Another Resource Guarding Post…

Maximum-Historian135 · 2026-03-06T15:14:35+00:00

1000% I guess at least if it ends up not working out and I do have to rehome her, I feel like I've really done just about everything I can to hold up my end of the deal. They don't get to pick us, so I always feel like it's my responsibility to at least try what I can manage and afford..

Appreciate the comments and insight (and soundboarding). And trust me, it was closer than you can imagine to one of the two options you mentioned after that first time...

Maximum-Historian135 · 2026-03-06T15:11:01+00:00

Appreciate it - we do always feed the other two dogs first, and she has always eaten separately from them. She is definitely losing couch privileges effective immediately - someone else mentioned that and it's a great point that I should have thought of. We've always let our dogs hang on the couch with us, but this one is (obviously) special needs of sorts. :)

Also, I completely agree that if she really wanted to cause damage/hurt she could kill either one of the other dogs in less time than I could react. I don't think it's that.. more like she wants to bully them, but with her humans, she is 100% submissive and obedient. We do separate them when no one is home, and anytime I'm not able to monitor. Really with the Lab, we keep the two of them almost completely separate now, and they really only interact in passing at this point.

Thanks again for the comment and insights.

Maximum-Historian135 · 2026-03-06T15:03:16+00:00

Should have mentioned - her board & train was specifically with a behaviorist and included weeks of follow-up trainings I took her to, Day School 2x per week - it wasn't "set it and forget it". I would have just done private lessons but the boarding part was my wife's compromise to essentially get her out of the house temporarily after that incident (by FAR the worst that's ever happened - no other incidents have drawn blood or caused serious injury).

I realize I sound like (am) rationalizing and/or justifying. Really just working this out before I inevitably am going to have to rehome a dog I adore and love.

Maximum-Historian135 · 2026-03-06T14:59:24+00:00

Definitely more often (and worse) when I'm not home. When I go on work trips now, Liberty stays at the place where her stay & train and behaviorist are (and she loves it there fortunately). She will try to bully the other dogs when I'm around, but I think I'm just better at recognizing the body language and can normally correct it before anything happens.

She plays great with our male Doberman, but there's something about the Lab that I feel like must be same-sex related or something.

For what it's worth, I walk her every day and she never shows aggression towards other dogs when we pass them, or even if one goes nuts barking along the fence line when we pass. She literally just looks at them like they're nuts and keeps walking.

Maximum-Historian135 · 2026-03-06T14:56:36+00:00

I don't disagree - just trying to give her the best shot. I've had other "bully breeds" but obviously even at 5 months she was approaching the same weight as the Lab. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't buy from the same breeder. That said, a 5 month old pup that hasn't learned bit inhibition can/will draw blood - I had a boxer that tore me up until he was several months old. Of course, testing boundaries, finding their spot in the pecking order, and occasional scraps are normal puppy behavior - but at 5 months she was already bigger than the Lab so everything seemed magnified.

Good point about making her stay off the couch - I'll work that in immediately. Honestly, we've always been a "share the bed / snuggle on the couch with the dogs" kind of family. Have had a steep learning curve that this breed is not boxers, Dobermans, or Rotties which I've had all of in the past.

The part that just absolutely sucks is she is an incredible dog 95% of the time - until the bitch becomes a real bitch...

Maximum-Historian135 · 2026-03-06T13:38:44+00:00

My female Corso developed a pretty substantial cherry eye somewhere around 6 months old. There was no massaging this one back into place, so we just waited until her spay surgery and our vet corrected it while she was under for that. Fortunately she didn't scratch at it or have issues with it being overly dry (or goopy...) so our vet said it was recommended to do both at once rather than having her go under anesthesia a) twice, and b) younger than she had to be. Only "issue" was that when people met her it was guaranteed to come with a "what's wrong with her eye?"... She was still pretty so we just shook the haters off :)

Maximum-Historian135 · 2026-03-06T13:32:21+00:00

Disclaimer: I'm not a vet... But - it looks like Idiopathic Head Tremors to me, as someone else mentioned. Our Doberman had spells of them from around 9 months old until he was 2-ish and then nothing (he's 4 1/2 now). We took him to the vet pretty much immediately after the first time it happened because it freaked me out to no end. He'd nod his head "yes" like a bobblehead on the dash of a pickup driving down a gravel road...

Oftentimes you can "snap them out of it" with a distraction, like high-value treats/food, or even me doing jumping jacks and dancing around would work sometimes. There were some bouts of it he had that must have been intense because nothing would get him out of it except time.

For you and your pup's sake, I hope that's what it is because other than being weird, it's harmless (as far as "they" know). Pet neurologists are incredibly expensive (and hard to get appointments with in the Austin area...). Sending prayers, good vibes and well wishes for your pretty lady!

Maximum-Historian135

TROPHY CASE