How much time would you dedicate to modifying a dogs behavioural issues?

NONE...Genetically based issues will NEVER be fixed, despite what some do gooders here may want to think or believe.

I don't have the time, the temperament nor the patience required to work with dogs that do not have the genetics I want. I learned long a go that wasting time on something that will never be what you want, is not the way to go in life. Hope I helped.

Very interesting question! First off it would certainly depend upon how severe the behavior is. If it is what I would deem an extreme, I would opt to put the animal down. I would be less inclined to deal with a dog with nervousness, anxiety as I simply do not have the personality to deal with a dog like that. I understand my personal shortcomings and I am simply a person who does not have a lot of patience and a fairly dominant personality myself, so I just don't mesh with weak nerved dogs. Mild...possibly. Fear aggression, I would opt to PTS.

Aggression comes in varying forms. This I may opt to work with unless I could not establish a bond with the animal and trust it myself. If I decided to work with an animal like this it is not an issue as to how much time I would dedicate...it is every moment of every day for the life of that said dog. Not set aside an hour block to work with the dog, for instance.

ADD> I want to further say that altho I agree genetic issues cannot be fixed through training and such, they can be controlled/modified to a certain extent. If anyone decides to keep a dog that has these types of issues you are forever on your toes. There is also a HUGE owner liability and that said person must always deal on the side of caution and have preventative measures enforced at all times. I further believe, for those who are reading this...that if that said dog EVER poses a risk to other people, that cannot be controlled by the dog owner, it is always in the best interest of everyone involved to euthanize the animal.

In my experience, most genetic issues can be managed, to a point.

The dog may never be "normal", but you can usually make the dog livable with a certain amount of training.

My chi is a very weird dog, and she probably always will be, but I can control her weirdness enough to keep her and the people around her safe, so she will be here for the rest of her life.

As far as foster dogs, it would depend on how the issues manifested themselves - I would be less likely to spend a lot of time on a serious biter, for example, than a fearful dog.

I did have a foster who was a biter, who came around to be a very nice little dog. However, if a biter did not show progress in a month or so, I would recommend it be put down. I would not recommend putting down a dog that was simply fearful.

I also had a pathologically fearful foster dog....you couldnt even make eye contact with him, and it took me several months to get him to a livable stage. He is definitely "wired" wrong, but he did get to the point where I was able to take him back to the shelter so he could interact with the people who work there. He is still there, but he is actually friendly with most people now, and pretty much acts like a normal dog.

I actually enjoy working with problem dogs - I find normal dogs rather boring. :o)

I think it depends what the issue is and how bad it is.

If the dog was overly aggressive it would be put down no questions. I don't deal with human aggression in dogs what so ever. If the dog was my pet and had some of the other issues I would do my best to work with the dog. I know the issue can never be 100% gone, but working with the dog can help. I would work with them until the end if they were my pet.

Dog aggression in my breeds is genetic, but raising them from a young dog and socializing a lot can normally fix the habit pretty well. I can still never trust a bully dog 100% around other new dogs or pets. Sometimes they pick and choose who they like. However I know if the dog has a good temperament and you work with them from a young age they can get along with others.

I am assuming you are referring to dogs with grave problems, ie: the fearful dog that slinks and hides and panics or the very aggressive dog?

I would not knowingly get a dog with these issues.

I did get an older pup that once at home showed fear/anxiety. After working with it for 2 months months I got rid of it.

Time is too short.

So...to the people saying "None"...your dogs have NO faults or flaws that you can't fix? I call BS!!! My BEST dog has flaws I can't fix. And so do every other single dog or human on this planet and I can nearly guarantee the "problems" I have wouldn't even be noticeable to the average pet owner. The only person I haven't heard ask a question about their dog's behavior or training in here is Greek so Greek is the only one I'll even entertain to say "I won't accept any issues I can't fix"...and even still you'll get a great dog who's a little sharper than you like, not as sharp as you like, a little too reactive, not quite reactive enough, a little too energetic, maybe a little too laid back...you'll never find the perfect dog because the perfect dog doesn't exist.

Also what's the difference between fear and nervousness? A nervous dog is a fearful dog, a fearful dog is a nervous dog. There's not confident fearful dog, and there's no slab stone stable dog with nervousness.

Anxiety is BS in dogs. Usually what's called "anxiety" = POORLY TRAINED SPOILED BRAT who whines while you're at work and chew up stuff. Most dogs, even great, stable dogs, don't want to be left alone with nothing to do. And as common sense would negate, a dog knows when you're gone and knows it can get away with more without your eyes on him/her...so I guess EVERY dog has anxiety? -facepalm-

Every dog has a genetic flaw somewhere. Most people here keep talking about a stable dog but if they had one would ruin it, lol. Some people in here with psycho dogs started with an excellent dog..."Well he was great at the shelter but....." lmao! Then again, dogs me and Greek call stable 99% of the people here would say are PSYCHOTIC. They jump they chew they run in circles, bark whine, are obsessive, driven, reactive to every little stimuli on some level. When they get excited you have to tell them to shut up and sit down because we've all had a working dog who starts jumping and twisting around and ends up with a pulled muscle, lmao, does that sound stable? Average person would think they dog had mental or "thyroid" problems, LOL. That same dog will run through fire and stay in a down stay if a mortar lands 50 feet away.

-edit- Shmeem worked around = Still there and worked with...that's not "cured or fixed" as the question states. That's controlled...I thought that was what the question was about, would you deal with issues by controlling them as much as possible or would you discontinue trying with that particular dog.

It would depend upon the severity of the problem and how well I liked the dog. Since my dogs come from the pound, I have learned to deal with baggage. Personally, I would not deal with fear aggression but I would deal with some types of fear issues. I will deal with some anxiety because I feel that most of those are human caused. Shyness/timidity depends on the severity. In general, I will not deal with aggressive dogs. I deal with too many of them at work, to come home and deal with one of my own. Since I like to dabble in performance events, I like a sound dog with very few problems. I also will not take an aggressive dog back to the pound or dump it in rescue. Aggressive dogs take that one last ride to the vet. I would feel badly if a family were to adopt that aggressive dog and someone, especially a child got injured.

As far as time, that would depend upon the issue and the dog.

6 months. TOPS. If I can't fix it or make it work for us, then I can't live with that dog. If it doesn't interfere with my enjoyment of the dog, then forever, but I am pretty active with them, and nervousness and fear would be ill-suited for life in a lot of new situations.

@ Curtis: Sorry, my answer is pretty consistent with my activity on here. If I had a problem that interfered with our living and working together, and i couldn't fix it in 6 months, it'd find a new home. I've had my dog more than 6 mo, and any problems he's got we work around or I've fixed. :-)

Really interesting question!

I don't think that most people, including myself, are equipped and experienced enough to handle a dog that has lifelong struggles with aggression or fear. While I'd love to say that I would dedicate myself 100% to a dog that has serious behavioral issues, I don't think that would be fair to the dog.

I like to think that I know a bit more about canine behavior than the average dog owner, only because I study it and am so interested in it, but I am nowhere near experienced or knowledgeable enough to create a stable life for a dog with severe issues.

Here's the thing though. I have a really hard time believing that I would give up on any dog I adopted/purchased. In that case, I don't know that I could give up on a dog I obtained who didn't show issues beforehand. I think I would consult with a behaviorist (not the local Petsmart trainer...) to discuss giving the dog the best life possible in the circumstances.

Does any of that make sense?

I'm interested to see what the real trainers here have to say!

Depends on the dog and depends on whether there was something *I* did to cause or exacerbate the issue. Also depends on the resources I have available to work with the dog. I can't give you specifics because the question is individual to each dog and situation.

any dog showing signs of fear, aggression, anxiety, or nervousness is unstable, and no matter how much work is put into it, the dog will always have these traits. Depending on how these traits manifest themselves (fear biting for example) would determine how long the dog would last before it was put down...