Aggressive

[jeechunk]

Here is the lowdown on my dog Meesha. She is a pitbull & boxer mix that my husband and I adopted from Mt Pleasant Animal Shelter when she was about 9 months old. There was one time that I was able to have people at the house and she was fine with them. The next time, Meesha began jumping toward my niece and we had to put her in her cage. She eventually bit someone, so we decided to keep her away from everyone but us. She will be 4 in March and I feel like we have done everything that we can on our own and need some professional help. I want people to be able to come into our house, I want Meesha to get along with other animals……I guess what I really want is for her to have a health balanced life. I don’t feel she is getting that by being kept away from the world.

So, I tried 1 dog trainer who came to my house yesterday, and then referred me to a few others because Meesha is very strong and the trainer was unable to get near her without being launched at. So I started looking online and found this website. I wish someone could take Meesha and just fix her.......but I know it's not that easy. My husband and I have really been training her the best we can and keeping her exercised and consistent with corrections in her behavior, but still is not enough. I really need help! I love her so much and would like to add to the family, but I’m afraid if I can’t get her under control with other people and animals, that it may be impossible.

She is an angle around us, she trusts us to do anything to her, bathe her, clean her ears, clip her nails…….I mean ANYTHING! She’s very calm around the house and likes to sleep but also loves to rough house with Bryan (my husband).

She has bitten twice, one neighbor and also my sister, several years ago. With my sister, Meesha was lying under the picnic table and took off her muzzle (fabric one, very sneaky pooch) and jumped at my sister and got a tooth in the thigh. With the neighbor, we had her for a few months already and I tried to bring her around people while we took our walks. The neighbor reached to pet her and Meesha bite under his arm (bite and release).

When we go to the vet, Meesha is sedated and muzzled. We make sure there are no other animals in the waiting room before we go in. She begins to pull and slip on the floor, then goes to the bathroom on the waiting room floor. She will try to jump at anyone who walks in the room, but I usually keep her on her butt, between my legs. She does allow the doctor to examine her. We always get her on the table that rises and they are always able to check her ears and everything (not her mouth b/c we keep her muzzled). She has her blood taken yearly and always gets her shots without any problems. When she hurt her knees, she let the doctor examine her on the floor, because she was in so much pain. That is the same vet where she had her ACL replaced and she stayed over night and was good with them. Even when I took her to get her stitches out, she lied down on the floor and one of the other doctors took them out.

A few months ago, I brought her to the emergency room for an allergic reaction. They used the basket muzzle and took her in the room with out me. When she got her shots and was all fixed up, they brought her back and said that she was much better with out me in the room (which I’ve heard more than once now).

I just ordered a metal basket muzzle for bringing her to the vet, trainers, etc.

When I bring her to be boarded (when we go away), I always bring her in and put her in a cage myself. She is never muzzled while she is there, and they take her out and say that they don't have a problem with her. The longest she has been there is 4 days and nights, and no problems.

When we take her to my mother-in-law’s house for Christmas, we used to be able to let her walk around and just keep a good eye on her, (she would always be sedated). She has scared us with a stare down and also a growl, which would end with her going in her cage. After a few days, she gets used to her and everything seems fine.

This past Christmas, we brought her to my mother-in-law’s house, she was caged most of the time & sedated, but we do take her out to walk around the house and hang out with us.....but she's kept on the leash (no muzzle). She never growls, or anything.......but just to be safe, we keep a hold of her, especially since the previous year’s stare down and growl.

I’ll do anything for my dog, and plan on having children, so I need to get her trained no matter what it takes. I just don't know what to do next or who to contact for help in New Jersey.