Max is a miniature pinscher, which most people believe is the toy version of the Dobermann pinscher, but which is actually an older breed that was originally used to kill rats and other pests, similar to the Manchester terrier.
Max bit off his owner's lip; she had it reattached, but the procedure was unsuccessful, and she had to have a skin graft. In other words, Max permanently disfigured her. He ended up with a foster caregiver in Syracuse, NY, who operated a dog daycare business; Max was adopted a few times, but was always returned after biting someone, or in one case, killing the family's pet Guinea pig, which is not a surprising incident, given the history of Max's breed. His behavior worsened each time he returned to the dog daycare, as he learned that he could control people by biting them. He became so difficult to deal with that only the owner of the dog daycare could be in the same room with Max, and he had even begun to challenge her.
When I met Max yesterday, he immediately charged me and tried to convince me that he was going to bite me, which I wasn't particularly worried about; once he realized I wasn't afraid of him, he ran from me, but over the next few minutes, he became more curious, and I was able to make some contact. I asked his caregiver to put a leash on him, and I walked him for a minute or two, then sat on the floor, and Max began to rub his face on my leg and beg for affection. He was very quick to roll onto his back and take a submissive posture, even though I didn't ask him to do so. I was able to pick Max up and approach him to put on his leash, and he began to run to me when he felt intimidated by my other dogs. This is more or less the only set of goals I have for any dog, and for Max, we reached our target quickly. Since then, he has been reasonably well-behaved, if not a bit hyperactive. He's slept in the bed with me at hotels, and listened to me for direction; he hasn't been overly defensive around other people, either, which is great. As Max becomes more comfortable with his situation, he may challenge me a bit more, but for now, he is very attached to me and focused on trying to please me -- he is experiencing separation anxiety when I leave him in the truck, but I've found this is normal with small breed dogs. It will lessen over time.
Max is hard to photograph, because he rarely sits still, but here are the best two shots I've been able to get so far:
