Despite Jeds big butch appearance, he is frightened and nervous.
He is fear aggressive, specifically in the confines of his home when new people are entering the house.
Jeds owners Neil and Kelly are trying to manage this by keeping him on a lead, but he is not improving.
When Victoria meets Jed and his owners, it is very apparent that this is a very stressed dog, yet Victoria quickly realises when seeing him out on a walk, running away from other dogs, it is being confined that frightens him the most.
Victoria shows Neil and Kelly, by using stooge visitors in padded protection suits exactly what Jed could do.... and really brings it home to his owners that Jed MUST be managed and trained.
Victoria explains that Jed is nervous, and that his fears wont go away if he is shouted at or punished. Instead Neil and Kelly must change Jeds perceptions of new people in his house, associating them with pleasant things instead of bad things.
Victoria also insists Jed has a health check, and this reveals he has hypothyroid, (low thyroid), which causes him to feel anxious and nervous, especially when he cannot run away.
When Jed is medicated for this, and Neil and Kelly start introducing Jed to strangers outside the house before inviting them in, and distracting him with toys and food filled Kongs whilst guests are there, Jed improves immeasurably.
Victoria points out that Jed must always be managed properly, and never be put into the position where he feels he has to use aggression to protect himself.
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I enjoyed this episode immensely, I could name many trainers on TV currently who would have punished Jed for his aggressing at guests in the house. This would only have made the situation worse, he is already stressed and not coping with his stress and fear, adding pain or unpleasant punishments to the mix could never improve things.
It was fantastic to see that, taking into account medical problems, and reducing Jeds stress levels and handling him calmly, distracting him with pleasant things, resulted in a happy dog who will only get better.
My one bugbear (and i always have one!), Victoria points out that once an aggressive dog, always an aggressive dog.
Id like to disagree just slightly. I think we should treat ALL dogs as if they could behave as Jed was doing in the beginning, because they ALL can.
Aggression is a tool that dogs have, where we have the ability to say 'no, go away' or 'leave me alone' or 'you frighten me, help!', dogs have 'grr' and 'snap' and 'bite!'.
I firmly believe that NO dog should ever be forced into the situation where he or she feels the need to use those tools, and to blame a dog for using the only tools he has, shows us humans up as being infinately less intelligent than wed like to believe.
Every single dog in existance has the potential to use aggression against us or others. I see so many things people expect dogs to tolerate, such as children sitting on dogs, people leaning over dogs and staring in their faces, people picking up dogs, teasing dogs..... and im horrified at how many would allow these things to happen, and then blame the dog when he objects in the only way he can.
If we want to keep dogs as pets, confine them, take away their ability to run away, we HAVE to accept that they all have the real potential to use their teeth.
As dog owners, it is our job to prevent our dogs from ever EVER needing to do that.
Series 4 Episode 6 (UK): Jed the American Bulldog
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Series 4 Episode 6 (UK): Jed the American Bulldog
Last edited by emmabeth on Sat Jul 12, 2008 12:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Yes Emma I agree. We all (animals and humans) have a right to defend ourselves if we think that we are in mortal danger. However what I mean when I say that 'when a dog has shown aggression it always has the ability to aggress again if it is put in a situation where it reaches its stress threshold limit,' is because once a dog has used aggression as a tool to defend itself and the aggression has been successful (i.e. person leaves) the dog is more likely to aggress again when put in a similar situation. Rehearsal of aggressive response means that the response becomes more deeply ingrained and then it can be very difficult to change. This was so in Jed's situation and in order for his owners (who were dedicated people) and others in their situation, to understand the severity of the problem, they have to know the reality, that the dog WILL aggress again if it feels the same kind of stress. The secret in dealing with an aggressive dog like this is to manage your envionment 100% of the time so the dog doesn't have the ability to rehearse the aggression, while practising modification and desensitzation programs like I did with Jed. There is an amazing book written by the Canadian behaviorist James O'Heare called: Aggressive Behavior In Dogs. It is mostly a manual for professionals but is worth reading, because he is one of the foremost experts when it comes to dealing with aggression in dogs. His website is: www.dogpsych.com
Yep, you are right, actually I think its the label 'aggressive dog' that I dont like.
Jed isnt 'an aggressive dog', because with his owners, with people he knows and with other animals and people out in the park, hes fine, aggression is not ALL that he is.
What he is, is a dog who has learned to use aggression when he has to - being pedantic (and i am frequently that), I dont like that his using of this one tool in his toolbox of not that many tools, is then used to define him.
What im getting at is, people are quick to label a dog (or for that matter a person), because of the one thing about that dog, aggression, nerves, whatever, and that tends to make them stop actually thinking about anything else.
If you say to someone 'this dog is aggressive', they instantly think 'bad dog', and thats a big shame because it frequently stops people seeing any further than that label.
Quite what i think anyone can do about that is a different matter
because i certainly wouldnt want to make light of what can happen when dogs are pushed into situations that make them turn to aggression where all else fails. If a dog is aggressive we do have to say so, and make it clear just how bad the implications of that are - i suppose we have to make people understand more clearly what 'aggression' in a dog actually means, and WHY it happens, what triggers it.
(I think i need to go to bed )
Em
Jed isnt 'an aggressive dog', because with his owners, with people he knows and with other animals and people out in the park, hes fine, aggression is not ALL that he is.
What he is, is a dog who has learned to use aggression when he has to - being pedantic (and i am frequently that), I dont like that his using of this one tool in his toolbox of not that many tools, is then used to define him.
What im getting at is, people are quick to label a dog (or for that matter a person), because of the one thing about that dog, aggression, nerves, whatever, and that tends to make them stop actually thinking about anything else.
If you say to someone 'this dog is aggressive', they instantly think 'bad dog', and thats a big shame because it frequently stops people seeing any further than that label.
Quite what i think anyone can do about that is a different matter
because i certainly wouldnt want to make light of what can happen when dogs are pushed into situations that make them turn to aggression where all else fails. If a dog is aggressive we do have to say so, and make it clear just how bad the implications of that are - i suppose we have to make people understand more clearly what 'aggression' in a dog actually means, and WHY it happens, what triggers it.(I think i need to go to bed
)Em
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MEL AND ZULU
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I thought Jed was an absolutly gorgeous looking dog.
I also experiance with my dog that i "thought" he was aggressive and wanted to just eat everything in site.
Its amazing when someone points out to you that its something different, it changes the whole way you deal with a situation or it did with me.
Jeds owners clearly loved him to death, especially his mummy.
And how quickly he changed when Victoria showed them some such simple things to calm him down and stop him being anxious, and how brave and trusting Victoria was to sit so calmly on the seat while Jed wondered around the room off the lead when he had cleared showed his anxiety towards her beforehand, takes guts to be a trainer!!!.
I have a soft spot for big dogs, especially ones that appear to be mischeivous and full of expressions, hence the love for boxers. Another gr8 show Victoria.
I also experiance with my dog that i "thought" he was aggressive and wanted to just eat everything in site.
Its amazing when someone points out to you that its something different, it changes the whole way you deal with a situation or it did with me.
Jeds owners clearly loved him to death, especially his mummy.
And how quickly he changed when Victoria showed them some such simple things to calm him down and stop him being anxious, and how brave and trusting Victoria was to sit so calmly on the seat while Jed wondered around the room off the lead when he had cleared showed his anxiety towards her beforehand, takes guts to be a trainer!!!.
I have a soft spot for big dogs, especially ones that appear to be mischeivous and full of expressions, hence the love for boxers. Another gr8 show Victoria.
Well Jed was an absolute beauty!!
He is a fine looking dog, and was obviously from good stock. He looks very very much like my Ethels dad.
I have got to say though that he is very much like any AB, in the way that he defends his home to the hilt. Loads of AB's dont like strangers coming into thier home. Ethel is very much like this, but I have got to say no where near as bad as Jed was. She is not at all as aggressive as Jed was, and is not so fear aggressive when out either. AB's are a big dog with lots to give, but they are a very powerful dog. They are strong in both body and mind, and very clever.
AB's are very easy to train as all they want is to please thier owners.
They are natural guard dogs, and I know if push come to shove my Ethel would defend me and my family to the death. I for one think this is an honourable trait, but one that would need to be managed in the home environment.
I had never even seen an AB before going round a few breeders to find out more about the dog, when looking for our girl. We saw how big the classics can get to, and how strong they can get to, so opted for a Standard. But even so we still have a big powerful dog in our house. We saw lots of different dogs, and lots of different breeders before coming to a decision to get our girl. Having allways had EBT's we thought we new a lot about owning a "difficult" breed
But have got to say that AB's are totally different. I would not hesitate on having another, but now know better how to handle bringing one up. Although I have got to say, Ethel is very very well behaved, and does as she is told.
I wish Jeds owners all the luck in the world with him, he is a fine looking dog, and lovely natured deep down. I think he will allways be fearful of strangers, and allways be very guardy of the home.
Well done Victoria for getting him on the straight and narrow.
AB's are gentle giants, but do need a strong handler and are often misunderstood as a breed. People hear the "American" and "Bull" part to the name of the breed and automatcally assume you have a pitty. I even had a lady, that supposedly new about dogs, tell me Ethel was a pitty, and how could I have a dog like that when I have young children. Needless to say she got the rough end of my tongue, and shown the pedigree papers.
He is a fine looking dog, and was obviously from good stock. He looks very very much like my Ethels dad.
I have got to say though that he is very much like any AB, in the way that he defends his home to the hilt. Loads of AB's dont like strangers coming into thier home. Ethel is very much like this, but I have got to say no where near as bad as Jed was. She is not at all as aggressive as Jed was, and is not so fear aggressive when out either. AB's are a big dog with lots to give, but they are a very powerful dog. They are strong in both body and mind, and very clever.
AB's are very easy to train as all they want is to please thier owners.
They are natural guard dogs, and I know if push come to shove my Ethel would defend me and my family to the death. I for one think this is an honourable trait, but one that would need to be managed in the home environment.
I had never even seen an AB before going round a few breeders to find out more about the dog, when looking for our girl. We saw how big the classics can get to, and how strong they can get to, so opted for a Standard. But even so we still have a big powerful dog in our house. We saw lots of different dogs, and lots of different breeders before coming to a decision to get our girl. Having allways had EBT's we thought we new a lot about owning a "difficult" breed
But have got to say that AB's are totally different. I would not hesitate on having another, but now know better how to handle bringing one up. Although I have got to say, Ethel is very very well behaved, and does as she is told.I wish Jeds owners all the luck in the world with him, he is a fine looking dog, and lovely natured deep down. I think he will allways be fearful of strangers, and allways be very guardy of the home.
Well done Victoria for getting him on the straight and narrow.
AB's are gentle giants, but do need a strong handler
and are often misunderstood as a breed. People hear the "American" and "Bull" part to the name of the breed and automatcally assume you have a pitty. I even had a lady, that supposedly new about dogs, tell me Ethel was a pitty, and how could I have a dog like that when I have young children. Needless to say she got the rough end of my tongue, and shown the pedigree papers.Jed
I watched this episode and i struggled to control myself, it was everything i kept asking myself about my dog Milo. He puts across an aggressive front but underneath that he is terrified, he has done the same as Jed in that he's gone bounding up to a dog in the park putting on a big aggressive front but when the dogs stood his ground Milo's squealed and run off. He is petrified of men and if ever a man comes into the house (this now happens about as often as xmas!!) he'll put on a big aggressive front but if the man doesn't back down Milo panics and is so scared. He has never attacked anyone or used agression at anyone or anything but i know that there may one day be a situation where if he feels threatened enough this could happen and it scares the hell out of me.