God, Dogs & Spiritual War: The Countdown
Funny thing. I have been in ministry for over two decades. I pray daily. I am into the Word of God daily. Regularly, I pray beyond myself and my “own” world, so to speak. Prayer is my knee-jerk reaction to everything in life, so I thought. There are things I have witnessed and been blessed to be a part of that, without prayer, would have never been and you would likely not believe. Interceding for the lost and all that life brings is my most prized tool and weapon of choice. But God, dogs and spiritual war? Well, allow me please to explain…
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18]
I do. As well, I give thanks for my pups, pray for their health and such. But, to my surprise, I never really prayed over my pups. To my humility, I must confess, the prayers I did pray for my dogs were more of just simple praises to God for His creation. It never fully dawned on me before that when God says, “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.” (John 3:35, emphasis mine)–He does mean literally ALL things. Everything. There is no “but” or other exception to that statement.
The Clouds Parted
So, what does this have to do with training dogs? Well, to be fully transparent, a few weeks ago one evening I was fretting over this fear-reactive issue with Hanani. Feeling a bit more than a little defeated, we had a little chat about her behavior and I did get quite teary.
You see, I know Hanani and I were brought together primarily for the specific work of locating missing children presumed dead–to bring to close many cases, justice for families and such. You can read more about that work here: Simple Truth, About. To realize even the notion that she may not be able to pass CGC certification is breath-taking in the not-so-good sense. As Hanani and I chatted about these things that one night, I just began praying over her. With my hands on her, I praised God for her, yes… but it was like the clouds just parted and deep intercession just began to pour out of me.
Yes, I have experienced this before. Anyone grounded in the Word and a willing vessel of Christ knows what I am talking about. But this was the first time I experienced such in this specific type of situation. I prayed against the spirits of fear, aggression and dominance. (Seriously folks. This just popped out of me.) I prayed the peace of our Lord to envelop my pup. I prayed to become a better steward of the grace that God so freely gives.
I gotta tell ya! I was so invigorated after that prayer session! Oh my! Beyond words… And some new things finally began to make sense for me. Jesus, the Son of God, by His Spirit residing within me, has “all things” in His hand. That does include all of Creation–including my pups. He has all power over all things, and has bestowed within me the same. For He tells us,
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. [Luke 10:19]
Funny. The things we “know well”, yet do we really know them in all areas of our lives?
So, now what?
This is all so clear now that I am almost embarrassed to admit I did not see it sooner. It all makes sense now, the fact that apart from Christ, we can do nothing (John 15) does include everything in my life. It does include my dogs. After all, He created them and then entrusted them to me.
After that prayer bringing such clarity, my prayer life expanded. I spend time since then, daily, praying over my pups, the work we are to do and the cases we already have waiting. Not to mention, the CGC certification Hanani needs. I pray against the enemy’s interference in God’s work in our lives–mine and my pups! So far, I can attest that it is working. Slowly and certainly, Hanani is calming, confidence building.
This pup that had to be crated or muzzled when guests were in our house, is finally enjoying our guests 🙂 She is also doing much better in public around people, yet still aggressive with other dogs. But we’ll get there.
The Countdown Begins!
With this new-found strength, we’re back on track to accomplish the 2019 Goals (posted in January). Granted, we did get put behind a month due to Hanani going into heat, but we’re back on track now.
At the end of April we are scheduled to start a 5 week CGC class, which will end with the test for certification. This means, we have 2 months to get Hanani in shape! She needs to be able to endure a classroom setting, focused, with
- other dogs and their peoples
- no aggression/fear issues
- on a flat collar
- no muzzle
And let others (strangers) touch her. In the next post I’ll put up more detailed information about the Canine Good Citizens (CGC) certification requirements, but for now just keep in mind–and in your prayers!–that starting today (March 7, 2019) we have
51 DAYS
to be ready for this class!
Please feel free to share your thoughts and prayers below! Thanx!!
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A year ago we rescued a 6year-old Beagle, named Max. We have rescued many dogs in our 44 years of marriage, with many being at risk dogs with behavior issues. Mainly beagles and shepherd mixes their stories ended well. I am a pastor/Realtor and my wife, Sherri, and I believe that God can do anything. 4 years ago Sherri was viciously mauled by a Belgian Malinois rescue that we had for only 9 days. We rescued Max after he was found as a stray, and his most recent owners said that “they didn’t want him back.” We took Max in and I contacted 3 of his previous owners and found out that he had biting issue with all of them. Other than this aggression trait, he is a terrific dog. I have now sought the expertise of 2 accomplished Dog Behaviorists and they have BOTH indicated that Max is a dangerous dog whose aggression comes from past abuse and/or mental illness. He has bitten us or someone in our home 12-15 times in the past 12 months…all without any provocation or warning. Both behaviorists offered no cure for his “damage/aggression” and emphasized the great risk to ourselves, or extended family, as well as our 11 young grandchildren…not to mention the ongoing legal risk of allowing a known “biter” to be around people further.
With all of that being said, I want to petition the LORD to mend his mind (as your blog shared) with also a fleece laid out before the LORD for Max’s healing.
Max cannot be responsibly re-homed at this point, and there is no hope (apart from God moving) of his no longer being aggressive.
That leaves us with only one choice, and that is to euthanize him.
Do you have any thoughts that you can share?
Time is of the essence.
Peace and Blessings in the name and Power of Jesus the Christ.
John
Cell 443-745-5030
BigJohn@KW.com
Blessings John!
I first want to apologize for my late response. My husband had just got out of the hospital around the time you posted this, so I was a bit distracted from my usual duties. Thanx for your patience.
As I have made multiple attempts to respond here to no avail, I have figured out that my full response is a bit too lengthy for the comments section. So, you have inspired me to dedicate a full, fresh post on this. But since I don’t want you to wait any longer for at least something to try with your Max, let me briefly say some things here.
First and foremost, thanx so much for your openness with this issue and your boldness of faith. I stand with you in your petition to the LORD! In that, there is always hope–for four-leggers as much as two-leggers. And there are lots of people dealing with very similar issues that are afraid to reach out.
Secondly, have you ever heard of Upstate Canine with Tom Davis? The guy is phenomenal and has a lot on his YouTube channel dealing with aggressive dogs. I used a lot of his suggestions in dealing with my pooch.
Thanx also for bringing to my attention the great lapse of time I left without updating the information in that blog post. In short, and I hope this can help you too, I have just made Hanani’s (my aggressive pooch) world very small. It’s not an ideal method, but with all other interference in my life these past few years it has been the only remedy that works at this point. I just do not allow her to be in settings that give her opportunity to bite. Some cases that requires a muzzle and tight lead, but, more often than not, she is just always at home or in the yard with me or in her room. I’ll explain that more in my next post and I’ll send you an email when it is done (should be sometime later this evening).
I too believe God can do anything, but, if you’re anything like me, I tend to overlook the fact that God does not always do things they way I think He should! Such as, just taking the aggression from my dog and making her safe to be around. No matter how long I have been in ministry and how much I have experienced God move, I still have that notion in me to just see Him do take care of the issue for me. I always disliked others saying this (I still do!), but it’s true… Often times it is the process God takes you through that is more important than the outcome.
All that to say, yes. Emphatically, yes! There is hope for Max and your household. What you mentioned are not the only two options. A lot of it, though, depends on how much time and effort (with HUGE doses of patience) you can and want to put into this venture.
Right now at this moment, as you pray on this and decide, I suggest this: Muzzle Max whenever he is around people, along with the drag leash method I wrote about in another post. The drag leash makes him understand that he is under your control. When he cannot be right with you, put him in an enclosure–whether that is a pen where he has room, or a crate. Dogs cannot tell time and as long as he gets physical and mental exercise and companionship (on your time schedule), I assure you he will be just fine. When he is out with the muzzle, any–even little–act of aggression puts him right back in his crate or pen. Being a pack animal, just the isolation from “his pack” (mainly you) is usually enough to be a discipline. But you need to come up with a word or phrase that you calmly, but sharply (ie: no need to yell, but make sure your tone is *not welcoming) tell him to associate with the aggressive behavior. I just use the short, but effective “stop”. It may take him a few times, but Beagles are smart. As long as you and others in your household are consistent, he’ll get it. When you have him out watch him closely to learn his body language. Dogs communicate effectively and there is no such thing as “unprovoked” biting. It’s just that lots of dogs determine provocation differently than people assume. It’s not rocket science, as the “experts” might have folks believe. At the same time, I cannot say without watching him myself exactly what his triggers are, let alone what caused the aggression.
Please know that whatever I say, I truly mean no offense to anyone. But, frankly speaking, behaviorists and similar “experts” are a sham waste of time and money. The *vast majority of dog aggression issues is directly due to inconsistent, poor or absent training*. Period. Contrary to pop culture propaganda, dogs do not get “mental illness.” That is a money making scheme for marketing the “experts” services. This–your story with Max–is the whole reason I started this blog years ago. I got so tired of people being conned on a large scale into believing such things, with the only purpose to make them confused about their own dogs so that they become dependent on such “experts”.
In the meantime, check out Upstate Canine on YouTube. (I receive nothing but joy for recommending him.) And learn, learn, learn! …and yes, Tom Davis’ website does state he is an “expert”, but you will see the vast difference in what I am talking about, between a humble person who actually gained such by experience and results versus the stuff those others put out there. What Tom does makes sense. What those behaviorists are telling you is a baseless assumption. I’ll get into that more in my next post on this topic.
Lastly, if you haven’t already, study, implement and put into consistent practice skills of Pack Leadership with your entire household. That right there is the universal basis for any healthy, stable dog. You can find some articles on that in my past blog posts.
I want to say that I am truly sorry you and your family are going through all this. But I thank God that Max is with you because you have the hope of the LORD to give him an opportunity to learn better and be loved. I’ll holler when I get that post up this evening. Take care oxoxo