Cool. Let’s hash out something else. Should good drivers be exempt from traffic laws?
Then why the hell do you do it?
Call him up. Tell him, “It is not possible to keep your animal in our home. Had you not withheld information about the animal, you would be choosing the kennel where it will be staying. I will now choose that and you will pay me upon your return.”
Depending on how long you still have “Beast” in your home, I’d tell you to go get a Gentle Leader from your local pet store and use that to walk him. Leading him by the head might be your best bet. As a dog trainer, I’d also recommend you use it over a soft muzzle (but make it a tight one, go a size smaller if you have to) or a basket muzzle (you can slip a head halter under a basket muzzle and thread the lead loop through the basket) just for your own safety. Your vet may actually be able to lend you a muzzle for the week if you ask them nicely. Same for your obedience school, if you have one you have used a lot.
Personally, I’d combine those things with a pinch collar, if I knew the dog to be a dominant, possibly aggressive “hard dog”, but not having evaluated the animal first hand, I wouldn’t make the recommendation. That’s the kind of call you make once you’ve seen the animal, and not everyone is comfortable with negative reinforcement. It’s one of the “tools in the toolbox”, as they say…
Good luck!
Comments like this are stunning to me. I’m trying to train Beast, attempting to cure him from his aggressive habits. I’m doing my best to avoid other dogs by staying on the far side of the park. My efforts are being ruined by an idiot who refuses to keep his dog on the leash - in direct violation of the law. Yet you think that I am the irresponsible one?
Seriously, are you even listening to yourself? You might have a reasonable argument if it weren’t for the fact that having a dog offleash is illegal in my city. The people I’m complaining about are actively breaking the law and interfering with my efforts to train Beast into being a non-threatening dog, thereby making one less problem animal in the world. And as you should be figuring out from the other statements here, letting your dog offleash is pretty irresponsible even if there isn’t a law.
Thanks, this is good advice - If I’d planned this out ahead of time I would have gotten a gentle leader and a muzzle too. He seems to be minding me pretty well now. We actually got stuck in a walkway with an aggressive dog yesterday. The other dog was baring its teeth and growling, and Beast stayed by my side and didn’t lunge. (He had trouble remembering to sit, and didn’t want to focus, but hey, this is his third day of training.) Of course, despite the other dog’s demeanor it was clear that Beast was completely unintimidated, and probably thought the other dog was pretty funny.
My main problem is that I just don’t have time right now to go work with him every day. I wish he’d been dropped off when things were a bit slower for me. It’s pretty rewarding to see the results I’m getting, I’d love to be able to train him completely. I got him a dino-bone to keep him occupied while he was stuck in the rec room. He bit the entire end off and has carved big gouges into it with his teeth. So he’s fairly strong and he’s about as intimidating looking as you get. But I have him walking meek as a kitten and learning slowly to focus. It makes me want to get a dog like this and start from scratch.
Well, see, I took responsibility for the dog, and I’ll follow through on it. As annoying as Beast has been, the only thing I really came to the pit with was the dipshits not obeying the leash laws and ruining my training sessions.
Exactly.
Sounds to me like you’re doing a great job, Lev!