They are often victims

Styrian gives “problem dogs” a second chance

Georg Resch takes in dogs with difficult pasts. What he accuses many pet owners of and how he works with four-legged friends.

The dog "Ossi" was still a puppy who had never hurt anyone. Someone was bothered by the little sheepdog barking in the garden. He put a shotgun in the young animal's mouth—and pulled the trigger.

"Ossi" survived, seriously injured. Just as he survived several poison attacks. But at some point, when the abuse and neglect became too much, he bit. And had to be taken away immediately.

The brown Staffordshire terrier "Sir," meanwhile, was supposed to become the evil face of the underworld in a major German city and strike fear into opponents in dubious circles. To this end, methods were used that we are not aware of. No one could get close to the dog anymore.

Evil? "They were made that way by humans."
Today, both dogs live with Georg Resch in eastern Styria—and adore their owner, as you can see at first glance. They, the evil ones, the dangerous ones. "They were made that way by humans," says the 37-year-old police officer, who, with his Hartberg-based company RG Dogs, gives problem dogs that no one wants a second chance and also trains special dogs for international forces.

His recipe? "I gain their trust." Without this deep trust, it doesn't work between humans and animals, which is what he tries to tell everyone who has problems with a dog. "But the real problem is that many people get a dog without considering everything: that they owe it patience. That they have a responsibility for the rest of its life. That they have to work with the animal."

"They just wanted to get rid of the burden."
Recently, a family gave their dog to Resch: "He nipped, people said. I assured them that we would get it under control." After a long conversation, it became clear to the dog trainer that no solution was wanted. "They just wanted to get rid of the 'burden'." This shocks him time and again, "because it's so typical of our throwaway society. Anything that no longer fits is discarded.

The fact that it is a living being is completely erased from their consciousness without any emotion." He has no respect for such people: "Anyone who gives up their dog without a shred of emotion, who doesn't care what happens to it, will also abandon any human being."

Dog trainers are often taken advantage of
Resch also hates the term "dog trainer," "that's also completely wrong in the system. Today, anyone can act as a trainer without any training, just by having a business license! This leads to a lot of abuse – and I'm seeing more and more disturbed four-legged friends who have been 'worked with' by some dog trainer or other." Yet everything could be brought under control.

One of the most common problems is leash aggression. Resch: "There are only individual solutions. The problem usually lies with the owner. They see another dog coming, tense up on the leash, and pull their own animal toward them. The dog instinctively thinks, 'Aha, my owner is afraid, so this dog is dangerous—I'll attack!' This can be solved with exercises and lots of eye contact."

The police officer specializes in Malinois, the Belgian Shepherd Dog. And he has a warning: "We're going to have a social problem with this breed. Because it's a working dog that wants to be challenged 24 hours a day. It's not a dog that likes to lie on the couch. And it can become aggressive if it's not challenged enough. Many people underestimate that."

We need more common sense when it comes to pets and dogs
As does this: "Today, many people choose a dog based solely on its appearance, rather than on breed-specific characteristics and whether the dog is a good fit for the family. This leads to problems. We need to get back to using our common sense when it comes to pets anddogs!"

Update from 2026: Following the latest developments, Krone Tierecke expressly distances itself from Georg Resch.