Chance story and updates for cyril baby

Right first Chance's story for those who don't no i.e cyril baby!

Chance is an almost 3 year old american bulldog who we rescued a year ago tomorrow. The rescue centre i won't go into lets just say i have nothing good to say about them.......

Chance from a pup was beaten, starved and burnt by his previous owner(s) he was also used in dog fighting/guarding property etc

He is not dog aggressive in the slightest but had NO manners and no idea how to act around other dogs. Also clearly not be walked on public roads/places if at all. Was kept in a far to small crate meaning he slept sat upright and chewed the bars of the crate through boredom, stress whatever so has very deformed and chipped front teeth.

Once home we realised Chance had never seen everyday things before like running away from the telly/radio. Terrified of anything like a broom, he would shake, cry and wet himself if you were to pick one up.

My main priority with him was his health and once he settled and got some sort of confidence back his people aggression became more obvious. We muzzled and still do alot of the time situation dependent, as he has no 'triggers' apart from hating black men (no racism intended) he would lunge (or try) at anyone in the street including kids and women. It's not just a lunge and growl, hackles were up teeth shown and will snap at people, baring in mind he does have a muzzle on.

He has also bit a lass who i have told before to not lean with her hand over the fence if the dogs are out. She did and chance grabbed her by the wrist but let go when i grabbed him. She did say it was her fault as she was waving her hand about talking and he bit me badly when some stupid kids were throwing stones at the boys in the garden and trying to open or garden gate, and again putting there hands over the fence.

Anyway within the last year Chance is most definitely a new dog! positive re-enforcement and a proper routine is what has helped Chance as he doesn't get stressed in new situations then. He will not take treats and isn't bothered by toys BUT will try and doing anything for a cuddle off mum (me) so praise in the form of comfort from me is what he has to work for.

Diet and exercise is what i think you asked for, well both my boys are fed prey model raw and NOTHING else and i will not ever be changing their diet.

Exercise wise is a 3 mile run about 3am in which they pull me along (we are training for caniX) and at least 2 hour and half walks a day, and as chance can't go offlead my OH runs around the local park with him on a long lead chasing Harvey.

So if you saw my photos recently of our walks to rother valley and such you will see that Chance is now left un muzzled in a group of people. Now that is because there are so many other dogs around to keep his attention on although he's not fussed with other dogs once he's met them. But if it was a walk with no other dogs just alot of people then he would wear his muzzle. I also tell people do not fuss him unless he goes to them first and do not approach him from behind either.

Hmmmmm i think i've said everything you wanted but if i missed any CB let me know!

Oh as i feel like it a photo of Chance when we first got him


and now!

what a difference a year makes,goes to show with time,training and a lot of love how you can change a dogs life around,you should be well proud of yourself Ella

Thanks Stella I no alot of you will know Chance's story already but have been asked to tell some new people so why not

why not indeed,its a story worth re-telling!

wow... thats amazing that you took what people would call 'a hopeless case' and you really turned him around, shows what hard work and love can do sometimes

Thanks i will say it is most definitely HARD WORK but he's my baby and i wouldn't give up on him

You are an amazing person and a credit to the human race in that not everyone makes me lose faith in humanity. Seriously, it's horrible that he had such a terrible life beforehand, and the effort you've put in to improving his health, behaviour and happiness is brilliant

I remember so well the first pics you put up of him - brought tears to my eyes, poor lad.

He's come on so much since then & all thanks to a lot of hard work & dedication from you!

ANattyRat wrote:You are an amazing person and a credit to the human race in that not everyone makes me lose faith in humanity. Seriously, it's horrible that he had such a terrible life beforehand, and the effort you've put in to improving his health, behaviour and happiness is brilliant

Thanks I'm certainly not looking for sympathy by going over old ground but i like to tell people how far Chance has really come

Caryll wrote:I remember so well the first pics you put up of him - brought tears to my eyes, poor lad.

He's come on so much since then & all thanks to a lot of hard work & dedication from you!

Thanks Caryll he sends everyone lots of sloppy kisses oh and harvey too!

It is nearly supper time for my gang and I don't want them trying to eat me while they wait. The photo looks familier, did he come from a local rescue? I used to do a lot for a rescue getting dogs out of a pound, transporting for rescues and homechecks, 2 of mine come from the same pound.

I will have a good look at your post tomorrow, you don't live far from me, I am at Huddersfield. You are on the right track and he is a very lucky boy to have found you. Is he deaf? A lot of white ABs ae deaf like a lot of other breeds.

No he isn't local and both photos are mine NOT from the rescue and no he isn't deaf. He also never came from the pound.

He doesn't need any help now from anyone i.e trainers as i know what i'm doing and quite frankly i don't want the help and Chance I know his problems and i don't need the help with any of them!

Oh will also say that white is the breed standard colour for ambulls so not a huge amount of them are deaf

Well done Ella I'm so glad that Chance found the right home.

Chance look's like a wonderful dog!!!! So glad you rescued him! He is beautiful!!!

thanks peeps

and it's a pat on the back from me as well Fact is he could have been just another statistic if it weasn't for you and I think your story is inspirational for others with problems ><

You have done a remarkable job with Chance, I doubt anyone else could have brought him on so much in a year. Your understand of Chance is amazing, you have been working with him and his past instead of trying to force him to accept life which most do. They try to teach their dog there is nothing wrong with the hoover by using it close to them instead of well away from them.

What is also clear is the way good food and exercise is also important when turning a dog round. You have also found what he will work for, a cuddle, so many owners never find out what their dogs will work for then call their dogs stupid.

A lot of rescues take dogs straight from pounds, these dogs don’t have any known history but with many they history can be be worked out like Cyril being neutered as a puppy by his behaviour. A lot of rescues won’t take bull breeds because they can’t move them onto homes quickly like they can with a lot of breeds.

I know that ABDs are mainly white, I have seen quite a lot of them go into pounds that were deaf which is why I asked. A deaf dog is just as easy to train as a hearing dog but you just have to be different with your training, many do agility.

I have also found that when we are very close to our dogs we know them really well, we can tell something is wrong by the way the carry themselves, move etc. but sometimes another pair of eyes will see something that we haven’t, that doesn’t mean we are lacking as owners but just the opposite. Putting weight on or loosing it is one example, being with them so much we don’t notice the change as quickly as someone who sees the dog once a week, the change is gradual.

Chance is a very lucky boy to have found you, please don’t take this the wrong way but I get the feeling you are waiting for someone to criticize how you have handled Chance. Instead you should be very proud of what you have achieved with him, many, including me, can learn a lot from your experiences with him.

As for trainers and behaviourists, I haven’t found a decent one were I live, not one that I would trust any of my dogs to but there are some but a long way from me and like you I have had to work with my dogs without any help. I did find Ttouch and Reiki and never regretted either of them, Ttouch works well with positive training as it helps the dogs to relax.

I once went to a Ttouch workshop and took Joe into the hall, Joe was terrified of other dogs and I felt I was being cruel to him but needed for Marie Miller to see how he was with other dogs. Marie had her back to me when I took him in, I don’t know what she picked up but she suddenly turned and asked what was wrong with him. I just said it was Joe, she knew Joe’s history, she told one of her helpers who is a very good Ttouch practitioner now, to put a body wrap on him and work with him. My panicking little boy was fast asleep in 10 minutes and was able to work later with the other dogs milling round quite close to him. From that day he was a changed dog, he still had his problems but they were greatly reduced. Marie is a positive dog trainer who went into Ttouch to help the dogs better.

Wow Ella, just go to show with time and patience the hard work does pay off. When we got Rocky from the rescue centre we knew it would take a couple of years to get him round to where he is now.

You just have to be commited to the dog and dedicated to them, it is possible.

Cyril no I don't want to be criticised for how I have handled chance sorry if it came across like that HOWEVER I am very touchy when it comes to him as it has be recommended to me on lots of occasions even by ex vets that he is unworkable and that he should be PTS.

I think the problem is people look at my age and assume I don't no what I'm doing as I haven't had years of experience like some.

I don't think age always matters. Instinct plays a huge part in dealing with animals; some people have it, some don't - it sounds like you have!

Thanks caryll

ella wrote:Cyril no I don't want to be criticised for how I have handled chance sorry if it came across like that HOWEVER I am very touchy when it comes to him as it has be recommended to me on lots of occasions even by ex vets that he is unworkable and that he should be PTS.

I think the problem is people look at my age and assume I don't no what I'm doing as I haven't had years of experience like some.

Often with experience also comes being stuck in the mud with ideas, it worked with one dog and they can't see why it doesn't work with another. The day I stop learning will be the day I am not here.

Vets do very little about dog training nutrition and behaviour, they have so much to learn there isn't time, many are still in the dark ages of when force was used to train dogs. There are dogs that nothing can be done because of brain damage, these dogs are suffering as well.

Like you I have taken on dogs that were supposed to be unworkable, the latest was Bertie, he was a Maltese/JRT, a fantastic dog but the people who had been fostering him, there were several foster homes, were using Cesar Milan methods on him and he just got worse and worse, he put several in A & E because the bites were so severe. The rescue was passing the buck when they asked me to take him, I put a house lead on him as soon as he came in the door and never had any problems with him. The house lead saved a lot of stress for this poor boy, I just picked the end of the lead up and lead him to what I wanted him to do.

Bertie was forced to be groomed, he had a long, Maltese coat that would tangle easily so he was held down while a slicker was put over his coat, that must have really hurt him. I chopped up a hotdog into small pieces, kept 2 back and put half in my hand then offered them to Bertie, while he had his nose in my hand eating I was able to brush one side of him, once they had gone he got one of the pieces I held back as a reward then I did the same with the other side. When he went to his new home they didn't need to do anything like that to brush him.

Many people attacked me for how I dealt with grooming Bertie, I was bribing him, who cares what it was as long as it works and it worked for him.

The time is over for you to be touchy, you have the proof of how your methods have worked, be proud of what you have done and hold your head up high. As to your age, I once met someone on a message board who was training to be a trainer/behaviourist, she never took anything without questioning it, she wanted a reason for everything and was developing into a really good trainer/behaviourist, yes she is qualified now and is about your age, when I first met her she was 18 years old and a lot better than most trainers/behaviourists I have known.

Dogs need more people like you to train to be trainers/behaviorists and please can you tell us how you turned Chase round? I love to learn especially about dogs.

You have worked wonders with Chance Ella and BTW happy Gotcha Day to him. Funny, this is the first time I have taken notice of your age. As Caryll says, it is totally irrelevant.

Yer when i get chance i'll write up how i've trained chance and what methods i've used


Thanks lynne

The difference in Chance is amazing So many people would have just given up but you have shown what patience and understanding of the dog can do. I had just started reading the forum when you got Chance and it's been great seeing him come along