How to protect your wild dog.

If you have a dog, like mine, who you would love to have around you while you mow the lawn, play sports in the nice weather, or simply not have to be stressed out or torn between guilt when you’re out and your dogs not because they can’t be trusted (overtly aggressive protectors). If you have a dog like mine, I have devised, through sheer experience, tips on how to keep them safe and other’s around them.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• 15foot chain
• Lay (plastic rug, found at most Asian stores)
• Shock collar (if necessary)
• Muzzle
• Fenced in yard (see tips for cheaper routes)
• Shade
• Chain-link Kennel (10’X6’)

1. Crazy Grizzly My dog’s name is Grizzly. I strongly believe that if I had named him Bear instead, he wouldn’t have become such a crazy Grizzly. His name speaks for himself. He’s adorable in his antics and nothing surprises me anymore. He’s not really loyal, in the sense of him listening to you and doing what you want at all times. It’s known as selective hearing. He’s more loyal to himself than us as he’ll listen when he feels like it and pretends we’re not calling him when he chooses not to care. He’s a dramatically aggressive protector of his property and can’t stand to even SEE someone in the proximity of 500 feet (that includes being in the car- which he has scared many pedestrian’s or other motorists’). He could careless for the affection from his human owner’s and even other dogs. He’d rather spend all his days scouting the terrain and checking for a daring squirrel who might have fearlessly ventured into his domain. When Grizzly’s outside, there’s not another living animal within his vicinity. He’s a loner, my Grizzly. And crazy to boot.
   
   If your dog sounds like Grizzly who doesn’t listen to you, even after spending over a thousand dollars on training (and frustrates even his certified with 20+ years of training experience instructor), then having him outside with you may prove to be quiet the challenge. I enjoy the outdoors as much as he does, but I don’t trust him to not get into mischief or sneak upon an innocent bystander. As a responsible owner, I bend my back backwards to ensure his and everyone else’s safety when he’s around. So, through sheer experience, I have devised several ways to make sure Grizzly and other people around him, are safe.
2. The Muzzle.
   
   Who doesn’t enjoy walking leisurely or for exercise around a beautiful lake during the Summer? When I go, knowing that there will be many people also walking around the lake, I make sure Grizzly has a muzzle on at all times. From past experiences, many people (especially children) always attempt to touch or pet Grizzly in some way. This way, it will prevent the naïve individual’s from getting their hands bitten, and another day of freedom for Grizzly.
3. The E-collar The Electronic Collar.
   
   Many people, including myself once, are absolutely against this form of training. Grizzly was trained by a professional, on the best known e-collar (according to the trainer’s at Blaine Kennel’s in Minnesota) for big dogs like Grizzly ($300 bucks out of my pocket). They say, repeatedly, that it is not a form of cruelty, nor does it hurt the dogs. I have been patient, I have tried everything from whistles to clickers to treats galore. Nothing reaches or stops Grizzly the way an E-collar does. Be sure that before you attempt using an e-collar, you know how to use it, when to use it, and to not abuse it. It’s to serve a reminder, not a punishment or out of anger. Using an E-collar has been the only method that has ever trained Grizzly so well. Through the use of this E-collar, he has learned to heel (albeit very reluctantly) and listen when he’s wearing it. We feel guilty enough that my Husband and I are not strong users of the E-collar, but at times of great peril, where he might attack something or run wild and we can’t get him back, the E-collar serves us as a last resort to control him.
   
   When walking or in public, Grizzly will always have an E-collar on as I do not trust him enough to ever be without it when strangers have easy access to him (or vice versa). The only time it’s off of him is at home when it’s just his family around him.
4. The Chain The Chain.
   
   The chain is used when we have both garage doors open and it’s a beautiful day and Grizzly is allowed to roam about freely into the front yard or the back yard. It’s stressful to have to keep a vigilant eye on him in fear that he might see an innocent child on a bike in front of our house and he makes a dash for her. There is no quicker way for him to be put down because I was careless of not having a way to control his space and the safety of other’s. The chain is simply tied around a tree or a hook that has been cemented to the ground which is then attached to his collar around his neck.
5. The Fence The Fence.
   
   With a dog that is not to be trusted with strangers, a fence, or a barrier is a must (unless you plan to have your dog chained for life). Grizzly is understanding enough of his barriers that he does not attempt to leap a chain link fence of four feet (even though he can rest his paws comfortably on the top of it). Many people are frightened and seem to freeze when he come running at full speed towards them, but that is something I cannot help. I just know that he won’t jump the fence as that is something I have never- and will never, teach him to do. The unfortunate problem we had when we moved into our house, was that only three out of the four sides of our back yard was fenced in. The two gaps between the house had no fencing, so before we were able to afford the extra $700 after his training, we used green posts that were dug into the ground and chicken wire strapped to the poles with zip-tie’s. DO NOT DO THIS if your dog will run through the flimsy wire. Grizzly does not go forward if there is a barrier, no matter how logical it would be to simply push it aside, he has thankfully never learned to test those barriers. (Never fear, the galvanized chain-link fencing has now gone up).
6. The Chain-link Kennel The Chain-link Kennel.
   
   Grizzly, for all his size and ancestor’s, is an inside dog. I’m too worried about him being unattended out-doors so he lives inside. In our laundry room, we have placed and built a 10feet by 6feet chain-link kennel where it’s Grizzly’s place to eat, sleep, and when we’re not home or when we have guest’s over. The chain-link kennel is for his own protection as well as the many people who visit our home.
7. The Lay The Lay.
   
   The word Lay (pronounced exactly as it’s spelt) is actually a Hmong (Asian) word, and if the product is translated in English, it’s referring to a plastic rug. This plastic rug is commonly used to set outdoors and for people to sit on top of without worrying about the bugs beneath or getting dirty. It’s similar to a blanket and there are long straw like plastic weaved in and out together to make the rug. It’s simply folded out, comes in various colors (expect the lay to be three toned) and it’s practical as unlike a blanket, it doesn’t crumple easily or hard to clean and spacious enough for several people. I use this lay for Grizzly when I want him with me and I’ll be outside for a long while. When I go to the park to play volleyball or badminton and I want him with me, I set up the lay and use a long chain (tied to a tree) and connected to him. He enjoys sitting on the lay which protects him from the bugs on the ground, soft, and is easy to clean and transport.
8. Remember, as a responsible owner of a questionable and aggressive protecting dog, you have to always protect your dog and other’s around them. There’s nothing worse than having to put your dog down because of your own mistake of not going the extra steps for their own protection as much as everyone else’s.

Tips & Warnings

• Early excessive socializing can prevent your dog from being fearful of stranger’s. Grizzly is an Alpha male who does not like unwanted attention and even as a puppy, he was always more interested in his surroundings such as the trees or rocks or even a leaf on the ground than the people around him. When he wants to play, he’ll play. When he’s in his serious mood of checking his surroundings for safety, he doesn’t like people or other dogs bothering him until he’s done.
• Having a professional train your dog and having your dog learn obedience is a good option if you can stick to being consistent.
• Be wary of your choice of breed if you do not want to deal with an overtly aggressive protector. However, be mindful that it can also just be the dog’s personality. Grizzly is a German Shepherd mixed with Chow and Akita. Those Breed’s are all born with the instinct of protection and his craziness stems from his own personality.
• Fencing can be expensive. Not to mention that the expenses of owning a dog are naturally expensive. For a temporary cheaper fix to your fencing problem, you can look into building an area specified for your dog alone (such as a kennel) or using an electronic fencing system. If you have only a little area to cover, for a temporary solution, read the section highlighting the fence to what my solution was.
• ALWAYS consult a professional before using an E-collar to be sure that you are using it correctly and NEVER use the E-collar as a form of punishment.