[dotbowels]

Our 3 1/2 year rescue old has always had issues. He has bitten my spouse and I several times. Nothing had happened since May 2020, until recently. In December 2020 he was startled and he bit a repairman. Last week my spouse was holding him and he got violent and would have bitten, had he not been set down. A few days ago our grandchild startled him, and if he hadn’t moved his hand fast he would have bitten him.
That was the final straw. If we can’t figure this out, we will have to get rid of him. We can kennel him when people come over, but our place is small and the barking drives us crazy. Our groomer is a former trainer and she thinks he has a screw loose. We love our dog, but are at wits end. We will cry and be sad for a long time if we give him up, but if he ever hurt one of our grandchildren or a friend, that would be worse. I think we know the answer, but are holding out a while, for a solution.
Thanks

 

[fjm]

I would involve a qualified, experienced behaviourist - not just a trainer - to assess the dog and advise you whether there is any way you can manage this behaviour safely. I assume your dog has already been fully checked by your vet to rule out any physical issues? As you say, the safety of children and other visitors has to be your priority, but a decision may be easier to make with professional advice.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

This is upsetting. I’m sorry.

I just read back through your previous threads, and am wondering if you were able to follow through on this advice from 2018, and, if so, what was the outcome of that appointment?

I would get an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist ASAP. I would not allow him to have direct contact with strangers until you have a better understanding of what is happening. Do not allow this dog to be around children at all in the mean time.

It sounds like your little guy had a very rough start to life—socially, for sure, and maybe genetically, too—and was in need of assessment/rehabilitation. Not many of us are equipped with the skills to do that, so I do hope you’ve been able to get some solid guidance from a certified professional. (Key word: Certified. Unfortunately anyone can call themselves a trainer or a behaviourist.)

 

[Dogs4Life]

Keeping a reactive dog is really challenging and a lot of work. I currently have a reactive rescue, but she is a good fit for me and my living situation. Never allow a reactive dog around children unattended....even better, keep them separated. Honestly by your post it sounds like you know what to do at this point. I would suggest looking for a good rescue that will find the right fit living situation for your dog.

 

[twyla]

I have a little dog like yours, Gracie is 15 1/2 years old now, I inherited her from my mother when my mom passed in 2015.
Gracie suffers from extreme anxiety and inappropriate aggression.
Gracie has bitten people including my mothrt, bitten my other dogs bad enough to require vet visits.
Gracie is toy aggressive, food aggressive and people possessive.
Issues like these don't go away, I went through behaviour modifications, thundershirts, pheromone collars, tried a holistic treatment of Bach' s Vine, finally started with Prozsac ending up at max dose, added Trazadone. Gracie is also on Apoquel because being itchy makes her very cranky, we added Pet vision Pro because cataracts and the poor vision also made her aggressive.
It took a lot of work, medication and understanding that she will never be normal.
These days Gracie is happy, she isn't allowed to exposed to stressful situations.

 

[lily cd re]

Well I don't remember exactly when or about what dog I posted as quoted above but if I said that about this dog in 2018 it doesn't quite sound as if you consulted a behaviorist or if you did you need to call them back for a new consult. If you did not previously hire a behaviorist who is certified. Look particularly for someone who is a CBCC-KA (certified behavior consultant-knowledge assessed). You can search for certificants on the CCPDT website at ccpdt.org

 

[Johanna]

This is going to upset some people. Years ago I bought a standard poodle puppy from a good friend whose dogs I had always admired (Brenda Dennis - Osea kennels). When he was about 8 months old, he started attacking my whippets. Brenda and I discussed it and we agreed that this was something that could not be tolerated in a standard poodle. We agreed that the dog should be euthanized, so he was. It's hard to put down a healthy dog, but aggression in a large dog like a standard poodle is dangerous. I was sad, but did not regret the decision - neither did Brenda.

 

[cowpony]

This is going to upset some people. Years ago I bought a standard poodle puppy from a good friend whose dogs I had always admired (Brenda Dennis - Osea kennels). When he was about 8 months old, he started attacking my whippets. Brenda and I discussed it and we agreed that this was something that could not be tolerated in a standard poodle. We agreed that the dog should be euthanized, so he was. It's hard to put down a healthy dog, but aggression in a large dog like a standard poodle is dangerous. I was sad, but did not regret the decision - neither did Brenda.

I do believe some dogs just have something wrong with the wetware. Brains are so very fragile and complex; it's really amazing they function as well as they do the majority of the time.

 

[lily cd re]

A brain injury during birth or sometime after could certainly cause permanent adverse temperament changes. It is hard to imagine such a dog is happy and obviously the people aren't either. Sometimes euthanasia is the greatest generosity that can be offered.

 

[twyla]

This is going to upset some people. Years ago I bought a standard poodle puppy from a good friend whose dogs I had always admired (Brenda Dennis - Osea kennels). When he was about 8 months old, he started attacking my whippets. Brenda and I discussed it and we agreed that this was something that could not be tolerated in a standard poodle. We agreed that the dog should be euthanized, so he was. It's hard to put down a healthy dog, but aggression in a large dog like a standard poodle is dangerous. I was sad, but did not regret the decision - neither did Brenda.

Honestly euthanasia eas on the table with Gracie for a long time, she had savagely bitten my Fliower a few times, people she has bitten my mom it was during a dog fight, the others was because Gracie was stressed during outings. I still to this day keep her separated from the poodles during the day, don't walk her when other people are around and feed her seperately.
Euthanasia was also an option with my cat Walter for similar reasons, he is also kept separated from the poodles during the day.
I had as many as four baby gates set up to keep the peace, I live in a 2 bedroom condo.
Medication worked for them but, I know I can never fully trust them, luckily it's just me so I set and keep rules, I have a routine that works l, sometimes it's tiring and all the medication is expensive so definitely not for everyone.

 

[Fenix&Felix]

/

Our 3 1/2 year rescue old has always had issues. He has bitten my spouse and I several times. Nothing had happened since May 2020, until recently. In December 2020 he was startled and he bit a repairman. Last week my spouse was holding him and he got violent and would have bitten, had he not been set down. A few days ago our grandchild startled him, and if he hadn’t moved his hand fast he would have bitten him.
That was the final straw. If we can’t figure this out, we will have to get rid of him. We can kennel him when people come over, but our place is small and the barking drives us crazy. Our groomer is a former trainer and she thinks he has a screw loose. We love our dog, but are at wits end. We will cry and be sad for a long time if we give him up, but if he ever hurt one of our grandchildren or a friend, that would be worse. I think we know the answer, but are holding out a while, for a solution.
Thanks

I agree with those who advise consulting a behaviorist. I did this with my last dog, a cocker spaniel. She was a slightly fearful dog until 4 years old when she had a bout of idiopathic labrynthitis (severe inner ear disturbance)that was quite severe (affected her vision and balance)—for her own safety, had to be confined indoors for a month. She came out of it with a permanent head tilt and extremely fearful behavior. A few years later, during a time of extreme stress in my life she bit me, and I actually consulted 3 different behaviorist. The 1st started off with talking about being the pack leader and alpha to my dog and I realized I’d wasted my money. The second is a well-known and respected animal behaviorist at the University of Washington who also does private consultations. He was expensive, but provided really helpful information on how to recognize when my dog was feeling stressed. The third also did some training work with us.

It was my feeling that this dog was like my child and I had a responsibility to do what I could to help her. For a long time I was very cautious with her but eventually I got comfortable with her again and I was never bitten again. Having said that, I had to muzzle her for grooming and was careful to avoid interactions in public (with other dogs and strange people) that would stress her out. Georgette lived to be 15 and had to be euthanized when she developed a cancerous tumor and canine dementia, so that was another 8 years I had with her because of the professional advice I sought and put to use.

 

[Dechi]

I hope the OP comes back, but in 2018, he opened a thread about the same subject and never did comment ever again.