He has such a sweet doggy face. How old is he? Is his story somewhere? (I truly can't have another dog, but I'm curious about him and he's tugging at my heart.
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Well, his story is that he was surrendered to Frederick County MD animal control because his family's house was foreclosed on. FOHA then pulled him from that shelter when his time was up. He was adopted to a home with a 2 year old (something I never would have done had it been up to me) and then returned several weeks later for snapping at the child. He was adopted again to a different family with a 14 year old, and returned two weeks later for biting the father, a relative who came to visit, and snapping at the 14 yr old.
Opie is a skittish, sensitive dog. Just the word "no" spoken in a harsh tone will send him into a panic. Stef and I have found, though, that the "eh eh" sound is effective in getting your point across. He throws off every submissive behavior in the book, so I do not think those bites in the second home were "unprovoked" as the adopters had claimed. Opie will need a PATIENT, UNDERSTANDING, KIND owner (preferably a woman, he's more wary of men) who will work with him using only positive methods, as aversives will just destroy him. He needs to be allowed to grow on his own time, and not be forced into anything. Opie is not a dog for the novice owner. He does love other dogs, and I think a home with other dogs would be very beneficial to him.
Outside his run, Opie is jumpy and watchful. Inside his run he's cuddly and loving, rubbing his head on my chest and laying against me. I would love to bring him home myself, but its just not possible right now as I have no job, no money, and I live with my parents; my dad has a rather angry personality and gets verbally abusive when he's mad, and I think bringing Opie into this situation would be asking for another bite to occur.
Oh yeah, I believe he's about 3 now. We believe he is a fila mix.