What's the right thing to do? :(

My dog (who is now living with my parents since I moved to Melbourne) bit a little girl today. He bit her badly on the foot. It's not the first time he's acted aggressively towards kids. Our old next door neighbors son used to tease and scare him through the window and the damage was done from then.

The mother was apparently very good and won't be taking any action, but that doesn't change what's happened.

He's normally a beautiful natured little dog, he just gets frightened by children.

My mum just rang me and said I need to make a decision. I know what I should do. But I'm so heartbroken. He's the sweetest little dog and I love him so much.

I'm devastated.

I know what I would do but I don't think it is the answer you are hoping for

Our dog who was so lovely and gentle with our son went a little crazy in the space of 2 days.. She never bit anyone but was very aggressive.. Dh got home and made the decision and Shelly was put down that afternoon..

im sorry you're stuck in this situation hun, cant be easy :(
what would happen if you kept this doggie alive and took ur own child to your mums and something happened?

You could consult a dog trainer. Your vet can recommend one. It is possible that the trainer won't be able to help but it is also possible that they will be able to help.
In the meantime you need to put up dangerous dog signage and get a muzzle and one of the fluoro collars for if he is in public.

ETA - I have always said that if any dog of mine bit a child without severe provocation I would put them down but I'm aware that not everyone agrees with this stance and that there are other options.

im sorry but i would euthenase. I am a veterinary nurse and have seen this first hand many many times. i feel for your parents being stuck in the middle as much as i feel for you and the dog.

if it were one of my animals i would euthenase with a clear conscience knowing that i had saved my dog from a lifetime of being terrified of essentailly nothing and protected children from harm. its the old cruel to be kind thing.

:comfort: sorry mate, s#it of a position to be in.

I agree with Onyx's last sentence. If a kid is being a little sod and pulling the dog's tail, taunting it etc then that's one thing, but if its visciousness out of the blue then no second chances. Given that you have said he has acted aggressively with children before then unfortunately and very sadly there would be only one option for me. I'm very sad for you and your parents - its a horrible situation to be in.

Aimz this is a really really tough call. :hug: my beautiful friend.

This is probably not want you want to hear but could you risk your dog having a go at your baby? If you have any doubt at all, then you know the answer to the big question.

I was bitten badly as a child by the "good natured" dog next door (I was 4 & just sitting on the top step, it came up to me, sat down & then the next thing I remember is screaming and being carried home covered in blood, the owners said I'd bugged the dog while eating, the blood splatters showed otherwise, top step was about 5m from where the dog food was), I nearly lost my eye only me flopping backwards stopped the canine puncturing my eyeball, it went down into the socket instead. They chose not to deal with the dog and a few years later (after we'd moved away) the dog mauled a child. The child's parents forced the dog to be put down.

this is mad in that my aunty is making a similar decision with her dog atm. she bit my aunt and dad. but to me shes a beautiful affectionate dog. the biggest hugs huni xxx

Hugs what a tough call to make. i hope you can make the decison that is right for you and be comfortable with what ever you decide.

My SIL has a dog who is a bitsa (kelpie, healer, shepard etc etc) and he has bitten or more than 1 occasion and to be honest I am disgusted that she has not had him put down as its not just once.

A friend had her dog put down because she growled and bared teeth at her DD, as made her uneasy as had never seen that side of her and had dog for many years.

A family friend had her corgi put down when she bite my brother when he was 13, 2 boys playing footy in backyard and dog wanted to play too, dog and brother went for ball at same time. My brother was upset as he said dog was just playing but she said she could never forgive herself if dog did that to someone younger and seriously hurt them.

Hope some stories help you, xoxo

Decision made :(

Heading home this weekend to say goodbye to my best friend :(

:hug:
Sometimes the right choices are the ones that hurt the most.

:hug: I know how hard it is. We had to make the same decision last year. It is heartbreaking. So sorry you are going through this. :hug:

I'm so sorry Aimz :hug:

That is such a tough choice to make :(

:hug: my beautiful friend

Was it a bad bite or more like a warning nip?
My friend's german shepard nipped me on the face once, blood was shed but it was clearly just a warning bite and it was because I'd gotten too close to her face and she got nervous.
I have a dangerous breed dog and he has never shown aggression ever but I am so vigilant with him when I take him out in public and I never let him near children just in case, (even though he is fine with DD, I never leave them alone unsupervised) so I think with your dog, if you were around to be very careful with him you could avoid having him put down, but it's a lot of responsibility to ask of your parents. It is definitely exhausting and never relaxing for me to take my dog for walks because I just have to be so careful.
I'm so sorry you are faced with a decision like this. :(

:hug: huni. im so sorry xxx

Oh that's sad aimz :(

Hugs xo

I'm so sorry gorgeous girl, what a tough thing to have to do :hug:

Such a brave decision to make, thinking of you xo

How devastating for you. You are stronger than me.

Big hugs.


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I don't know you honey but wanted to give you big hugs on making a terribly hard but brave decision!

I just wrote this email to my family. I spoke to my Dad this morning (who is working in Singapore for 3 months) and he made me promise I would investigate all other options before deciding to have him put down. So I will speak to some experts today. I think my decision is made, but I need a clear conscience to do it.

Hi Family,

Calvin attacked a little girl yesterday, resulting in a bad bite on her foot. As we all know, this isn’t the first time he’s acted agressively and bitten someone. I have been thinking of nothing else since I was told and I know that something needs to be done.

I have just spoken to Dad and he hopes I will try everything before deciding the worst.

Mum, can you please give me the details of the vet and I will call him today and ask him a few questions. I have contacted a dog training/behaviour company who works out of Canberra (which services the Riverina) and am waiting for them to call me back as well. I guess we need to assess whether or not his behaviour can be changed.

My main concern is that he has had constant upheaval in the last 2 years – Alex and Coco disappearing, moving to Kincaid, Rocco and Beau appearing, Rocco and Beau disappearing, moving out of Kincaid and in with you after Camille died, me disappearing to Melbourne and now Dad disappearing as well. He is unsettled and his behaviour has been getting worse. He was so unhappy when I was home this weekend. I worry that another move will make things worse.

I am full of guilt, as I know I can’t have him in Melbourne. But I don’t think him moving to Melbourne would be beneficial at all – he would spend long amounts of time alone, in a small space. The reality is that I won’t be able to find/afford a house with a yard and even if I did, I won’t be home to be with him, which is what he’s used to. I think another massive change and upheaval would do more harm than good. I feel like the worst dog owner in the world.

The fact still remains that he attacked a child, unprovoked yesterday. She didn’t frighten him or pull his tail. And this just shows how out of sorts he is. He is frightened.

I really don’t know what to do. I’m struggling with what is right. The mother of this child could very well make the decision for me, but even if she doesn’t, I couldn’t live with myself if he did this again – what if it’s not a 4 year olds foot next time? What if it’s her face? And is it fair on Calvin, when he is so unsettled and stressed?

This is probably the worst decision I’ve ever been faced with. And I will talk to the vet and some experts before I make a decision. But whatever happens, I need your support. I won’t ask Mum or Dad to make this decision, because Calvin is my responsibility. I will look into every possible option.

Suggestions welcome.

I am so heartbroken today. Words can't describe how much I love this dog :(

Aimz, it's the hardest thing you'll have to do. Make a decision on the life of a healthy, fit, much loved pet. I've written about my dog before and what happened (story short, he was aggressive, got worse, started to bite and not let go. He was a spoodle and not yet two when we put him to sleep, after him being with behaviourists, vets, trainers and us). I was gutted, but we knew that if we had kids, he would be banished outside to live a life of misery, with nobody going near him. He couldn't be rehomed. When he was good, which was 80% of the time, he was a sensational dog. It was so hard. But looking back, and looking at the dogs we have now, he was so unhappy. He didn't want to be like that. I felt like I'd set him free from his own demons, released him from a life full of fear and anger. I never expected I'd feel like that when initially I got so angry with myself for not trying harder and giving up on my dog. (even though there was nothing else we had left to try).

:hug:

Oh Aimz. :hug:

We have a story with our little dog that was a rescue dog who was also deaf. She was three when we adopted her and had obviously been mistreated before we took her on. She had a fair few behavioural issues, which we expected given her background. One was around food. You couldn't leave food around because if she tried to steal it she would get quite aggressive. However, this was with us, since we were very careful to keep her shut away when we had visitors and food.

She still bit a toddler on the hand once, grabbing the child's apple. But she didn't do serious damage and the Mum was fine. She bit our DD once or twice in the same way. It never broke the skin. The worst bites were DP and I. She didn't like it when I handled her and she didn't want to do what I wanted. It makes her sound really bad when I say it like this - but in reality she was a very sweet natured dog and had only a couple of issues. Food and being picked up by her hips or around her hips.

We had a dog behaviouralist/trainer out to our house to visit and talk through what we were doing. She gave us some great tips, but basically said we were doing the right thing. Also that making sure we respected her space and when she growled would help. Training her a bit better helped too. We had noticed with the right attention and training she was already getting much better, much more mellow and manageable.

You can limit the dog's contact with other people while you try to work on his behaviour. Your concerns around what will happen when you move to Melbourne are justified, but again, the right amount of time and attention will probably help him. If you put the effort in and there is no difference in his behaviour after a period of time, then you can at least face the more difficult option knowing you've done your best.

We never regretted keeping our dog and working with her. She turned out to be a beautiful and delightful dog. She died earlier this year killing a red belly black in our backyard. :( We still miss her.

GL. :hug:

Oh babe i am so sorry! :hug: its definitely not an easy decision!

My mum once took a dog in, he was abused from a young pup by little kids and so was very snappy. One afternoon i took him out for a walk, the lead got tangled between his legs i went to untangle and he bit my hand, quite badly too! I had blood pouring from my hand, when i got home my mum was upset but didnt want to give up on right away. The very next day, my brother was playing in the backyard and the dog went straight up to him and started attacking him. But only went for his hands. He completely mauled my brothers hands, he was lucky that no tendon damage was done but he now has some pretty gnarly scarring. My mum made the choice then and there as soon as it happened.

Its never an easy decision. I hope you are ok :hug:

After speaking with the family vet I wrote the following email to my family (its easier to copy and paste than to retype - its just been one of those days!)

We short term plan of attack after speaking with Calvin’s vet.

She has suggested the following, which I will organise today.

Obedience and behavioural training is to start as soon as possible. Obedience training will sort out the issue of him running and not coming back, and behavioural will cover his fear of children and his aggression to anyone outside the house. I have spoken to a girl at Kyeamba Dog Training Club who is passing my details onto a dog behavioural therapist named Jean, who has had a dog with the same issues as Calvin and was able to resolve them. I will speak to her later today to see if she can help.

Dog training will be assessed after a month or so, and if there’s no sign of improvement, we will work with the vet to introduce a calming drug to be used in conjunction with the training.

If none of the above works, we will need to look at other options. But he’s a smart boy and I have faith in him.

This doesn’t solve the long term problem, but that’s all we can do for the moment. It probably should have been done a long time ago, and I take responsibility for that. I am happy that we are doing it now and I think Calvin will be much happier if the above works.

I feel much better with this path than any other option.

:hug: Well done.
I'm in a similar place (my dog freaked out at an old man at a cafe) and my dog starts school next week. I just gave her a summer haircut too so she looks really ugly the poor darling. :/

It's what we did with our dog. Exhaust all other options. Something may work :hug: