Sir Winston (09-11-2018)
I'm so sorry. I had an aggressive rescued boxer in the past, who got worse with age. On walks, he would go into the red zone when people passed on bikes; dogs passing by on the other side of the street caused the same reaction. It got to where we were afraid to take him for a walk. Eventually, when we refused to let him go after someone, he would turn his aggression on us, biting us in frustration - drawing blood. Fearing that he would turn on our small dogs and grandchildren, we made the hard decision to euthanize him. We could not fathom him harming another animal or person. - we couldn't have lived with ourselves, knowing we could have prevented it from happening.
Sir Winston (09-11-2018)
Good for you, Jollymolly. The only one of us to think of a muzzle. I wonder if it should be a basket muzzle? And I wonder if it might make Winston worse or give him other issues? Not a first choice for most dogs but sure worth a try, I think. Introduced and used with professional trainer help.
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Castilleja's Dubhgall Oban, the Black Stranger of The Little Bay
Oct. 15, 2007 - June 13, 2021
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Sir Winston (09-11-2018)
I am so sorry to hear this. I remember you and Winston from the acl surgeries, I think my dog had the same surgery at the time. So sorry for your loss of Bailey.
I honestly don't have any input, because I don't know myself what I would do in the same situation. All I can say is "Make a decision you will be able to live with". I don't think I'd be able to live with putting the dog down. On the other hand, it would be difficult to rehome a dog such as Winston. He needs an experienced owner with no other animals, I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Cookie Black Snowflake
July 12th, 2006. - May 25th, 2023.
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Sir Winston (09-11-2018)
I do agree with a vet visit, rule out anything medical. Rehoming is not really an option as your just passing on an aggressive dog who may end up injuring someone else or another dog down the line. One of the people I work with at Dog Scouts had to face this decision recently, she took in a dog that had aggression problems and with her 40 year experience she basically said, once in a while you find a dog that's just not wired correctly. Same as some humans. Unfortunately you just can't change the dog.
Sir Winston (09-12-2018)
Thanks to everyone for taking time to give me feedback. It means the world to me. I have scheduled an appointment with my vet tomorrow. I am trying to get him in to see a trainer/behavioral specialist early next week. I am also attempting to track down his breeder. Sadly I didn't keep his contact information. I found him via a classified ad in the local newspaper. So I've asked my reporter friend who works there (and who lived with Winston for several years when we were roommates) to see if he can track down an archived issue of the paper with the breeder's cell phone number. It's a longshot, but it's worth a try. I am also reaching out to various sanctuaries for aggressive dogs. Most of them are currently not accepting new pets. So far it's not looking too promising, but I owe it to Winston to exhaust all possible alternatives.
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Dog dad to four sweet boys:
Bailey (2003-2018)
Winston (2009-2018)
Walter (born 1/1/18)
Arthur (born 8/12/18)
Beth C (09-11-2018), lovemylabby (09-11-2018), smartrock (09-11-2018), SunDance (09-11-2018)
Sir Winston (09-12-2018)
I am so sorry you are going through this. I unfortunately know exactly what you are going through. We had a dalmation who bit a child. It was not a nasty bite, but a bite nevertheless. We put the dog through extensive training with a behaviorist. He was a good boy for 5 years partly because I watched him like a hawk and avoided situations. However, I got relaxed or sidetracked in my guarding and one day my 5 year old daughter had a friend over. The girls were upstairs and I had a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs so the dog couldn't go up there plus I had put him outside. However, I got involved on a phone call and the dog was at the door asking to come in. Not thinking I let him in. My daughters friend at some point had hopped over the baby gate to pet the dog. He let her pet him and when she retracted her arm she was bitten. This was a nasty bite requiring 8 stitches. The dog was quarantined at home for 10 days and after that time we chose to euthanize the dog. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but it isn't fun to live with a dog and be on guard all the time because at some point you will let your guard down and something will happen. I do agree that a vet visit is in order and I'm glad to see you will be seeing a behaviorist. However, sometimes aggression cannot be trained out of a dog. It can be genetic. I hope I'm not sounding negative, but the last thing you want is to get sued because of your dog. We thought we were going to get sued. Thankfully we were not. Hugs to you - I know how awful this is for everyone involved.
Nancy
Sir Winston (09-12-2018)
Everything I had to say has pretty much been said already. The only other option I can think of is a shelter for aggressive dogs such as:
Surrender Your Dog | Big Dog Ranch Rescue 2018
The dogs are usually kept individually in kennels outside where they live out their lives.
I'm very sorry you are going through this. We know someone who recently made the decision to put down her newly adopted dog after discovering a history of aggression they didn't know about. The dog put her husband in the hospital and she has mini Dachsunds so they didn't really have a choice. The rehoming probably made the problem even worse.
Sir Winston (09-12-2018)
I took Winston to the vet this morning. Got an entire blood panel done on him and a Prozac prescription. The vet examined him. He has two lumps on him, but they're just lipomas. One he's had for a long time. Otherwise, he appears to be fine other than he's a little overweight. I have an appointment with an animal behavioralist next week. In the meantime, I'm going to continue reaching out to organizations I come across for help. I'm not going to lie, but it can't hurt to ask. Still waiting to hear about finding the breeder's contact info in the newspaper archives.
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Dog dad to four sweet boys:
Bailey (2003-2018)
Winston (2009-2018)
Walter (born 1/1/18)
Arthur (born 8/12/18)
Labradorks (09-12-2018), smartrock (09-12-2018)
I wish you the best. My heart would be breaking if I were in your shoes. I too would be searching for ways to help before making the ultimate decision. You may want to ask the behaviorist about CBD oil. Again, good luck.
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