Darlene Browell
& Loo LOo
I would like you to meet my Bulldog, Loo Loo the Choo Choo. She is 2 years old (2009 at the time this was written) and this is her story..........We got Loo from Missouri. My husband and I have always wanted a “bullie” and after a lot of research we found a small breeder that had what we were looking for. She arrived on a Delta flight, and so our journey began. Everything was great for about 1 1/2 years. Loo found her place in our home and our heart. She latched on to my other dog a black lab named Marty. They were inseparable, best of pals.
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After a while Loo started showing signs of being “bossy” . Then bossy turned to controlling, and that snowballed straight into aggression. She would attack her “brother” for no apparent reason. Right out of the blue with no warning that we could see at the time. For instance, she wasn't chewing a bone or they weren't playing and someone got a little rough. I am talking she could be sleeping on the couch and just of a sudden bolt off it and attack him. Or he could be laying on the floor and she would enter a room and just “BAM!!” it would happen. This started out gradually over time. It would happen once in a while then it became more frequent and very intense. Once she would have a hold of him it was nearly impossible to get her to let go. I started becoming very scared of her, this dog I waited for for so long. My husband and I were beside ourselves.
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What went wrong?? What had we done or not done? Why was she behaving this way? My Lab had gotten to the point that his best friend had turned on him. If she came into the room he would cower and hide behind me. Or he would immediately leave the room. No more best of friends here. The final straw was in Feb of 2009. It happened again. She went after him. Grabbing him by his front leg and “chewing “on it. Nothing I did got her to let go.
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I am not proud of the things I have done in attempt to get her to let go. I screamed, yelled, pushed, pulled, hit, punched and even kicked at her. In a desperate attempt to get her off my Lab I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck. BIG MISTAKE. She whirled around and in her frenzy she bit me. Then went right back after my other dog. I finally managed to get her off him and it took several minutes to get her to calm. Like 45 to 50!!
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I took one look at my Lab's mangled front leg and knew we were in way over our heads. She had torn his front leg wide open. After a heart wrenching discussion with my husband, he and I came to the conclusion that we had to do something. I was loosing the trust I had in my dog. I shuddered when she came into the room for fear of an attack. I also feared for my other dog, let alone a small child in the neighborhood. What if this happened to someone's child? My husband couldn't bare the thought of someone else having her and I couldn't live with myself if we gave our “problem” to someone else and something horrific happened. We honest and truly contemplated having her put down. As much as it would break my heart I couldn't see any other way.
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After speaking to our vet about our decision he urged us to not act hastily. To talk to a woman he knew before we acted out of desperation. He said she had had very good success with dogs with a variety of behavioral issues and she might be able to help us, or at the very least give a clue as to what the problem was. Her name was Lisa Mawson of Canine Culture CNY. I thank my lucky stars every day that we listened to our vet. Lisa came into our home and was able to show us what some of the problems were. She could see what we couldn't, the triggers. Even thought we couldn't see them they were right there in front of us. You just had to know what to look for. Once Lisa showed us what to look for, she also gave us the tools we needed to head of the attacks. She showed us what WE had to do for our dog to make her happier and healthier. She gave us some powerful advice and best of all she gave us hope. Hope that we could fix this, that it was manageable. Hope that we could reign in Loo's aggression and make her a part of our family once again. Trust her again.
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Loo's major problem was redirected aggression. She could keep it in check for a while, but when it came out... watch out! Lisa worked with us as a team in a way we could understand. She advised us to get her exercising, walking to get some of that pent up energy out of her. Lisa told us about a sport called weight pulling, for dogs. More specifically as a form of conditioning and resistance training. Let me tell you!!Now she also does light drag weights a couple times per week.
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Loo has found a job!! A good job. One that allows her to spend that energy in a positive manner. Weight pulling and all the other tools that Lisa had given us has done wonders with our dog. She is better mannered, less excitable, more controllable, walks like a dream on a loose leash, relaxed and layed back.
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And above all, HER AGGRESSION is in check. We have had no other incidents since we have started working with her on a daily basis. Make no mistake, it is not a miracle cure. It is hard work, and she does “test” and “push buttons” now and again. But no attacks to date. She is our Lab's best friend again, my husband's princess, and she has earned my trust. She is happy, healthy and at peace. Not only has she found her place in our hearts and our home, but she KNOWS her place. There is a difference.
On a final note, Lisa~~ thank you. From the bottom of our hearts, for giving us what we needed, and what we needed to do. And to my dog... WELCOME BACK SWEET BABY LOO!