. He does well with the ten year old dog walker. He does not do well when people unexpectedly (well, to him) come into the house and if they approach his "space" (and he seems to have decided that a large part of the house is his space). If Amanda were not returning to college soon and working right now, I'd have her over here every day helping me with him. I know that he would come around then.
> 
> ...


I want to apologize in advance for the long post...

Chere, I recently had the same thing happen with Lucky (my rescue dog). He does not like it when men either sneak up on me or startle me. I was in the mail room (which is super tiny) at my apartment complex with Lucky and the maintenence guy rushes in with a big trash can over his head and throws it on the ground. Of course I get startled and Lucky jumps and bites him. No skin was broken either, but he got a huge bruise. I apologized profusely, offered to pay for a doctor's bill and assured him that I would seek training for Lucky. (And I baked him some cupcakes)

In the meantime, I am hysterical and in tears for days convinced that the city is going to pick him up and take him away from me. In the end I found a great pet behaviorist who actually makes house calls and after 2 visits we're making headway. (And yes, the cost of this is putting a pretty big strain on my budget....but I can't have him bite again). In a nutshell, the best advice the pet behaviorist gave me was that I needed to train Lucky to react to my reactions, not what is going on around him. In other words, if a man runs by me, Lucky needs to look at my reaction. To do this I've been walking Lucky during what I call "rush hour" (in the mornings and the evenings when everyone is walking their dogs or running). When Lucky sees a jogger coming up (and this works for when he sees other dogs and gets excited) I get his attention and have him sit and give him a treat. (The better the treat, the quicker this works....I use hot dogs cut up). I also do this when Lucky starts to get excited when he sees someone outside of my window (I live in an apartment and people walk by all the time). When I first hear him get excited, I get his attention, make him sit down and give him a treat. It worked so well the other day a jogger was approaching and Lucky was so calm and he just looked right up at me. I didn't think Lucky saw him, so I broke the rules and said "Lucky...look, there's a jogger." And the funny thing was Lucky just glances at the man like "so what?" and looks back at me like "where's my treat?"

I know I still have a long way to go, but I hope my experience helps a bit. You can PM me if you have any questions...but please remember, I'm no expert but I can tell you what my experiences are with training Lucky.


----------



## Chere (May 22, 2009)

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my concerns. This is really, really helpful. We live in a very quiet neighborhood and have few visitors; I have decided that one of the things I need to do is to expose Jesse more to people he doesn't know. We have a dog park but I have never taken him there as I've been concerned that he is so little but that might be a place to start. It's not terribly far away and there should be lots of people and activity. I'll keep him leashed and use your treat idea; he loves treats and they have worked with every other problem we've had with him. I wish my DGD didn't work and wasn't going back to college so soon as it would be perfect to have her come by every day but that is just not practical. I also plan to speak with my vet for a trainer recommendation; it will be worth the $ if he can be cured of his fear which is really what leads to the biting. I so much appreciate the sharing of your experiences with me. Thank you!


----------



## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

*How is Jesse doing?*

I hope things are going well. He was so blessed when you took him in!


----------



## Chere (May 22, 2009)

Thank you so much for asking about Jesse; things are going well for all of us. I wish I had people in my house all the time as I think I could really train him quickly to stop his territorial behaviors but he is getting better. He is actually very good when out of his own territory (walks, etc). And is getting better about his territory but since we don't have people in our house very often it is harder to consistently work with him. 

Both little guys are real sweethearts, their coat has grown out to more a puppy cut than shaved down and they look adorable. I am going to keep their hair on the shorter side as they just do better without the stress of constant grooming. Jesse has really come a long way recently, he actively comes up to me for affection now and likes to be petted for longer periods of time. Shadow is a typical Velcro dog, wants to be right by me, sleeps under the covers by my side and would be petter for hours if I had that kind of time. 

We haven't been taking walks, my dog walker is back in school and I have a sore foot; I think walking would make Jesse even calmer and both dogs do love to walk. Once the foot is better we'll start up again. 

I strongly recommend rescue for anyone looking for a really nice dog. I don't think we had more trouble training these guys than we would have with a new puppy, the training is just different. Shadow is completely house trained and Jesse is for the most part, he will pee occasionally and I think it has to do with territory more than anything but I am not sure. And Jesse doesn't pee often, the times he does are farther and farther apart.

Well, this might be more information than you wanted but I love to talk about my little guys!


----------



## marb42 (Oct 19, 2008)

Chere, that's great news about your progress with Jesse! We'd all love to see a pic of Shadow and Jesse when you have time.
Gina


----------



## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Great news, Chere. And, I find it very interesting that you say you don't think it really takes more training to get a rescue than it does to train a puppy, just different. That is a good viewpoint that I wouldn't have quite seen with out your comment.


----------



## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

Chere, so glad to hear about Jesse and Shadow. I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment about it just being a different type of training. It sounds like everyone is making great progress. Yaaay!


----------



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Chere, I just read this now. I would recommend a professional dog trainer, and one that has experience in aggression. This is not to be treated lightly. It will not go away on its own. It takes an expert in determining what is causing the aggresssion. And it is not as simple as socializing. Yes it might cost some money but it might cost you a lot more if you don't.


----------

