Advice on putting dog down please.

Hi all, just looking for a little advice.


Have a Lab Cross that is 5 years old.

The other day the dog bit one of my children, nothing bad but enough to leave teeth marks and grazes.

My kid was playing outside and the dog was nearby and a a toy fell near the dog and it bit the child.

The Dog has bit before 2 years ago, something similar, another child was playing near the dog and it bit him because it had a bone nearby.

We decided to give the dog another chance because the bite wasn't bad and we understood the dog felt threatened because of the bone.

Now this is 2 bites we think maybe we need to put the dog down because it has no fear it biting children.

Can I ask what people would do in this situation, would you put the dog to sleep because its a danger to children?

Just to add the Dog is female and has been spayed.

Thanks for any advice.

fatmammycat

I can totally understand your reluctance to keep this dog. But if you could, I would rehome the dog with someone who doesn't have children, or has older children. Lots of dogs find children stressful, my own dog didn't like children, although he never bit one or had opportunity to do so. Your dog could have a perfectly long life with another person/family.

star-pants

I'd agree with fatmammycat, it's understandable you're now not comfortable keeping the dog. However, as you say there were two incidents, both of which had a reasonable explanation (as opposed to the dog randomly biting your children). Therefore this would lead one to believe the dog itself is not of a particular aggressive nature but rather reacted (as an animal) when hurt / threatened.

Would you be willing to work with the dog and keep it or are you set on getting rid of the dog? If the latter, then I'd definitely look at rehoming it to a home without children or where someone perhaps has the time to work with the dog.

Mr Benevolent

Just rehome, killing her isn't really fair.

fatmammycat

As an aside, and possibly a reflection on how things change, I was savaged by the family collie as a child. I almost lost an ear over it as I was –according to my grandmother– 'annoying him' (I was a toddler). They kept the dog, I kept my ear, and that blasted animal lived until he was 17 without ever savaging me again, although from then on I was highly respectful of his space.

**Vai**

The dog is no more a danger to your kids than they are to the dog. Putting it down would be ridiculous. Rehome/pound, anything rather than kill it for a few scratches.

Discodog

You need some help from a behaviourist. If you give us an approximate location then I am sure that someone can recommend one. It has nothing to do with the dog having no fear of biting - dogs don't want to bite & he will have a reason for doing it. A behaviourist will be able to assess the dog & give you some good professional advice.

A friend of mine rescued a St Bernard. It bit a visitor & had a hatred of men. They called in some expert help & it is now a different dog. Old dogs can learn new tricks.

Take a looks here:

http://dogtrainingireland.ie/home.php

Click on the "Behaviour" box at the top of the page.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I think as advised re-homing maybe the best option.

have a few people in mind that would make good Doggie-parents so I will speak to them over the weekend.

Thanks again for all your advice.

Discodog

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I think as advised re-homing maybe the best option.

have a few people in mind that would make good Doggie-parents so I will speak to them over the weekend.

Thanks again for all your advice.

You need to go the behaviourist route first or ensure that the new owners do. There is probably no reason why the dog can't be "cured" & then you or they will have some peace of mind.

aisher

As a mother with three kids I would most likely feel that the best thing would be to rehome the dog - I would not be able to feel comfortable around this dog when it came to the kids and worse would be really afraid of any possible trouble with other kids outside the family. A dog is part of the family and to be honest if he has bitten twice I would not be prepared to chance it again. That may sound harsh but its how I would feel.

deandean

A pal of mine was in a similar situation recently with a male dog that imparted a copule of skin-breaking (but not sustained) bites, it was interesting that the dog bit before he was neutered and after - neutering didn't make a difference.

I reckon (and I am no expert) you have three options:

(1) Assessment and training of the dog, only applicable if you have the time to put into the process;

(2) find the dog a new home

(3) PTS. In the above-mentioned case the owner went to the vet, vet refused to PTS.

minterno

if your rehoming the dog i hope you pass on the dogs history to the shelter or new owner just to avoid a possible repeat bite on someone elses kid,its not an easy decision but think long and hard and whatever you do dont be too hard on yourself as you only want whats best all round

borderlinemeath

Deleted User wrote: »

Hi all, just looking for a little advice.


Have a Lab Cross that is 5 years old.

The other day the dog bit one of my children, nothing bad but enough to leave teeth marks and grazes.

My kid was playing outside and the dog was nearby and a a toy fell near the dog and it bit the child.

The Dog has bit before 2 years ago, something similar, another child was playing near the dog and it bit him because it had a bone nearby.

We decided to give the dog another chance because the bite wasn't bad and we understood the dog felt threatened because of the bone.

Now this is 2 bites we think maybe we need to put the dog down because it has no fear it biting children.

Can I ask what people would do in this situation, would you put the dog to sleep because its a danger to children?

Just to add the Dog is female and has been spayed.

Thanks for any advice.

No I wouldn't even consider putting the dog down.

It's not that it has no fear of biting children, it felt threatened by the child and thought it was going to take the toy/bone from them. The child (naturally being a child) didn't read the warning signs that the dog probably emitted and continued moving towards the ball. The dog could just as easily nip an adult who missed the signs.

An assessment with a behaviourist will help with the dog. A home without children may be the preferred option as the dog may have some guarding issues that will need time working through.

Discodog

Ideally it is best to seek professional help at the very first sign of any guarding, aggression or any other issues. They are often much easier to deal with if they are nipped in the bud when the dog is young. It's why people go on about the value of puppy classes etc where any difficult behaviour can be addressed.

You do need to ensure that anyone taking the dog is fully aware of the situation.

strandroad

Another voice for rehoming the dog! If you have trouble finding anyone, please post here, help has been given in the past. A vet may not agree to PTS a healthy dog anyway.
Your dog should be retrained and rehomed to where there are no children and the owners are aware of her history with biting, and exact circumstances. Dogs should not bite people but it doesn't look like your dog is inexplicably aggressive, her behaviour has its roots and can be trained out of her.
Best of luck and well done for not taking the easy way out!

The Sweeper

Resource-guarding isn't child specific either.

I wonder sometimes at the 'rehome' solution - you're just handing a problem to someone else, which is only fair if they're fully aware of it. A dog may also move to bite a teenager or adult if it's resource guarding and they don't realise.

A qualified behaviourist can show you how to work around guarding behaviours - you can create positive associations for the dog with people taking things from him. Depending on the ages of your children you can also teach them how to interact with the dog. (If the dog has something you want, call an adult.) You could also fence off a section of your yard, and the dog goes in the fenced section if you want the kids to be able to play outside unsupervised.

You are absolutely right to be concerned about this because it's not desirable behaviour and yes, there is a chance it will happen again. However it's not uncommon, your dog isn't 'bad' because of it, and it can be worked on.

Most importantly, you need to learn how to manage a resource guarding dog, and you need to learn how to teach your kids about it. If you rehome the dog your kids may pester you for another dog, and if you don't know how to train your next dog from puppyhood to not resource guard, you'll set yourself up for a rerun of the same behaviours.

marley123

Fully agree!

But OP if you are going down the rehoming route is is so crucial to be 100% honest, I am in the process of helping a boardsie with a dog who needs a home over an incident with a child & as they were so open & upfront it made it easier to be in a position to try to help.

The Sweeper wrote: »

Resource-guarding isn't child specific either.

I wonder sometimes at the 'rehome' solution - you're just handing a problem to someone else, which is only fair if they're fully aware of it. A dog may also move to bite a teenager or adult if it's resource guarding and they don't realise.

A qualified behaviourist can show you how to work around guarding behaviours - you can create positive associations for the dog with people taking things from him. Depending on the ages of your children you can also teach them how to interact with the dog. (If the dog has something you want, call an adult.) You could also fence off a section of your yard, and the dog goes in the fenced section if you want the kids to be able to play outside unsupervised.

You are absolutely right to be concerned about this because it's not desirable behaviour and yes, there is a chance it will happen again. However it's not uncommon, your dog isn't 'bad' because of it, and it can be worked on.

Most importantly, you need to learn how to manage a resource guarding dog, and you need to learn how to teach your kids about it. If you rehome the dog your kids may pester you for another dog, and if you don't know how to train your next dog from puppyhood to not resource guard, you'll set yourself up for a rerun of the same behaviours.

Twinkleboots

Yes definitely agree with all the above posts regarding re-homing! It really is crucial to be honest. We had to re-home our beloved Jack Russell after our son was born because whe got very protective of the baby and would go to bite anyone who went near the baby. He bit a friend one day and we knew he had to go

We were completely honest and found him a lovely home with an older man. It broke my heart leaving him but I knew I couldn't risk having him at home as we live beside a school and I would never forgive myself if he had bitten a friend or family member or even a child that bent over the wall to pet him. His new owner adores him and always invites us to come visit. It's such a relief for us that he didn't have to be put down...never put down a healthy dog!

Best of luck OP!

Meller

Considering putting a dog to sleep on those grounds seems a bit ridiculous, quite frankly. If you don't want to deal with the problem, that's fine, but there a hundred other options to try first. He doesn't exactly sound aggressive either.

Get help for his behaviour or, if you're not comfortable with him, do your best to rehome him. You took on responsibility for this dog, you can't just have him killed because he's not ideal for your own specific situation.

gammygils

Wouldn't put down the dog but would get rid. I put down my dog years ago because of baby & it was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I was in bits for weeks but it had to be done. The dog was getting unpredictable. Couldn't chance it