Should I have my dog put down?

[yello]

He bit me. Not in play but in aggression. The background...

Earlier today, 2 kids knocked at the door selling raffle tickets. Sam, our 10 year old border with problems, did his usual go ballistic barking. As some of you may of gleaned from the other thread, Sam has issues and gets anxious when anything disturbs his world. He always performs when we have visitors; barking, growling, running around. After several minutes, when he calms down and sees there is no threat, he will go up to the person and let them stroke him. So back to the front door and the 2 kids....

My wife opened the door, Sam still barking, and I could see the young girl was clearly very frightened and the guy was concerned. So I took Sam by the collar, not pulling him just trying to calm him, but obviously he wanted to escape my grasp. He bit my face, taking a chunk of flesh and causing me to bleed. I then dragged him through to another room and shut him in there, so my wife could talk to the kids. It shook me at I'm still feeling shaky and a little sick in the stomach.

To my mind, that says he's neither predictable nor controllable. As my wife's business means members of the public do visit us, it's not really an acceptable situation for him to be about. So he has to go; either found a new home or put down.

I'm pretty sure my mind's made up on what should be done, and my wife is in agreement, but I wondered what the panel thought.

 

[vernon]

If you can't trust him then would it be fair to pass the problem on?

 

[TVC]

Talk to your vet first, there are canine theripists who can help you change his behavior.

 

[yello]

If you can't trust him then would it be fair to pass the problem on?

No. Not in my opinion.

My wife has spent a great deal of time with him, trying to train him out of his anxieties. She's even gone on a residential course with him to work at it in a dedicated fashion. There have been good results too, he does obey commands and is generally quite well behaved. However, in certain environments when he becomes upset, we have no control over him and he does appear aggressive. We've had no success controlling him on such occasions and have to wait for him to calm down, all the time assuring any visitor that he'll not bite and he's actually just frightened. Up until today, that has been workable.

I'm not sure we can take the risk any more.

 

[yello]

Talk to your vet first, there are canine theripists who can help you change his behavior.

It's a thought. I'll certainly be interested in the response we get. Here in rural France, they have a pretty unsophisticated approach to domestic animals. There's a shortage of GPs around here so I'm not sure there's much scope for a dog shrink!

 

[Paul99]

The answer to your question is no you should not euthanise your dog because he has problems that are incompatible with your situation.

I have been bitten many times by dogs that I have owned when I have got in the way of them when they are in full on aggressive 'protect' mode. They usually don't mean it, it's like somebody grabbing you from behind, you will probably lash out in surprise.

It would probably be best if you took him to a rehoming centre that can look after him if it proves too difficult to rehome him. The Dogs Trust or similar.

 

[yello]

It would probably be best if you took him to a rehoming centre that can look after him if it proves too difficult to rehome him. The Dogs Trust or similar.

We've just been chatting and decided to take him back to the rescue centre we got him from. Due to his age, I think they'll put him down anyway since old dogs are not easy to rehome but at least he'll have a chance of finding someone that has got the time to spend with him.

We have been looking to rehome him ourselves but had no luck. He is lovely dog outside of his anxieties, which I had lovingly entitled 'bozo dog', but we have to be honest and say we can't handle it and are not prepared to put the time and money into it. I don't like the picture it paints of me in truth.

 

[Paul99]

http://www.phoenixasso.com/

Hi Yello,

I don't know where you are in france but these peeps may be able to help?

 

[Paul99]

We've just been chatting and decided to take him back to the rescue centre we got him from. Due to his age, I think they'll put him down anyway since old dogs are not easy to rehome but at least he'll have a chance of finding someone that has got the time to spend with him.

We have been looking to rehome him ourselves but had no luck. He is lovely dog outside of his anxieties, which I had lovingly entitled 'bozo dog', but we have to be honest and say we can't handle it and are not prepared to put the time and money into it. I don't like the picture it paints of me in truth.

Don't blame yourselves for this. You took Sam on and tried to help him.

Sometimes things just don't work out how we'd like it to.

 

[screenman]

Yello, if it helps I think you are doing the correct thing. I like dogs, do not want one but I like them all the same, however I very much doubt I would have the ability to train a dog that had problems.

I have known many dog owners who have had problems with rescue dogs, unfortunately when you take them on you sometimes do not get all the past history.

 

[Linford]

I'd take him back where you got him from and be totally frank with them about his ongoing issues. You gave him a good home, and tried your best, you shouldn't feel bad about it.

 

[Doseone]

Yello, I'm so so sorry to hear what happened.

I've owned or been around dogs pretty much all my life, and with the exception of the last few years where we've become Springer Spaniel fanatics it's always been Collies or Collie cross, so I know they can be difficult, highly strung or sometimes even aggressive, particularly if they are from farm stock and not worked.

If this is the first time he has bitten you in aggression could you not sleep on it and decide in the morning and maybe give him one more chance? This only happened 40 odd minutes ago, and that's not long to decide the fate of a dog. Please maybe talk to this lady first. I've met her personally and she is wonderful http://www.petbehaviour.co.uk/Pages/default.aspx

Only you can really make this call, and I certainly won't judge you whichever way you choose to go because you are in an awful and difficult position.

I hope your face is ok, it sounds nasty. Good luck with your decision.

 

[yello]

Thanks Paul & screenman. Objectively, I know were doing what we have to but I have to talk myself into that view. My wife is more upset than I because she feels she's failed. As she put it "I'm out of my depth"... but we both have been and she's been a damned site more determined than I. I've supported but not driven the process.

Sam came from the SPA (the French equivalent of the RSPCA) and we've had 2 other dogs from there, plus another from a group similar the Pheonix assoc. Sam's the first dog we've had to call time on, the others have fitted in perfectly.

 

[Andrew_P]

How long have you had him?

Have you consdered using a dog crate to help train him?

 

[oldfatfool]

How long have you had him?

Have you consdered using a dog crate to help train him?

+1 From the op I thought you had had him a fair old time but from later posts it sounds like he as only been with you a short while? Unfortunately some hounds just don't fit in with some lifestyles and others will have got so institutionalised they will never fit into a home. The rescue should recognise this and take him back to live is life where he is happiest.