Dritte was approximately 3 years old when we rescued her. She had a number of bad gashes in her belly where she had been attacked by dogs. We did not realize when we brought her home that she was terrified of other dogs and when she felt threatened in any way, that became deadly fear aggression.
Over a period of months, her aggression toward our other female German Shepherd, Lexi, escalated, culminating on a horrifying Christmas Eve at my parents house in Colorado when Dritte almost killed Lexi. The vet who stitched Lexi back together insisted Dritte needed to be put down. However, I felt that was not “the deal” we made when we adopted her.
We very carefully got the two dogs home to Flower Mound and then proceeded to erect the Berlin Wall between our German Shepherds. The house and yard were divided into Lexi’s and Dritte’s. Dritte had certain times when she got to hang out with us and Lexi had other times. Each had their dog runs on separate sides of the house. We had a strict regimen and the two dogs never came in contact with each other again except under the watchful eye of dog trainers.
Over a period of years, I consulted quite a few trainers. Some said put her down. Others just couldn’t make any progress. And it wasn’t just our dog. After we separated Dritte and Lexi, I started walking with Dritte, four miles every day, religiously, for several years. Every time we would encounter another dog on our walk, Dritte would go into a blind panic/rage. At first, I had to literally lie on top of her with all my weight. I got bit a lot.
Over time, she became more and more desensitized until we could get pretty close to another dog before she would start lunging and barking. And I wasn’t getting bit. But still! It was a less than perfect situation. Then I saw Tod drive by on the road one day in his Honda Pilot that said Redeeming Dogs. I thought, “That is what I need! Someone who can redeem my dog.” I called.
Tod evaluated both dogs. We decided to focus on Dritte since Lexi was getting quite old. She went for a board and train and then Tod continued to help out with tips and socializations. Dritte continued to make steady progress.
Fast forward to today. Dritte got to a point where she could go to doggie daycare and be a model citizen. She goes to polo games with me and interacts with other dogs appropriately, assuming they are balanced. She can walk off leash. And after Lexi died, we were able, with Tod’s help, to rescue a three-legged German Shepherd boy named Ohne who Dritte plays and plays with and has never so much as growled at.
Although I had made progress with Dritte on my own, having Tod to work with Dritte and turn to for help after her board and train was invaluable. Dritte has been redeemed and I can’t thank Tod enough or recommend him too highly.
