# Really problem dog after castration



## Jayniekinns (May 26, 2013)

Hello,

I have a 18 month labrador cross german shepherd that I have had for about 6 to 7 months now. He's very boystrous and playful and destroys any toys we give him within a few hours. When we got him he was house trained but was a bit rough on the lead so we use a halti. He has always been interested in the 3 rabbits I have as when he first went in the back garden he wants jumping around their hutches for them. We then made a little enclosure so he couldn't easily get to them but he has been known to get in there so I taught him to 'ignore' them by every time he went near them I squirted him with water and with time he could go out in he garden and ignore them and even lay near the enclosure without reacting to them.

Because he has always been very excitable etc I decided, after he tried having ago at my postman, that I would have him castrated to calm him down and this is where the problem has started. I had him done on 2/5/13 and since then he has changed. Where he sleeps is a spare room in our house with his crate in it. He has never pooed in our house before but since I got him done I have noticed that if we leave him alone when we go out or over night he will poo usually twice whether we let him out before or not, but if he is in his crate he wont do anything.

When he is walked, before when he first had his halti he would try and get it off but got used to it and walked without pulling. Since he surgery he pulls more and keeps trying to get the halti off then wont wait when we get home so we can take it off.

Also, 3 days after the surgery he managed to get in my enclosure with the rabbits and broke one of the hutches to the point he pulled his collar off and was in the bottom of the hutch (the rabbit was unharmed). Then today we had him on a tether in the garden whilst we cleaned out his room as he had pooed in there. It must have been about 5 to 10 mins and he had bent his tether and broke it, got in with my rabbits, smashed the front of the hutch and killed one of my rabbits.

Really, what I am after is some advise on what to do. My partner is willing to have him put down due to him killing my rabbit as he doesn't want any other family to have the same problems as us but I am willing to put him in a rescue centre to be rehomed appropriately but I want to use this as a last resort. I want to try and see if we can sort him out so any ideas on what to do would really be helpful as I don't know why he suddenly changed like this after castration.


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## Owned By A Yellow Lab (May 16, 2012)

You have a young, big, excitable dog who has already experienced one change of home. There is no reason that he needs to be PTS in my humble opinion.

The reality is: sometimes our dogs do kill small furry things. Cats, rabbits; also birds. It does not mean your dog is 'vicious' or 'bad' or that he will hurt a person.

Sometimes castrating does the opposite of calming down a dog: it can make a dog nervous and even fearful. What your dog needs is training and exercise. It's not HIS fault that the tether or boundary etc were not tough enough to protect your rabbits.

Squirting your dog with water may make him *more* nervous - and it won't stop him killing your rabbits if he can get to them. By all means, teach him 'leave' and reward when he gets it right but be realistic: if he can get to the rabbits all he knows is that small furry creatures are there and his prey drive probably kicks in.

You need to find a way to keep your rabbits safe that guarantees your dog cannot get to them 

If you really don't feel that you want to keep this dog, then PLEASE PLEASE contact your local rescues and get their help. PLEASE do not advertise him as 'free to a good home' on any websites - there are people who specifically trawl these sites LOOKING for dogs to use in dog baiting.

Will your partner reconsider keeping your dog? What do *you* want to do?


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## Ang2 (Jun 15, 2012)

I am horrified to read that you are thinking of pts your dog. Clearly, his temperament shows a high prey drive and therefore its quite irresponsible to keep rabbits which only act as a source of distraction and teasing for your dog. Most dogs will chase and kill rabbits,given the chance. You need to re-home the dog or the rabbits.


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## astro2011 (Dec 13, 2011)

The dog doesn't know not to kill rabbits its obvious its his prey drive. I wouldn't be putting him to sleep for killing a rabbit. You either need to put the rabbits out of reach, or decide if your gonna re-home him. My dog didn't know it was wrong to kill a rabbit, but his prey drive kicked in and he ate one! I didn't think it was bad as he didn't know.

Please do not put this dog to sleep.


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## Dogless (Feb 26, 2010)

Your problems will have nothing to do with castration as they occurred three days after surgery, it takes a considerable amount of time for hormonal changes to occur and the effects of the surgery to be seen.

Your dog sounds as if he is a misunderstood dog exhibiting a high prey drive. Can you not keep him apart from the rabbits and apart from the postman and engage the services of a reputable behaviourist / trainer to address issues such as pulling on the lead and general boisterousness?

My older dog would kill rabbits like a shot. It's not something that makes him a 'bad' dog, it's just nature.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Jayniekinns said:


> Hello,
> 
> I have a 18 month labrador cross german shepherd that I have had for about 6 to 7 months now. He's very boystrous and playful and destroys any toys we give him within a few hours. When we got him he was house trained but was a bit rough on the lead so we use a halti. He has always been interested in the 3 rabbits I have as when he first went in the back garden he wants jumping around their hutches for them. We then made a little enclosure so he couldn't easily get to them but he has been known to get in there so I taught him to 'ignore' them by every time he went near them I squirted him with water and with time he could go out in he garden and ignore them and even lay near the enclosure without reacting to them.
> 
> Because he has always been very excitable etc I decided, after he tried having ago at my postman, that I would have him castrated to calm him down and this is where the problem has started. I had him done on 2/5/13 and since then he has changed. Where he sleeps is a spare room in our house with his crate in it. He has never pooed in our house before but since I got him done I have noticed that if we leave him alone when we go out or over night he will poo usually twice whether we let him out before or not, but if he is in his crate he wont do anything.


If he showed interesest in the rabbits first off, which isnt an uncommon thing most dogs will especially if not brought up with them and trained from young pups around them and even then they are still a prey animal and dogs have natural instinct so even if you have some success there always remains a potential for all dogs especially some breeds more then others who may have a higher prety drive. The only way to be certain therefore is to have a 100% solid enclosure to ensure the dog cant get even near the rabbits. Initally using an adversive punishment, ie something unpleasant happens when he goes near them often does appear to work at least at first. It doesnt actually cure the behaviour though and often over time, once its initially used they gradually do begin to realise as they do spend more and more time in the vacinity of the rabbits, that nothing happens any more, and eventually the natural instincts and drives gets the better of them too, so eventually they will try again. The owner at the same time believes the problems totally cured and doesnt supervise or carry on with any other form of training thats ongoing either. As said the only 100% way is to ensure that the rabbits are in a totally secure dog proof environment at the end of the day.

If a dog is boisterous and yobbish, and a lot of them will go through this stage in adolsecence and young adulthood, a lot of people do opt for castration believing it can calm them down. Castration can be helpful as far as sex/hormone based behaviour goes, like escaping and running off after bitches in season and humping things through sexual fraustration its often true, but if a dog is just bosterous and gung ho and has no manners in general if usually wont usually help in the slightest. The only way to deal with the problems on that score is training training and more training, teaching them commands and giving them boundaries as to whats acceptable behaviour and what isnt.

Im not sure what you mean by having a go at the postman, whether it was physically or launching himself at the door and verbally, but being part GSD they are a guarding breed and can be suspcious of strangers but again that is something that can be tackled with socialisation, training and behaviour modification usually. Although there will be trainers who disagree completely personally I and a lot of behaviourists and trainers Ive spoken to and things that I have read, it seems that there is an opinion that with some dogs who may not be the most confident types in general anyway, castration and taking the testosterone away, which can give them an element of confidence can in fact cause them to be more unconfident and anxious. A lot of whats perceived to be straight foward aggressive behaviour too, is often based out of unsure anxious and even fearful behaviour as a way of defence in the first place. Another thought too is that in some dogs taking away the testosterone that they have as they start to sexually and physically mature can infact make them act more stupid and puppy like again too.
Often inappropriate toileting too can be a sign of anxious or unsure behavior at things like being alone.



> When he is walked, before when he first had his halti he would try and get it off but got used to it and walked without pulling. Since he surgery he pulls more and keeps trying to get the halti off then wont wait when we get home so we can take it off.
> 
> Also, 3 days after the surgery he managed to get in my enclosure with the rabbits and broke one of the hutches to the point he pulled his collar off and was in the bottom of the hutch (the rabbit was unharmed). Then today we had him on a tether in the garden whilst we cleaned out his room as he had pooed in there. It must have been about 5 to 10 mins and he had bent his tether and broke it, got in with my rabbits, smashed the front of the hutch and killed one of my rabbits.
> 
> Really, what I am after is some advise on what to do. My partner is willing to have him put down due to him killing my rabbit as he doesn't want any other family to have the same problems as us but I am willing to put him in a rescue centre to be rehomed appropriately but I want to use this as a last resort. I want to try and see if we can sort him out so any ideas on what to do would really be helpful as I don't know why he suddenly changed like this after castration.


I now the rabbit occurance is deeply upsetting and an awful thing to happen as they are also much loved pets. At the end of the day though he is a dog with instincts and a prey drive and the rabbits are prey, and although upsetting and heartbreaking in a lot of ways its not his fault. The rabbit issue can be resolved by making a dog proof area with the hutches inside away from him. My breeds for example and especially some can be escape artitists jumping 6ft fences, and the way a lot of husky people get round the problem is building pens out of heavy duty close guage weldmesh with concrete or solid wooden posts, with buried concrete gravel boards at the bottom so they cant dig out, and even then the tops of the pens are either high enough so they cant be jumped or in some cases weldmesh lids go on them as well. So something like this could be adapted an build for the rabbits perhaps?

It sounds like he is one confused stressed dog in all honesty, possibly depending on what exercise levels he gets and way of training and interaction and play maybe a understimulated one physically and mentally too.

Sometimes all they need is their exercise levels looked at and increased so that they have more physical stimulation, training sessions can help too, by joining a training class especially if you are not experienced and sure about how to train. Its usually only one hour a week, and if you continue daily training sessions throughout the week at home practising what you have learnt mixed with some play and interaction that not only helps you get and keep control and improves bonding and focus with you, it also again provides physical and mental stimulation. Giving him interactive toys like kongs, kong wobblers, busy buddies and chews can help as chewing is a destresser and again the provide physical and mental stimulation inbetween.

Another option although a more expensive way would be to have a one to one behaviourist, who will assess him and come up with a training and behaviour modification plan thats tailor made.

If you want to consider these. Welcome to APDT - Association of Pet Dog Trainers UK should find a trainer and classes in your area. CAPBT - COAPE Association of Pet Behaviourists and Trainers should find a one to one behaviourist ot trainer too, or again classes in your area.

I certainly wouldnt be putting him to sleep because he killed the rabbit and/or is abit of a boisterous yob who just needs some training. Worst ways if you cant or dont want to commit and put in the effort or cant for one reason or another would be to rehome him with a proper reputable rescue who will, although you would need to try a few and maybe be prepared to wait for a recue place to come up.


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## sezeelson (Jul 5, 2011)

I got my dog castrated at about 11 months old? And his behaviour became 10x worse then it ever was within a week of being done. He was very aggressive towards me and attacked me on multiple occasions, he was dreadful on the lead and he broke something like 3 collars and 2 leads, he dragged my off towards every dog and person he wanted to greet and I had to keep him on lead as he would just run off and play with another dog and their owner regardless of where I was and where I am going. :mad2: ahh I wanted rid, honestly I thought I'd just made a terrible situation a lot worse and it was unbearable to start with :frown: 

It took about 3-4 months for him to finally begin to show signs of improvement and calm down a bit. He is now a lot more comfortable with humans and hasn't attacked me in a very long time! He now has a good recall, walks well on lead unless super hyper & excited but even then I have full control over him. He waits at roads, sits, lays down and waits on command every time and his impulse control is 110% better! He is unrecognisable to what he was at 5 months old when I got him. 

You must regain control and remain very patient and things will get better. 18 months old is very young, my GSD X is 2 years and 3 months and can still be very puppy like and will have a bad attitude on some days. 

Practice training and obedience every single day at least twice a day. Just 20 minutes or so, do some sit-stays, practice some heel work, practice recall etc. what ever you like but make it fun and worth his while so lots of positive reinforcement. Remember to make it harder the longer you do it so he doesn't get bored. If you can join an obedience class or something similar the do so as it makes such a big difference! The cost is well worth it. 

Impulse control sounds like it need some work to, start by literally rolling a ball slowly along the floor in front of him making sure he makes no attempt to get at it. Next, use his favourite toy to make it harder for him. Build it up slowly and carefully until you throw his fav toy in the garden without him reacting if instructed to leave it. Impulse control is something he will also learn in obedience classes if you can go. 

The more work you but in now, the more you will get out of him when he finally starts to calm down. All this hard work will also make the bond between you really strong! 

I've been there with my dog and I'm not going to lie, it's hard work and will have to be very dedicated in changing his behaviour but it can be done and you will have so much pride in him and yourself when you come out the over end! Ill be happy to help you in anyway that I can :thumbup:


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## Jayniekinns (May 26, 2013)

Can I just say before any one else says it, I am not putting this dog down! My partner wanted to but I told him I would be taking him to a rescue centre like RSPCA centre as I am not willing to put him down for this even if this was my rabbit, don't judge me for it as I am not going to, I was jus letting you know wha my partner said


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## astro2011 (Dec 13, 2011)

No one is judging you. If you make sure he can't get to the rabbits and work on him he should get there. If you do need to re-home him I'm sure someone on here will know good rescue centres he could go to. I won't be rehoming my dog due to the problems he has as they can be worked on.


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## Jayniekinns (May 26, 2013)

Thanks to Sled Dog Hotel and Sezeelson, your comments are helpful. I understand the need to have the rabbits away and I had honestly thought that the rabbits were dog proof but I was obviously wrong. 

I think doing training every day will have to be the way, I've spoken to my partner, who the dog belongs to, and basically told him rather than leave me to sort him out he is going to have to start training him etc or we will have to rehome him. I've also contacted someone in my area about training so fingers crossed for that. He also wont be going on a tether again.

For he postman, it was the dog was with me in the back garden and he ran off to the front where the postman was and jumped up and it looked as though he snapped for her hand, which he once did to one of my partner's friends, so that's when I decided to have him castrated which I think was no the right option anymore.


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## astro2011 (Dec 13, 2011)

Hope all goes well with the training. Keep us updated


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## Jayniekinns (May 26, 2013)

astro2011 said:


> No one is judging you. If you make sure he can't get to the rabbits and work on him he should get there. If you do need to re-home him I'm sure someone on here will know good rescue centres he could go to. I won't be rehoming my dog due to the problems he has as they can be worked on.


Hello, thanks for your kind words, it was just the way everyone kept saying about putting him down and I'm not even going to do it. My main problem with him is my partner, his dog but I have to sort him out and take the consequences. So after a stern word to him about sorting himself and the dog out, I hope we can work towards him becoming better behaved. The other thing is I'm not exactly the biggest girl and he is a strong dog for me to try and control. I'm hoping that training with Boomer will help me understand better how to train him if you know what I mean, I have the It's Me or the Dog book but I understand that trying to learn it from a book isn't a easy as it can be misunderstanding and make training more 'stressful'


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## astro2011 (Dec 13, 2011)

You can always ask your vet for a recommendation on a good behaviorist. I know how you feel I'm a small girl with an Alaskan Malamute, but lucky for me he never pulls on walks and is generally a lazy pup lol. You'll get there with loads of patience and practise.


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## Dogless (Feb 26, 2010)

Jayniekinns said:


> Hello, thanks for your kind words, it was just the way everyone kept saying about putting him down and I'm not even going to do it. My main problem with him is my partner, his dog but I have to sort him out and take the consequences. So after a stern word to him about sorting himself and the dog out, I hope we can work towards him becoming better behaved. The other thing is I'm not exactly the biggest girl and he is a strong dog for me to try and control. I'm hoping that training with Boomer will help me understand better how to train him if you know what I mean, I have the It's Me or the Dog book but I understand that trying to learn it from a book isn't a easy as it can be misunderstanding and make training more 'stressful'


The key thing that you'll learn through training is that you can move from physical restraint to control through cooperation if that makes any sense? It's really rewarding once you get that relationship going. My pair outweigh me by a fair amount and I feel so proud when they're trotting nicely down the street. Not so proud when it all goes wrong and a cat runs from us :scared: but I'm working on it  .


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## Jayniekinns (May 26, 2013)

Dogless said:


> The key thing that you'll learn through training is that you can move from physical restraint to control through cooperation if that makes any sense? It's really rewarding once you get that relationship going. My pair outweigh me by a fair amount and I feel so proud when they're trotting nicely down the street. Not so proud when it all goes wrong and a cat runs from us :scared: but I'm working on it  .


Yes, I think I do know what you mean. The key thing I would love to do is have him walk next to me, on or off lead, rather than always trying to drag me down the road. In my house, he loves my partner to bits, goes nuts when he sees him but for me he's not so fussed as I'm the 'strict mum' kind of thing but I would love to have a better bond with him, though it always seems when things are going well that he always does something wrong and we go back to the drawing board, bless


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## Dogless (Feb 26, 2010)

Jayniekinns said:


> Yes, I think I do know what you mean. The key thing I would love to do is have him walk next to me, on or off lead, rather than always trying to drag me down the road. In my house, he loves my partner to bits, goes nuts when he sees him but for me he's not so fussed as I'm the 'strict mum' kind of thing but I would love to have a better bond with him, though it always seems when things are going well that he always does something wrong and we go back to the drawing board, bless


If you are the main one doing the training then you'll see that bond develop. My pair can go nuts when my hubby comes home but they do listen to me far more. Hubby is a novelty and never asks them to do anything either. Not so they understand anyway - he thinks "KILORUDITHAT'SENOUGHSTOPJUMPINGALLOVERTHESOFA" means that they know to settle. They do know "Settle" but that's men for you .

I have days when I'm in tears and everything seems horrendous and days when I'm so proud I could burst :scared:.


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## Jayniekinns (May 26, 2013)

Dogless said:


> If you are the main one doing the training then you'll see that bond develop. My pair can go nuts when my hubby comes home but they do listen to me far more. Hubby is a novelty and never asks them to do anything either. Not so they understand anyway - he thinks "KILORUDITHAT'SENOUGHSTOPJUMPINGALLOVERTHESOFA" means that they know to settle. They do know "Settle" but that's men for you .
> 
> I have days when I'm in tears and everything seems horrendous and days when I'm so proud I could burst :scared:.


Glad to know I'm not the only one then, Boomer would love to run around the living room and play all day with my partner which isn't always that fun as I remember my partner was once playing a game and boomer went up to console and was sniffing, then pressed the eject button on xbox. I thought it was funny but once he started trying to get Boomer to lay back down, he wouldn't listen and thought he was playing a game


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## Supasilvfoxy (Apr 6, 2013)

I'd like to add my two penn'orth here, everybody else had said what I would have said anyway, but just as a word of encouragement - The most difficult dogs are usually the best dogs once training and full bonding have taken place, which means, the more time and effort you put into your somewhat wayward hound the more you will get out of him.

Have a go faint heart never won a good dog.


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## sezeelson (Jul 5, 2011)

Supasilvfoxy said:


> I'd like to add my two penn'orth here, everybody else had said what I would have said anyway, but just as a word of encouragement - The most difficult dogs are usually the best dogs once training and full bonding have taken place, which means, the more time and effort you put into your somewhat wayward hound the more you will get out of him.


Definitely agree with this!! My dog has so much character which is why he was so naughty to begin with! But now he is trained, I can really appreciate his character and quirks! Wouldn't change what I've been through with him for anything! :thumbup:


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Jayniekinns said:


> Thanks to Sled Dog Hotel and Sezeelson, your comments are helpful. I understand the need to have the rabbits away and I had honestly thought that the rabbits were dog proof but I was obviously wrong.
> 
> I think doing training every day will have to be the way, I've spoken to my partner, who the dog belongs to, and basically told him rather than leave me to sort him out he is going to have to start training him etc or we will have to rehome him. I've also contacted someone in my area about training so fingers crossed for that. He also wont be going on a tether again.
> 
> For he postman, it was the dog was with me in the back garden and he ran off to the front where the postman was and jumped up and it looked as though he snapped for her hand, which he once did to one of my partner's friends, so that's when I decided to have him castrated which I think was no the right option anymore.


I noticed from your post too that he is 18mths so by the time you have had him Im guessing he was about a year/13 months when you got him. Its possible that if you didnt get him until this age, he didnt get any early training either. When they hit the age you got him they do go through a difficult phase anyway like going deaf to commands and doing things like not coming back where they may have done before off lead. If he didnt have any training foundation before that when younger then it would have made this phase even harder, especially as he continued to have no training then aswell.

Im sure with more effort like looking at his exercise levels and increasing them if needs be and getting some training in and keeping it up he will be fine. Having books can be a help, but if you havent trained before they can be a bit confusing. Having a trainer or going to classes and then practising at home in between will be much easier as you will have actual support and be shown how to train him. It will likely give you a lot more confidence too having that support. The trainer will show you how to keep him under control too when walking that I understand is one of your big problems too.

You can still come on here anyway and discuss things and ask for help so you can get support that way too. Sometimes it helps even to just offload if you have had a bad day and they have done something to drive you mad. That goes for the Other halfs and partners too sometimes as well as the dog


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Jayniekinns said:


> Glad to know I'm not the only one then, Boomer would love to run around the living room and play all day with my partner which isn't always that fun as I remember my partner was once playing a game and boomer went up to console and was sniffing, then pressed the eject button on xbox. I thought it was funny but once he started trying to get Boomer to lay back down, he wouldn't listen and thought he was playing a game


Reminds me of Kobi as a pup when he chewed through the sky satellite cable outide right at the sstart of the rhyder cup golf, OH was not pleased or impressed in the slightest. Kobi on the otherhand got lots of cuddles and extra treats for being such a good boy from me


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## CheddarS (Dec 13, 2011)

Dogless said:


> If you are the main one doing the training then you'll see that bond develop. My pair can go nuts when my hubby comes home but they do listen to me far more. Hubby is a novelty and never asks them to do anything either. Not so they understand anyway - he thinks "KILORUDITHAT'SENOUGHSTOPJUMPINGALLOVERTHESOFA" means that they know to settle. They do know "Settle" but that's men for you .
> 
> I have days when I'm in tears and everything seems horrendous and days when I'm so proud I could burst :scared:.


Welcome to my world  I spend every day with my chunk, I do all the training...and OH comes in and I am invisible... But I know that he is worth it, and we are a tight knit group...but ultimately he will always protect me . 
Please work on the training, you will see the benefits although it may be slow and small steps


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## Malmum (Aug 1, 2010)

My boy Flynn is still work in progress five years on. It's been hard at times, extremely emotional as I've had to deal with him single handed, no one else has ever so much as put a lead on him let alone walk him. Now 95% of the time hes brilliant and when you achieve that you get such a sense of self satisfaction but its tough going getting there. 

Castration is all well and good but if you wrongly castrate a fearful dog you take away what little confidence it has and make it even more fearful and reactive. I know because I've done it and regret it often but you just try your best to train that fear out, not easy but with a confident handler not impossible either. 

Good luck and remember Boomer is in 'the terrible teen' stage and like most dogs of his age will push boundaries. Be fair, consistent and keep any temptations out of his way. I have three high prey drive Mals and I would never consider having a rabbit no matter that two are now eight and one five, let alone if they were 18 months. 

Good luck with your boy.


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## Pixieandbow (Feb 27, 2013)

I don't have any advice to offer, you have had some fab advice from some of the most experienced and balanced owners on this forum (in my opinion).

I just wanted to say don't give up. I have a retired greyhound. I worked hard on his attitude to my cats, made sure they were safe and all was good. For some unknown reason one of my cats decided to run past my dog and his prey drive kicked in. Unfortunately he killed the cat. My OH (who is now my ex OH) suggested having him PTS as did a few people on here. I was flamed and told how irresponsible I was but I thought things had been going well. I asked my children what they wanted to do with the dog and they were emphatic in their response...they love him and wanted to keep him.

So, I worked some more on his response to my cats and he's better. He's terrible with other people's cats but he's never off lead and is getting better at ignoring them too. I came to the conclusion that my cat was being a cat and my dog was being a dog.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is I'm sorry you lost your rabbit but don't give up on your dog. Good luck


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## Sarah1983 (Nov 2, 2011)

Nothing really to add to the advice already given but just want to say that if you can't find a decent trainer in your area then look at getting Train Your Dog Like A Pro by Jean Donaldson. It has great step by step guides to teaching the basics and comes with a dvd so you can see what to do as well as read about it. A trainer would be better though. 

My last dog, Rupert, was a killer of all things non human. I had 4 pet rats when I got him and it took months of hard work on impulse control to be able to have him in the same room as their cage. He was never, ever trusted with them loose as I have no doubt he would have killed them despite all the work I'd put in. He caught and killed a cat one walk and regularly killed pigeons and mice. Wasn't something I was happy about or encouraged and I did my best to prevent it but the block of flats we were in had a mouse problem and pigeons flew so low over him that he simply jumped up and grabbed them while on leash. Even muzzled he'd knock them out of the air. Lots of people told me he should be put to sleep, that it'd be a child next and that sort of thing but I disagree. Nobody tells cat owners that their cat is going to attack a child because it's killed a bird or mouse, why is it so different for dogs?


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## Jayniekinns (May 26, 2013)

Well I did find out some information his morning that makes me feel a bit better. Between my garden and my neighbours house there is a simple wire fence and he was threading some rope through the top of it to strengthen it. This is because yesterday Boomer was sniffing at his dog and tried to jump fence and it had bent over at top a bit only to end up falling on his back. He said he then thought he ran off into the house, which in this case he didn't and went for the rabbits.

Makes me feel better because it means he didn't break tether desperate to get at the rabbits, it was to get at the other dog and when he was coming back to house he must have startled one of them which drew his attention to them.


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