your oppinion on small bite incident please...

Doing his job in my opinion.

Alex, Boeda is a Cane Corso mix, he did what he believes he is supposed to do - protect you from what he perceives is a threat!!! Now, obviously Boeda has a problem figuring out on his own what is a threatening gesture and what is not. How old is he? If he was in a sit and did not show any signs of aggression prior to the ranger extending his arm towards you, then I can say that he is and will be fairly capable of learning what is threatening and what is not. You have to work HARD on control exercises through structured obedience training! Go to a trainer that has experience with mastiffs and work on this!! You should have no problems with this!! Boeda did what he was bred to do, now it is up to you to teach him what is acceptable and what is not!! You will see that in a short while, things like this will not happen again!!! On the plus side, you now know that Boeda will protect you!!!! ;)!!!! Best of luck and please inform your girlfriend and explain to her and have her read about the temperament of Corsos and mastiffs in general! It seems that you have a great dog that was trying to protect its owner. Teaching your dog control through obedience will also increase his confidence because he will be able to "discern friend from foe." This is normal behavior and I'm glad that you caught it in time and a worse incident did not take place!! OBEDIENCE TRAIN!!!!! ALV ps. Have your girlfriend work with him in the obedience and control exercises!!

doing his job. i do believe that you didnt pay enough attention to see boeda will react like that.take never something for granted you need always to be alert. All faults dogs make is the owners mistake :D Good luck with the training and tell your girl that at least she is always safe :D

18 months.... this is the perfect time for this type of training. He's still a juvenile and he's trying to figure things out on his own. This is a crucial time for him to have a hierarchy in place (you as the pack leader, then your girlfriend then any human then him)!! Try this: 1. Have boeda on sit next to you with a prong collar and a loose but short leash and have a treat on hand. Have a stranger walk straight up and stop at about 3-5 feet from you and say hello. Wait about 20 seconds like that then have the stranger walk away. If boeda seems in control and doesn' t show any signs of aggression, give him the treat and praise him like hell. Try this for a few training sessions and only praise him and give him the treat when he's calm and shows no signs of aggression. If he growls or lunges, give him a swift correction with the prong collar immediately or as you see him begin to display the unwanted behavior. 2. Have the same set up as the first step. Once he's mastered the first step, have the stranger carry a treat with him. When he walks up to you have him extend his hand (the one with the treat) as if for a handshake. If boeda even flinches towards the stranger or growls or shows any sign that he will become aggressive, correct him immediately and have the stranger stand still (you do not want boeda to associate a display of aggression with the stranger leaving). Once boeda is calm and relaxed next to you, the stranger walks away!! (He must only walk away when boeda is still and calm!!) Do this until the stranger is able to shake your hand and hand you the treat. If boeda allows the stranger to shake your hand without showing any signs of aggression, immediately when you shake the strangers hand give boeda the treat that the stranger brought with him. Do this for several sessions after that! After boeda associates the stranger coming towards you for a handshake with a treat and a praise, you'll be all set. Eventually eliminate the treat and only praise him and in a few weeks you'll have a dog that will allow any non-threatening human approach you for a handshake. Eventually you might want the stranger to hand him the treat, but that is up to you! Personally I did that when my dogs were 8 months and below. Now if I allow it, my dog will allow any person come close and pet her. However, if I don't know the person I normally will not allow he or she to pet her because I want her to welcome whomever I welcome, not EVERYONE!! Hope this helps and remember that 18 months is just a pup! ALV

It's ALL your fault no matter what breed of dog it is. :twisted: It's always the owners responcibility to not allow the dog to get into trouble in the 1st place. In the dogs mind your pack was challenged by two aggressive humans, "2 big guys in green uniform walked up close and personal ". You put the dog at sit (Good on your're part). However, in that situtation you unitentionally had your dog focused on the "perceived" threat. So of course when the Ranger offered his card the dog thought it was an aggressive move. I don't think that was a CC thing(breed specific). I know several Non-Molosser type mutts that would have done the same thing. Training is the proper recommendation. I think yopur GF should be involved in the training process. A good trainer can also educate her. She has an unrealistic expectations for someone that owns a molosser breed. The good thing is you see the potental for future problems and are open minded enough to look for answers. Good luck :D

Sounds like you have a great dog that you can trust to protect, pretty predictable in my opinion. Now it sounds like you just have to do more training with the dog.

There are a couple more things that you should think about with this scenario. They would be the energy or attitude of the prople involved. I am sure these park ranger guys projected an attitude of authority, it has been my experience that most people in uniforms connected to some kind of law enforcement tend to be jerks. They do not always treat people very nice and I am sure your dog could sense how these people are. Secondly you were probably projecting nervous energy that your dog picked up on. You said you were glad you did not get a ticket, this leads me to believe that at least at some point when they first approached you that you were nervous to some extent. Law enforcement people can be very intimidating and I know that I do get nervous when approached by them. You can do all the cute little excercises with strangers and treats that you like, but in the end they will not help if you are not calm and collected. Hopefully I have been clear enough that you get what I am trying to say, it is clear in my mind what most likely caused this versus if you had just happened along a couple of other hikers on the trail and the dog would not have bitten if you had shaken one of their hands.

Bubba i agree with you.one evening i was walking with my gsd and a man walked 2 steps behind me.He was stepping in my foodsteps and he made me nervous.When i thought about turning around and curse the hell out of him my dog felt it and turned around and attacked him.They react very much on the owners feelings.They know even better how you feel than ourselfs. If you was nervous your dog knows and react on it. Good point bubba

Bubba, you make a great point!! But this can be compared to the nervousness that a handler can exhibit in a Sch. or FR trial. If the dog is well trained in control just like a Sch. or FR dog, then they can "learn" to "ignore" the anxiousness associated with a ranger coming up or the anxiousness of a competition. ALV

I have to respectfully disagree on this one ALV. A case of performance jitters is a completely different type of nerves than being nervous in the face of the law. I do agree that more training is needed with this dog. The dog acted in the manner it has been hardwired to. It saw the rangers as a threat, felt he handler was unsure, and when the threat moved towards the handler the dog reacted.

Bubba, I see your point, but what I'm trying to say is that I'm sure that Boeda's owner wasn't "fearful" of the rangers(??). I'm sure he was anxious, but not fearful. Fear brings a rush of adrenaline that causes "fight or flight" which is very different than the nervousness or anxiousness that comes along with facing an authority figure such as park rangers. In all honesty, I would have to say that competition jitters are more closely related to the anxiousness or nervousness displayed when approached by rangers. Now, if I was in REAL danger and I felt fear, I would expect my dog to react accordingly and defend me in the face of real danger!! This is what I mean that dog must be able to discern the nervousness or anxiousness (of facing a ranger or a competition) vs. the REAL "fight or flight" inducing fear for your well being. Thanks for your reply, though!!!! ALV

Bubba - You nailed it on the bad "Vibe" thing. Well stated!

Contact combat [blockquote]I didnt know boeda could move like lightening , but he was in his arm before i could blink. Thankfully i had enough controll over the leash to pull him back and prevent a full bite. No puncture thank god and no consequenses from the ranger ( thankfully )[/blockquote] [color=darkred]Well, learn from this experience and dont underestimate your dog again, as next time, it will probably be much different, or worse.[/color] Contact Combat [blockquote]Now my girlfriend is scared and saying boeda cannot be trusted and is unpredictable. My oppinion is that boeda got the wrong message and protected me and it is mostly my fault for not paying attention.[/blockquote] [color=darkred]Now, first off, tell your girlfriend to calm her self down, think about what truly happpened, and NOT to act differently about your dog now, as it WILL affect how he perceives her and treats her. It was not MOSTLY your fault, it was ALL your fault, for not giving your dog enough respect in that you underestimated him, didnt think hed react to 2 large men coming towards you, and not realizing what exactly you had. He id a corso mix, he will be a protective dog, and looking from him, quite an agile fast dog. Get him into some training with a good trainer, channel his abilities and qualities man, dont let a good dog go to ruins for nothing. You asked for OUR opinion, and you got my honest opinion. Mike[/color]

[quote="Platz"]It's ALL your fault no matter what breed of dog it is. [/quote] Agreed. Just as BSL should not focus on specific breeds in "preventing" attacks, a dog's breed should not make a difference when placing (redirecting) blame or making excuses after one. I say NO this dog was NOT doing his job as the ranger/official was not putting a real threat on you. That is, unless you want your dog's job to be biting people you interact with in non-threatening situations at it's own discretion. While it is true that some breeds are more apt to act on what THEY perceive as a threat than others, it is still YOUR job and responsibility as the owner to teach them the difference between a REAL threat and something that could be mistaken for one, such as this.