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Yes, there are worse things than euthanization. And you just assumed that they would happen to your dog and then "humanaly euthanized" him without giving him a chance to work out with someone else. Did it ever occur to you that maybe you--rather than the dog--were the problem? That he could have been happier somewhere else? Heaven forbid, right? Because that would mean that something was wrong with you rather than the dog
So immature and full of false assumptions. Please read that my dog had a history of biting and 3 homes prior to mine. I am insulted by your insensitivity and failure to trust that other people besides you are competent to assess situations. This response is a self-involved, holier than thou position that belongs in elementary school.
To give you all an update, my husband is looking into behaviourists today. I still feel strongly that if this is going to work she needs to also be put on anti-anxiety medication. To be completely and totally honest, investing this kind of money at this point in time, is something I find very stressful. There are other things we should really be spending money on, and bloodwork, medication, training, etc. does not come cheap. I know because I've done it all already (though the medication was for a geriatric cat). When we adopted Bowie we did sign on to care for her for the rest of her life and I do take that commitment seriously. That said, she is 8 years old and we've had her in our home for the past 7 years, and I feel like we're limited as to what else we can do that will produce the kind of results that we will need in order to feel safe with her in our home moving forward.
spending that kind of money IS stressful... particularly with the other expenses coming into your life.... but it is also a good idea for both of you to feel like you have exhausted every option, if it comes to that final difficult decision.....
you are in a tough spot and i wish the best for all of you......
At the end of the day humans come before dogs IMO.
You said that she had never bitten anyone for the entire 7 years you had her until now. So whos to say the training will appeared to have worked and then your one year child is on the floor playing and the dog gets ahold of it. Not saying it will happen but do you want to be one of those people that said "I knew I should have gotten rid of the dog" when its too late? Im doing alot with my Queenie to prepare her for our bundle of joys arrival but if she so much as growled at me I wouldnt want her near my helpless baby who is dependent on me for survival. I think one way or another you need to get the dog out of the house and sooner than later.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by latetotheparty
spending that kind of money IS stressful... particularly with the other expenses coming into your life.... but it is also a good idea for both of you to feel like you have exhausted every option, if it comes to that final difficult decision.....
you are in a tough spot and i wish the best for all of you......
I really do hope that the OP can find a resolution to her issue. I can't imagine the type of stress she and her hubby are going through. they've already done more than some dog owners in their position would have done.
I don't get all the harsh responses here. the truth of the matter is, this is a dog that has shown herself to be aggressive. The OP doesn't have all the time in the world to carefully screen potential adopters to make sure someone who can handle an aggressive dog takes her. I've seen rescues post the same dogs on CL since last summer/fall. if can take months to rehome a non-aggressive dogs. how long would it take to rehome an aggressive dog? as mentioned several times before, most rescues won't take in aggressive dogs due to the issues in rehoming them. the dog seems to be getting more aggressive as the pregnancy continues and I personally wouldn't want it in my house once the baby was born, even if it was on medication. I couldn't live with this type of aggression, esp. w/ a child involved.
and say the OP finds someone to adopt the dog but that person can't handle her, then what? I've adopted out some animals (mostly pet rats, but some stray kittens and a stray dog I've found) and I've ALWAYS made it a criteria that the animal be returned to me if any issues pops up. of course, I have no feasible way of demanding this of adopters, but I make it well known that any critter I adopt out come back to me instead of ending up at a shelter or in the hands of some questionable person. realistically, the OP wouldn't be able to do this. the next person to end up w/ this dog may not be as forgiving and patience as the OP. dogs like the OP's dog, in the wrong hands, get physically punished and neglected to the point where biting becomes inevitable. sadly, not all dogs can be fixed. If I personally couldn't assure that an adopter would care for the dog and keep it despite the aggression, I would put it to sleep. the risks for both dog and human are too high otherwise.
Last edited by eevee; 04-26-2011 at 03:46 PM..
Reason: reword
when my neighbor's dog, a bouncy springer spaniel, attacked owner's child in the neck area, they immediately put had her down, even tho she had never before shown such behavior...
a few inches more would have been an artery with possible death.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pennysnooze
We adopted our dog 7 years ago. She was 11 months old at the time, and was fear aggressive, poorly socialized, and most likely abused. We've worked with her over the years, have taken her to trainers who deal with fear aggression, and she has gotten better, but is still a bit of a wild card. She is anxious around anyone by my husband and myself -- even when with people she knows and is excited to see, she still never quite relaxes. That said, she has never bitten anyone before, though she has snapped at the air when frightened.
Over the weekend my brother was visiting from out of town. We were all sitting outside and our neighbours were out in their yards as well. I was sitting next to the dog with my hand loosely holding her collar, when out of the blue she attacked me. There was no warning, and she needed to be pulled off me. She snapped at my hands and forearms and I have a nasty bruise and a scraped up finger.
We immediately isolated her, leaving her in the garage for 7 or 8 hours. Since bringing her back into the house she is told to spend most of the time lying on her dog bed.
I'm pregnant and due with our first child in September. I honestly feel like dog trainers have told us how to modify our behaviour but have done nothing to actually "solve" the problems with the dog. My husband wants to find a new trainer to work with, but I am doubtful I will ever trust our dog again, certainly not around the baby when it's born.
What would you do? Does anyone think training could work, or do we need to look to rehouse or euthanize her? I have cried for hours over this and am not taking our any decisions lightly. I love our dog. I don't know that I'll ever be able to trust her again.
To me an animal is a life-long commitment. Knowing that the dog had issues and trying to work with the dog is one thing....but sooooo often I hear of co-workers who get rid of their pets because they are now pregnant (or the wife is pregnant) and don't want the animal around the baby. I can understand this....but...you knew this before you got pregnant. It wasn't the dog's fault you got pregnant. Now - ask yourself if you'd still be putting down the dog if you weren't pregnant...probably not....
I can't agree with this. I don't think there are many people who aspire to be parents who would willingly give that up because, by the luck of the draw, they adopted a dog that turned out to have aggression issues and is unresponsive to training attempts and/or untrustworthy. I just don't see it as being reasonable to say, "Well, we wanted to have a baby, but then we adopted this aggressive dog, so now, in fairness to the dog, we don't feel right about bringing a baby into the situation. We'll just forgo being parents, because it wouldn't be right to find another home for the dog."
I feel strongly that people who get rid of pets when they start families because of convenience factors are people who didn't think it through...but an animal that poses a potential danger to your children or yourself is a lot different than one you just don't feel like you'll have time to walk or play with anymore.
People adopt with their hearts in the right place, for the most part. But that doesn't mean that all dogs that are adopted out are safe pet material, or safe pet material in a household with children. And you don't always know that going in.
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