And lunged at other people. This was the second time only the first was very short and quickly handled. It was still bad because he broke skin and this time he tore up both arms and broke one arm with the force of his bite. I pray we both make the right choices!! This article is really helpful. About a month and a half ago we adopted a 2 year old rescue.
Well a friend stopped by the other day and as my husband went to greet him our dog attacked him unprovoked with little to no warning. We have never dealt with a dog reacting like this to anyone before. I have a 2 year old and now am afraid of him turning on our 2 year old.
He aggressively barks at the window when people walk by. Hey, Megan. So sorry to hear about the issues with your dog. You could also try setting up a Go Fund Me page to raise the money. Best of luck! Hey Megan!
The good news for all that counts for is that this is a fairly normal occurrence with rescues, as dogs usually take weeks to decompress from the stress of shelter life.
My dog was the same — his behavior got a lot worse after he settled in. It does sound like your dog is expressing some reactivity behavior.
So that means crossing the street when someone is walking down your side. If your dog seems to be hyperfocused on the stranger, toss a pile of kibble or treats into some nearby grass to distract him.
Barking at the windows, you can start a similar routine — try throwing some treats away from the window to distract him and as long as he is not barking, keep feeding treats.
Then, have the guest throwing treats away from the gate, towards the other side of the room. Also check out our guide to dealing with stressed and anxious dogs , as well as our dog body language guide , as your dog is likely showing signs of stress and discomfort before biting incidents that you may just not be privy too.
I know how overwhelming this all seems. It can feel like a lot. But I also know you probably adopted wanting a pet, not a project. And feeling frustrated and possibly not being able to really work on this stuff with your dog is valid. As someone who accidentally ended up with a project themselves, I know how hard it can be. Hang in there! We rescued our energetic, goofy Boxer mix last summer at 7months old. He was still very mouthy and nipping. He would charge and lounge at us in the backyard nipping our arms and legs even if we turned around.
I got a trainer to come to the house and after implementing all the recommendations, he calmed down in a few weeks. He seemed like the perfect, chill dog until last week. We went out of town and a neighbor came to take care of him. She was the same person that took care of him a few weeks ago but this time he was growling and refused to go outside to use the bathroom.
She held a broom in front of her as she moved through the room. As soon as she put down the broom, he bit her on the arm going through a jacket and shirt. Then as she ran to the front door, he bite the back of her leg. Both punctured the skin and her arm needed several stitches. It seems like a level 5 bite to me. We love our dog so much! It seems very likely that he could repeat this and it would be a similar level of damage or worse. I would not be able to forgive myself if it happened again.
I am leaning towards euthanasia because the shelter we got him will not take him back. They feel like they would not be able to regime him. We live right next to the neighbor and I have three kids. Heartbroken and confused! Hey there, Mel. That certainly sounds frightening, frustrating, and heart-breaking all at once!
Ultimately, you will simply have to make the best choice you can on behalf of all parties involved. But we would encourage you to reach out to a canine behaviorist for an assessment before coming to a final decision. Until then, be sure to keep everyone safe meaning that you should probably keep children and strangers away from the dog.
My dog was actually very similar when I first adopted him — lots of nipping at my legs and clothes and bruising. It was very stressful. Hence, the refusing to go outside to the bathroom, the fear of the broom, etc. Your dog sounds very scared! Did the trainer suggest punishment-based methods? It sounds like they might have, unfortunately. We have a 6 year old male lab-pit mix who I thought was lonely after our last dog passed.
Nine months ago we adopted an 8 year old female pit who weighs 40 lbs less than the male. She became extremely ill within 3 days and was hospitalized with a stomach bacterial infection, so it took a couple of months for her to get her groove back. The dogs did not bond tightly, but they coexisted, slept on our bed, do walks together and sometimes engage in play. But since then, the smaller female has attacked the male on several occasions. He is afraid of her and avoids her as best he can.
The attacks have become more frequent and intense. She goes for his face and neck. Today was the worst. She sniffed him and just laid into him and drew blood on from is scruff, which is thick with fur, so she really had to try. We are separating them now. We had to put down our other pit because she turned on him. But she was always a challenge. This one has been such a sweet girl until the last week. We are at our wits end.
Hey there, Cricket. Resource guarding can be a difficult issue, so we certainly sympathize with your situation. But understand that euthanasia may not be necessary at all — your gal may thrive in another home especially another home without dogs.
You may also want to enlist help from a certified behavior consultant who can help you get a better sense of issues happening in the home between the pups. Thank you for this article. I am currently battling with this difficult decision right now. I rescued a Shepherd at 7 months she has always been anxious even at 8 weeks old. Her mother tried to destroy the litter so the pups were fostered out and bottle fed. When I ran into her at the shelter she was terrified. We have come along way, but she is quite reactive barking and lunging at strangers and dog.
About three years ago she attacked my other dog at the time my Lab was This is unprovoked and with no warning. She grabs her neck, shakes, and pins her. There has been ear abrasions to my Lab. This has happened 12 times and can go months without an incident. Today it happened again different locations, people, situations. My concern is I have a busy home with my children and grandchildren visiting all the time. The attack is so violent I fear that the grandchildren may get hurt and my heart breaks for my 14 year old dog.
So sorry to hear about the troubles with your pooch, but the behaviors you describe sound pretty troubling. I am heart broken. We always have had rescue dogs, and when one of our dogs died, we had a young coonhound who really enjoyed the company of other dogs, so we rescued a 9month old lab mix and brought her home -she got along with him so well and they never had any fights. A few years later, we adopted another rescue dog which was much smaller, a terrier mix.
The last time she attacked my coon hound, I wound up in the ER with a nasty hand bite. Our coonhound had to go to Emergency Vet for several puncture wounds he received in the fight, and this was expensive. We had to take the new dog back to the kennel we got her from. Please know that we had tried Prozac and trazodone for our lab mix as when we first got her, she destroyed 5 different couches, among many other costly things, but we loved her and kept her.
About 3 months ago, we adopted another shelter puppy that was 5 months old. We figured that since the last one was an adult when adopted, being a puppy would be easier to fit into the family.
And he is a great addition. She would snap at him a couple of times, but he was totally submissive to her. Our coonhound mix was the police of the family. The lab and new puppy would play hard and bark, make growling noises of which he was not too found of. However he likes the new addition as well. A month or so after we got the new puppy, our lab mix jumped on our coonhound for no apparent reason and did not do much damage this time, but the coonhound got a laceration on his nose.
The second time, my coonhound was around me and I was petting him, when the other dogs walked up and when the coonhound attempted to leave, our lab mix attacked him again, this time breaking his leg and causing multiple lacerations which required bandage changes every three days, and a splint for 10 weeks. He is still limping from this attack, but he no longer has to wear a splint.
It seems that the attacks are non provoked and more intense each time they happen. Our lab also has trouble with hypothyroidism, but she had just been checked and her dose had been recently adjusted prior to the attacks. The third time was June 26th. It was awful. The lab did not break any of the coonhounds bones this time, but caused severe lacerations to his neck and his back leg this time. She would not release him. It took at least 5 minutes to break up the fight the puppy was cowering in the corner.
The lab had such a hold on his neck that we were sure she was going to kill him. I tried throwing water on them, my husband tried physically to break it up, but he could not. She got hold of the coonhounds leg and pulled and he had several deep puncture wounds and lacerations. We finally got the fight stopped with me pulling up on her collar area and putting my hand to the side of her jaw.
This was the most gut wrenching, heart breaking, traumatizing decision we ever made, but we decided to have our lab mix euthanized the next day due to her unpredictability with no warning or provocation of attack. I will never forget how painful this was, have had animals all of my life as they have always been a source of comfort and unconditional love to me in a world I feel is very judgmental.
I know I did the right thing, but then again, think I did not. Please let me know what your opinion is. We just could not take her back to the shelter where she likely would have been euthanized due to her behavior but could have been in a cage for several days before she was euthanized, and I would not have been able to be present. I would have also felt terrible if she had been adopted out to a family who could not love and provide for her the way we did, had thoughts that she may go to a home that would tie her out when she had always been an inside dog with free access to food, water, shelter, toys and beds.
Then I thought what if she were adopted to a fight ring. I do not believe that shelters do well with the screening process of potential adopters anymore because the shelters are so over crowded.
Do you think I did the right thing? I am having trouble coming to terms and getting over this feeling of total heartbreak. Thank you. The odds of finding her a suitable new home were probably pretty slim, and the process would have undoubtedly been very traumatic for her.
Thank you so very much for responding. My heart feels a little better now knowing that it was likely the best outcome for everyone involved. Be blessed. Hi Kathy, I too had to make that same decision. I know that our babies are in heaven and no longer hurting themselves or others. Please remember the happy times, and know that you are not alone.
My thoughts and prayers are with you. Best, Kathleen. Hey, I was heavily involved in dog rescue at the time I picked up my husky lilah, no one claimed her, she was in the desert. She was great with my 2yr old daughter helping her through her night terrors… Living situation changed and I had moved back to my moms, she was part of the pack with my moms 2dogs.
I had someone surrender a 2week old heeler pup to me because the mom got hit by a car, the healer pup became my service dog. My mom and I kept fighting so I was living out of my truck with the pup.
I kept telling his parents my dog helps me with every day to day tasks. I have no other choice but to humanely euthanize her….. I have a 6month old daughter that I do not trust my husky to be around. I have no other choice… she has changed.. Hey, Nicole. Our Percy was 7 mos old when we took him home from the shelter to foster.
His legs were covered in scars and he was afraid of everyone. I thought we cd help him. He learned basic obedience in a few weeks and quickly earned 3 rally titles. We know we have to say goodbye, but i cant help looking for an alternative. He loves the beach so much, and cuddling in our laps. My heart is breaking. I went to the store and returned to my wife having been bitten for the 3rd time. My Snow also has severe anxiety he has bitten her in the past when anxiety was very much at play.
He is territorial about me and my son. He hates for ppl to argue or get loud for any reason. He does not care at all for strangers or change. I live an extremely quiet life, because I love it this way and obviously so does he.
The first time he bit her we had hosed him off after he had eaten something dumb and we were trying to help him free it from his bum. The second time she was being a bitch to me raising her voice. My daughter in law is visiting she is very pregnant, also very loud and an attention seeking drama queen. Fights with her husband then calls everyone who will listen to tell them about it loud enough for the whole house to hear.
Loud af. As I mentioned before Snow does not do well with what looks like anger and upset nor is he used to seeing the behavior regularly. In addition we have had strangers in our yard all day today building a new fence so he has worn himself out barking put my damn fence back chump!
I know how hard it can be to rehome a dog who has bitten. I refuse to let him live in a shelter cooped up in a cage with fleas. Help me help us get through this if you can. Hey there, Ms. It also sounds like your general living situation is pretty stressful at the moment. You could try talking with the two-footers and explaining that Snow needs a calmer home, but it sounds like you will also need to do some work with a canine behaviorist. Hi to all! Sending Love, Light, and blessings!
I'm certain there are, though no one has ever said that to my face. More than anything, though, I've received an outpouring of support. In a later post, I'll compile some resources for finding support from people who understand what you're going through. Remember to take care of yourself. Feel your feelings, but also take the time to process them and move forward. If you feel yourself going to a dark place, reach out to someone for support if you don't have someone to reach out to, my email is at the bottom of this post, and I'm always happy to listen to your stories.
You don't have to go through this alone. So many people never share their story for fear of judgement or criticism. It's a vicious cycle. We don't talk about it because we don't want to be met with judgement, but by not talking about it, we're not giving those people the chance to understand what we're going through, which increases the likelihood that they're going to judge us.
I think it's high time that we stopped that cycle. Ending the taboo. Euthanasia is uncomfortable. Those of us who are around it all. A few months after Junie died, I ran into an acquaintance who had met her and asked how she was doing.
Without thinking, I blurted out "oh, she was euthanized. When we parted ways later that night, she gave me a hug and told me that she will never forget Junie. To be honest, I felt awful - I could tell that it put a damper on her night - but her kindness was sincere and meaningful.
Do I wish that I had been a bit gentler in my delivery? For sure. But do I regret telling her? Not at all. Pretending that it didn't happen, that it's not a decision that people are making every day, doesn't mean that it's not happening.
Because it is happening. Dogs die every day for their behavior. Sometimes it's people who have to make that decision for their own dog that they love; sometimes it's shelter staff who recognize that a dog is not safe to adopt out in his current state in a later post, we'll explore euthanasia in a shelter environment and how the decision can differ.
When nobody is talking about it, it's easy to forget or to never know in the first place , just how often it's happening. The only way to end the taboo is to talk about it. If we treat it like a big secret, like something that someone should be ashamed of, the general public is going to continue to judge while the people who make the decision to euthanize continue to feel ashamed. You might be surprised by how kind people can be.
People can be cruel, that's no surprise to anyone. There are certainly people out there who firmly believe that no dog should ever be euthanized for any reason and who are not willing to hear any other side of it. But those people are not nearly as common as you may fear. More than anything, people just don't understand. And it's not that they don't want to understand or aren't willing to understand; they've simply never had experience with euthanasia, never had a conversation about it, maybe never really even knew what it meant.
If you're picking up on the theme here, you know what I'm about to say We have to give those people the opportunity to understand if we ever want the culture around euthanasia for behavior to change. When someone understands your heartbreak, your guilt, your relief, they empathize with you. Sometimes they don't even need to fully understand; they just need to know that you're hurting. Bitten children, the most common victims, often grow up to be afraid of dogs. Bites affect people who work with dogs: boarding kennel operators and pet-sitters, trainers, rescue group volunteers, and veterinary staff.
Veterinarians and veterinary technicians receive many of those bites, affecting how they feel about their profession and future clients. Beth Ruby discussed her reaction to an aggressive patient on a message board of the Veterinary Information Network:. It created a fear I don't think I have ever dealt with. The complete lack of warning from the dog has left me very insecure. I have been bitten and scratched a lot in the last 25 years, but never have I felt so small and vulnerable as I did today.
Seeing those teeth coming at your face and having absolutely no control creates an emotional experience that you can't imagine or describe. That day nearly three years ago changed the way Dr. Ruby practices. She has become more cautious during exams. She keeps her head and face at a safer distance, only approaches a dog from the side where she has plenty of opportunity to back off quickly, and uses muzzles more often. What I have never understood, even before Dodger came into my life, was how people could keep dogs who bit people or other animals repeatedly and just live with it.
While owners may accept it for themselves, it is immoral for them to accept it for anyone else. I also believe it is wrong to turn the dog over to a shelter or rescue, and even worse not to disclose the truth about aggressive behavior. As I continue to sort through and address my feelings about Dodger, what I could have done and what I finally did, I am secure in knowing that ending his life was the right thing to do.
It's been exactly one year since I euthanized Dodger, which was one of the worst episodes of my life. I'm thankful to everyone who has written. The comments from readers have been enormously helpful and are full of solace. I've had lengthy back channel conversations with several commenters. All too often, though, I don't answer individual comments because they slice into my sorrow and keep it fresh; I can't answer for the sake of my own mental health.
My pain has eased greatly, but it is still nearby, as though all that's needed to unleash it is to open a cabinet. This subject is filled with angst and guilt, not to mention shame at a perceived inability to "train" the aggression out of a beloved dog. Some of our solutions involved ending the life of someone we love with all our heart in order to protect others and ourselves.
I cringe every time I read about another mauling by a dog, and I wonder if the owners of those maulers experience the massive guilt and regret that I would. I could not live with myself if my dog hurt someone that way. Thankfully, I never felt guilty about euthanzing my boy, and did not regret my choice; this is not the case for everyone.
Then and now, I didn't feel as though it was a choice; it felt like something I had to do. Because of his protectiveness of that stairwell landing, he would have lunged at me again, and the kind of luck I had walking away from that fall is not going to happen twice. I still don't understand how I walked away the first time, landing crumpled up and passed out inside an end table with a painful and swollen body.
The physical scars are fading, and some of the emotional ones are too, but it takes longer than we think it will. Whenever I see someone with an English setter, I stop and ask if I can pet it. Sometimes I cry. It's embarrassing, but so what? We must keep our hearts and souls intact. I still cry remembering Dodger's head resting on my knee and looking deeply into my eyes: connecting, bonding, trusting.
It's the behavior of his I miss the most, although I deeply loved his silly sense of humor. Needless to say, I never miss being afraid of him, and I recall well why I chose to euthanize him. But that doesn't mean I can't take pleasure in remembering the aspects that made me happy: the way he'd greet visitors with a toy; the gentle way he took treats; the games he loved to initiate; his incredibly graceful and swift running; his look of joy and anticipation on his way to the dog park.
Enough grains have shifted in my sand clock that these memories are the ones surfacing more often, rather than the other ones. Time is a good healer, and I am thankful beyond measure for that. Two years after I euthanized Dodger, his behavior still affects my household. The cat he chased continues to live a life of stress-induced veterinary care.
The stress didn't cause his physical issues, but it exacerbates them. His temperament is permanently altered, and not for the better. Dickens was here first, and he gave "mellow and friendly" new meaning.
The day they were allowed out loose together, Dodger bolted to him while barking in a frenzy. Dickens was screaming, I was screaming. Thankfully my long-haired cat walked out unharmed albeit wet all over from Dodger's saliva. The rescue person offered to take Dodger back, but I said no - a decision I have regretted more than once. It's surprising to other people, but I still don't have a successor dog.
I'm the type who usually finds a new companion within a month or so of losing one; I typically have a strong ability to move on. My friends and family expected me to have a new dog in no time. No one asks anymore if or when I'm going to get another one.
If they did, the answer would be that I don't know: maybe tomorrow, maybe never again. Zita is happy. Dickens's whole world would disintegrate from stress. Most importantly, I don't trust my ability to make a good choice because I made such a mistake last time.
In the middle of the night, when fear rises like tendrils of smoke, I'm afraid I will choose another aggressive dog. As for how I feel about Dodger, time makes it easier.
When I see a photo of him, my heart still clenches - not as tightly as it did last year and far less than the year before. The unresolved grief is familar. My mother died the week I turned 15, and decades later I often miss noticing her birthday or the date of her death, even though it's so closely linked to my birthday. While I still miss her, I think of good times with her, and someday I will only think of Dodger's sense of humor.
It's been a long time since I felt the stabbing, aching grief that accompanied my choice to euthanize my aggressive dog. Time heals most wounds, and in this case it has. My heart swells with more joy than I thought would be possible when I see a photo of him. I am now able to think about him without falling apart, without tears, without regrets, although I never forget that I have experienced this misery; it was one of the worst episodes of my life. I don't cry any more when I see other English setters, although I ask if I can pet them.
I still dream of his graceful running through acres of lush, green land, as though he was in low gear but contemplating a switch to high gear: his loping merely hinted at the speed he could pull out at any moment. He was bred to run races, and he loved running more than anything in the world, even me. I think of the day he took a dip in a silt pond and came out looking like a happy Creature of the Black Lagoon, or his good times with mud.
Those are the memories I enjoy now. When I think about the moment he bit my forearm three times in three seconds, and the six small puncture wounds he left, my stomach doesn't clench.
I don't even have much of an emotional reaction to the thought of being lunged at prior to falling down half of a steep stairwell, which could have killed me.
It's more along the lines of "Yeah, that was so horrible, one of the worst days of my life. Is there any more coffee? No successor has followed him, and another dog isn't even in the picture. My dog Zita remains happy as a pig in mud. My cat Dickens still suffers from stress-induced bouts of colitis translation: diarrhea everywhere , the latest just two weeks ago when I had the audacity to come home reeking of a litter of kittens; Mr. Sensitive acted out, and about 24 hours later he had a raging fit of colitis.
He likely has irritable bowel syndrome , caused by stress rather than inflammation , and I still think it's all related to how afraid Dickens was of Dodger, a beast four times his size with a penchant for bowling over cats. There will be no new pets for me while Dickens is alive. Plus, he runs up some interesting vet bills. If it were not for Mr. Sensitive, I would be emotionally ready for another dog.
It's just not meant to be at this time. The best part is that I no longer feel like I can't trust myself to select another dog.
When Dickens is no longer here, I will get another dog. Maybe it will be my usual rescue, maybe it will be a puppy for the first time. That's the personal side. How I feel about the public side - this article - is different. I don't really know how to explain it. Even though writing about an experience is inevitably how I deal with life, the explosion of comments that still arrive weekly three years later is breathtaking and yet formidable.
For a while the level of fresh grief it brought was difficult, a bit like salt on an open wound. But that's not the case now.
Today, it's the sameness of what commenters say that disconcerts me, and sometimes numbs me: "I didn't think he was actually aggressive until he He's really good most of the time.
The hardest part is when people couch the question if I think they should euthanize their dog. Here's my blanket response: each family is solely responsible for that decision. Listen to the advice of someone who has actually seen the dog: your veterinarian or your veterinary behaviorist while there are no veterinary behaviorists in some geographic areas, in this scenario they are preferable.
In scenario A, an extensive medical workup, medication trial, behavioral consults would all be reasonable and probably should happen. In scenario B, even if the owners scraped together the money, someone could get mauled or killed before any of those steps could kick in. All of us here are taking the road less traveled by being so open; in some cases, the only ones we're not honest with are ourselves.
Traditionally, euthanizing aggressive dogs has been a topic avoided in public, as though you are so ashamed of your "inability to turn that dog around. And yet if you talk to employees of a veterinary clinic, the folks who have to deal with aggressive dogs every day and have the scars that go with the danger of their job, they will often tell you that there are plenty of nice dogs out there who need a home, and why would you go through all that effort to keep an aggressive dog and walk on eggshells all the time?
When the veterinary technician said that to me, I caught my breath and thought what a terrible thing that was to say. Eventually I saw that she was right. What's right for me may not be right for anyone else. The reasons to euthanize or not are a moving target, and little about this topic is clear cut.
It's a topic constituting a hundred shades of grey and not much black and white. I believe that if your dog has inflicted enough physical damage to send someone to the ER, or has mauled or killed another dog, it's time to act definitively.
But that's me. I'm more than lucky I didn't break my neck on that fall down the stairs after he lunged at my face, and it is sheer grace that I got up and walked away with only bruises and a limp to show for it.
My wish for every one of us is the love of a non-aggressive dog without any need for us to walk on eggshells. May that love be with us all, and if not with this dog, then another one. Editor's Note: Seven years after euthanizing Dodger, the author brought home another dog for the first time since then.
See The Dog After the Grief. Can anyone give me advice. I have a bully I got at 8 weeks old from probably the worlds shittiest backyard breeder I didn't know this upon arriving to the house to get him. I did my best socilizing him. I took him to parks, places that there were a lot of people, we had summer graduations I took him to, etc. When he turned 5 months old he started to show signs of aggression.
It started with him growling at dogs he wasn't familiar with, to him growling and nipping at people he didn't know. So by 6 months I got him into a trainer who was able to make it possible for me to walk him in a park without him growling at anyone, but he still wouldn't let anyone touch him. He has nipped at 3 children and broke some skin on another. I got him on some trazadone from the vet, but it doesn't seem to help when he's around people he doesn't know.
I feel as if this is a genetic problem that won't be solved through training, just "managed" until something tragic happens. This is extremely stressful, I have to keep him couped up when people are over, I feel isolated and helpless.
My vet suggested euthanizing him and I feel as if that is something I will have to do. Does everyone feel guilt, sadness, and regret thinking about euthanzing their healthy dog due to aggressive behaviors? I feel like I'm failing my dog who loves me so much, but it is becoming too much for me to handle. I am constantly stressed when I leave my house knowning that there are kids coming in and out due to baby sitting and he doesn't give any warnings, he just nips or bites.
What should I do. Phyllis DeGioia October 11, In her piece, you will see that Trish and I know each other, and that she has a link to an older article she'd written on the topic.
She discusses some associated concerns that I did not. I apologize to everyone who has written over the years who I did not answer. I euthanized Dodger in It's been a long time, but this article can sometimes keep the pain a bit too fresh, so I decided years ago that for my own mental health that I couldn't answer all of them, as I did for Jennette. Thank you for your understanding.
Jenny, I'm so sorry you are experiencing this kind of difficulty. Trust me, I understand what it feels like, and also trust me when I say that time works wonders. Some day, sooner or later, you will be able to think of your Leo without pain or sadness. You can't know, so please don't beat yourself up about it. I also wanted to point out that your closing sentences about love are so incredibly true.
Please hold on to those thoughts this week. My heart is with you. I scheduled an appointment to put my 3 yo rescue dog Leo down. It kills me to think this was our last weekend together. The neighbor says he looked like he was going to attack him but he got startled and ran away. By some miracle, I got Leo and his brother Charlie who had chased after him back in the house. My daughter asked me if Leo really hurt someone, would I get rid of him? I said yes, if he bit someone and made them bleed, I could not keep him.
She reminded me that he bit her and it hurt and left a bruise but I kept him. I blamed it on him being overly excited and set up a zoom appointment with the behaviorist trainer. Anyways, I blocked the spot in the fence where the neighbor said he got out.
I went outside with the dogs this time to monitor. I should have put him on a leash. He sniffed the barrier and instead, crawled under a different part of the fence that apparently had gotten loose and dashed off, Charlie following behind. They ran across the street. I screamed, lost my shoes running, even peed my pants.
I watched Leo run behind a house. Then they both ran back to me and came inside. A few minutes later, an old man came to my door. I collapsed and cried hysterically. The neighbors supported me and seemed to feel worse for me than the guy that got bit.
I laid on the floor and sobbed for hours, decided to call the vet and the original shelter he came from in the morning. The bet was out for the rest of the week. What a tragic end to a traumatic life.
I have given this dog so much love and he has given all his love to me. She said it would be irresponsible to send him off to potentially hurt others. However, sending him to heaven straight from being in a home where he is loved so fully and has trust in me and Charlie, sounds so much better than sending him off to who-knows-where to face more trauma and fear.
I just wish he were older or had a medical issue. I wish I would have put him on a leash before I trusted the fence. I may always wish and wonder if I could have done better for him. I will miss him laying with me and cuddling, the way he looks at me so lovingly. I fear the quiet, the boringness that might come. If I go in a trip, Charlie can go to a normal boarder without me being scared to death of someone getting bit.
I can take Charlie on peaceful walks without Leo being so overstimulated. I did save him and show him what true love is. And he will never feel anything toward me other than love.
Monica Celizic September 29, I had seen her act out before, with another of my dogs, but I was convinced I could work with her. It was the old "she just needs love" syndrome.
I also took her to training classes and we consulted a professional behaviorist -- after all, I worked for one of the country's largest humane societies and had access to everyone. I feel guilty for putting my pack through this. I miss her gentle side too, the many times she would lick my face and put her paw on my shoulder to try to console me through life's twists. She even knew as I cleaned up the bloody carnage that she was wrong.
But that didn't stop her from doing it. The house has an eerie quiet now, as the other dogs come to terms that she's not coming home. I want to howl to the moon in anguish, both loving her and missing her. She was my warrior princess, tough as nails, fearless against anyone she thought was a threat.
Sadly, that also included my sweet little one-eyed basset hound who I am glad survived, by the way. In the end, aggression including aggression towards other dogs, must not be tolerated or worse, excused. I'm sorry Bessie. Like many I come here looking for solace and insight. My heart is broken, and I am hurting terribly, feels nearly unsurvivable at this time. We put down our Akbash, Satchel this morning. He was from a Pyrenees rescue group, purported to be Yellow lab and Pyrenees, but not.
He was found nearly dead from starvation. I believe he had been feral. At first we knew he had some resource guarding issues, but I have worked with many dogs and felt comfortable dealing with this. He both played with and bullied our wonderful Golden mix boy. He did not like to be touched at all. He showed evidence of fly snatching syndrome, indicating probable focal seizure activity of some type.
We consulted our vet, he was placed on prozac. He improved for a while, then became more aggressive again. I would like to say that this story is a little different-he has never really bit anyone, and he is aggressive primarily to myself and my husband, instead he charges us, growling posturing and literaly shoving us, front feet on our shoulders. We drove miles to see a behaviorist at a vet school-more meds, and some improvement, but he worsened again, becoming not only aggressive but increasing compulsive behavior, anxiety.
No one injured, but everyone shook. Tried another new drug with again some improvement. But again, over the last several months worsening.
He charged my husband, knocking him to the ground and took his arm in his jaws. He is now very large, weights about It was in response to him trying to get a few burrs out of his tail, while I fed him treats.
So, we decided this was enough. He had not seriously injured anyone, but it seems only a matter of time, and he is huge. On a good day he is a wonder, on a bad day, obsessive, compulsive, and very unhappy. Our very kind vet thought there was only increasing behavior and neurological problems in his future. So, we chose to bring things to a close before anyone was seriously injured. We had given him chill protocol meds, he was sedated and peaceful and were able to have the vet come outside to the grassy treed area by her office.
It was a soft ending. I was able to hug him, cry into his fur and pet him all over-something I was unable to do while he was alive. This website has helped me so much. Thank you everyone for sharing your stories. I got my pit from a friend of a friend. The first owner of my pit abused him. When I heard about this, I got the Pitbull out of that situation. He was a sweet dog, but you could tell very scared. He would always shake at random times and be unsure about his surroundings. When he walked it seemed as though he was drunk.
He wobbled and struggled getting up. He had a hard time walking and when he would try and run, he would just fall over. I took him to the vet soon after I got him. The vet ran many tests on him. The vet recommended going to a place a couple hours away that could look for more answers. Hearing this sounded great, until I realized the situation, I was in.
I had no car or money to get him to this place that could possibly help him. At this time in my life, I was a broke college student. Day after day went by and I noticed him getting worse. He would wobble and fall more. Instead of giving up on him, I woke up every morning before my classes and helped him. I would lift him up with one arm and the other one place one of his paws down on the ground.
I then would alternate paws while still holding him up. Eventually with time, he got the hang of it. The tricky part was showing him how to walk up and down the stairs.
I would have to place a piece of cheese or treat on one step to get him to be motivated to go up the stairs. It took longer than expected, but he eventually learned how. He would still drag his feet while he walked and sometimes would struggle getting up. Years had past and he became a lot stronger. The main thing that was out of the ordinary was his nervous system was off. Whenever I would bring him in the car, he would have an accident. The Beginning of his Aggression : The first time he showed aggression was when my roommate at the time opened the front door.
He got in between her and the door and barked at her aggressively, at this time I yelled at him, and he ran upstairs into his crate. He knew he was in trouble. He was 2 at that point. When he turned 3 things got a lot worse for him. His roommate went downstairs to answer the door and my dog followed him. Suddenly you just hear my dog sounding crazy and a loud bang. I also saw my dog jumping up at the roommate which was weird because he does not usually jump.
As soon as my dog saw me, he ducks his head, had his ears go back. He knew he was in trouble and bolted upstairs. When my dog ran upstairs, I was in shock. I was mad. I was mad at the roommate.
How could he lay his hands on him? Why was he aggressive with my dog? So many thoughts ran through my head as to why the roommate was aggressive towards him. I sat there and cried because I knew my dog had already been through so much and now, he was being thrown around all over again.
This was my thought when this happened. I blamed the roommate and not my dog. I was in denial that my dog was becoming aggressive.
That was only the start of things. More Aggression: The other time he showed this behavior was when my boyfriend tripped over something. He just lunged at my boyfriend and jumped up at him luckily not biting him even though he tried.
We hurried and shut him in the bedroom to calm down. After a couple minutes we let him out and he acted as if nothing had just happened. My thought on this was me blaming my boyfriend. Why did he have to be so clumsy I sat there and thought. The next time he went crazy was when my old roommate knocked on my window. My dog went crazy.
He lunged at my boyfriend and I and he was barking at us as though we had done something wrong. We were able to get him to the bedroom without us getting hurt. Again, I blamed my old roommate for knocking on the window. A couple of other times when a UPS man came, or someone knocked on the door, my dog would go into his attack mode.
The weird thing about him getting into these moods is that his eyes would turn all black. His pupils would cover his entire eyes. He loved to cuddle and be near me. If you wanted to sleep all day and wake up at 3pm, he was right there with you. He was never an annoying dog that would wake you up just to take him out in the mornings. When you woke up, he would too. He also loved going on hikes. Once he got stronger, he would love walking and smelling different smells on hikes. He also had many dog friends.
Aggression Towards Me: My roommate and I were leaving the house to go somewhere. When we opened the door, he ran out.
My first response was to grab him and put him back inside…. He lunged at me and started barking hysterically at my direction. My reaction was to try and hold him back this was another mistake of mine. He bit me 3 times on my arm that drew blood. I also had a couple bit marks on my knee from him. My dog finally turned and got a treat. We immediately shut him in the bathroom. I just sat there and cried. My head was spinning because I was his human.
Why would he attack me? We had such a strong bond and I trusted him and this time he had attacked me and drew blood. I was heartbroken to say the least. I knew I had to do something at this point. The Vet Visit:I had noticed since then, that his anxiety was more noticeable. He would always be cautious as to who went in and out of the house. He would constantly be observing everything that was going on. I went to the vet to hopefully find some solutions.
They prescribed him anxiety medication. Finally, I thought, this should work. Anything you could think of I tried. More Attacks: My boyfriend and I took him on a 5-mile hike. When we got home, we gave him his anxiety medicine and our friends came to our house. My dog loves our friends because we would go over to their house and both of our dogs would love playing.
They were best friends. He would always be skeptical with people at first, but not them. We were in the basement watching tv when my roommate had dropped something upstairs.
When this happened, my pregnant friend was walking past the TV to sit down from using the bathroom. Once my dog heard that noise, he immediately sprung up and jumped at her. He was whining hysterically. I was not letting go of him at this moment until he settled down. My boyfriend got up to walk her to the bedroom so she would be safe from him just in case and our dog snapped at him.
It ripped his jeans and he had torn through the skin as well. None of his bites were deep enough for stitches, but they were all bad enough to draw blood and leave scares. He had his anxiety collar on, he had calming treats prior to the attack, he was on his medication, and he also had just been on a 5-mile hike, and he STILL reacted that way.
Another time he attacked was when my boyfriend and I were lying in bed and there was a noise upstairs. Our dog slept with us because he was very spoiled and loved cuddling with us.
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