Behavioral Euthanasia

[Anonymous]

I'd agree with the above poster that it's more humane to euthanize the dog if the behavior truly is a safety risk than to try and rehome it. The poor thing will only end up in a shelter eventually or with an abusive owner. Please keep this in mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t make it the vets decision. Vets have very high mental health stress and unusually high incidents of suicide. They become vets because they love animals and more than anyone cares to admit, many people put animals down for behavior or because the cost to treat is not something they want to pay. It is a terrible part of the job but don’t push the vet to make that decision. Decide what you want to do and pursue rescues if the issue is something like separation anxiety. Someone else will be at home and can deal with the issue. If it is biting, consider a muzzle.

A veterinary behaviorist’s job is literally to do behavioral euthanasia assessments. And even non specialist vets counsel on euthanasia literally daily. It’s not wrong to get the assessment of a licensed professional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never. I would find someone who can help the dog even if that wasn't me.

In some cases that's basically handing off a ticking time bomb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never. I would find someone who can help the dog even if that wasn't me.

There are so many non-dangerous dogs in need of homes. Dogs that could be happy normal pets. When you pass an "unfixable" dog on, whether that dog is a biter or just a stress ball that can't function as a pet, you are taking up a place that could go to a more adoptable animal while keeping a miserable dog in its misery. It's unkind and selfish to do that.

[Anonymous]

Biting

[Anonymous]

Older dog with only 1-2 years left to live where long time owner died. It’s really cruel IMO to send these dogs to a shelter. They aren’t getting adopted. They have expensive medical needs, are used to being the only dog in a quiet home with a senior citizen. It used to be that seniors would happily adopt a senior dog for company. Now, the vets bills are just too expensive so this pipeline of adopters is pretty small.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has a vet been consulted and has the dog been through extensive training or worked with a behavioralist?

You’d be surprised at what some people consider behavioral issues when they’re lack of training easily repaired by proper training.

Not every family has this level of money, time and resources. Behaviorists don't work 24/7 with an animal at a price point most owners who might want that service can probably afford. They're usually 1-3 1-hour visits a week, and the dog is with the family the rest of the time. If there are children involved, it may not be safe to continue working with an aggressive animal for "extensive training".

True but it’s very important to consult with a veterinarian. Some people consider separation anxiety as a medical reason to euthanize since their pets can be destructive. It’s important to have an honest assessment of the situation by a veterinarian. Unprovoked biting is quite different from anxiety.

Although I get some people will object, I support people euthanizing a dog with major anxiety if they don’t want to deal with it.

I love my dogs and I would literally move or renovate my house to make it safe for them. But I know not everyone can do that or wants to, and I don’t think it’s fair to a dog who already has anxiety to send them to bounce around the rescue industry and probably end up in the same place anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t make it the vets decision. Vets have very high mental health stress and unusually high incidents of suicide. They become vets because they love animals and more than anyone cares to admit, many people put animals down for behavior or because the cost to treat is not something they want to pay. It is a terrible part of the job but don’t push the vet to make that decision. Decide what you want to do and pursue rescues if the issue is something like separation anxiety. Someone else will be at home and can deal with the issue. If it is biting, consider a muzzle.

Sorry, but the underlined is crazy talk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has a vet been consulted and has the dog been through extensive training or worked with a behavioralist?

You’d be surprised at what some people consider behavioral issues when they’re lack of training easily repaired by proper training.

I think the whole behaviorist blah blah is a little precious and ridiculous. No one should need to spend thousands on an aggressive dog to prove anything.

But I’ll agree with you that I’ve seen ridiculous posts in dog forums from dumb owners who don’t understand dog behaviors. Eg, ‘My new puppy is biting me when we play. What’s wrong with her?’

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only if in consult with a board-certified veterinary behaviorist. I had an otherwise very friendly dog who randomly started attacking my other dogs at age 8. He had never shown a single aggressive tendency before. Took him to the behaviorist and got him treated for pain and put some other stuff in place to reduce his stress level. Zero additional incidents 4.5 years later.

Oh please

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never. I would find someone who can help the dog even if that wasn't me.

There are so many non-dangerous dogs in need of homes. Dogs that could be happy normal pets. When you pass an "unfixable" dog on, whether that dog is a biter or just a stress ball that can't function as a pet, you are taking up a place that could go to a more adoptable animal while keeping a miserable dog in its misery. It's unkind and selfish to do that.

This. A dog with pre-existing problems isn't going to get better by being rehomed. They'll get worse first as they experience separation anxiety, the loss of all that's familiar to them, depression at losing their "pack"... If they survive that without being irreparably dysfunctional, they'll need to compete with blank-slate puppies and dogs with fewer issues and hope to catch the eye of a potential new adopter/owner. And then, that new person needs to have the skills and resources to not only deal with the rehoming issues/trauma, but whatever bad behavior(s) the dog had in the first place. Long odds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only if in consult with a board-certified veterinary behaviorist. I had an otherwise very friendly dog who randomly started attacking my other dogs at age 8. He had never shown a single aggressive tendency before. Took him to the behaviorist and got him treated for pain and put some other stuff in place to reduce his stress level. Zero additional incidents 4.5 years later.

Oh please

Yeah "board-certified behaviorist" is giving "reiki healer" energy. It's just a new way to make money. If you have money to spend on that, well, it's your money. But don't act like it's an "only if" because it's very much not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only if in consult with a board-certified veterinary behaviorist. I had an otherwise very friendly dog who randomly started attacking my other dogs at age 8. He had never shown a single aggressive tendency before. Took him to the behaviorist and got him treated for pain and put some other stuff in place to reduce his stress level. Zero additional incidents 4.5 years later.

Oh please

Yeah "board-certified behaviorist" is giving "reiki healer" energy. It's just a new way to make money. If you have money to spend on that, well, it's your money. But don't act like it's an "only if" because it's very much not.

Clearly you have never been in that situation....are you vet? Do you deal with anxious fearful dogs on a daily basis? Well I am and I have. The veterinary behaviorists are amazing!! I have seen dogs go from incredibly fearful to able to be handled. They need to have a combination of medication and training.....just like in people. Some primary care docs are well-versed in this. Some are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only if in consult with a board-certified veterinary behaviorist. I had an otherwise very friendly dog who randomly started attacking my other dogs at age 8. He had never shown a single aggressive tendency before. Took him to the behaviorist and got him treated for pain and put some other stuff in place to reduce his stress level. Zero additional incidents 4.5 years later.

Oh please

Yeah "board-certified behaviorist" is giving "reiki healer" energy. It's just a new way to make money. If you have money to spend on that, well, it's your money. But don't act like it's an "only if" because it's very much not.

They’re veterinarians who do very competitive multi-year internships and residencies. They study animal behavior and are highly skilled. It’s also not more expensive than a regular vet visit. A couple hundred for a consult. And yeah, I’d spend a couple hundred before deciding whether to kill my dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has a vet been consulted and has the dog been through extensive training or worked with a behavioralist?

You’d be surprised at what some people consider behavioral issues when they’re lack of training easily repaired by proper training.

I think the whole behaviorist blah blah is a little precious and ridiculous. No one should need to spend thousands on an aggressive dog to prove anything.

But I’ll agree with you that I’ve seen ridiculous posts in dog forums from dumb owners who don’t understand dog behaviors. Eg, ‘My new puppy is biting me when we play. What’s wrong with her?’

Most people don’t want to put down their dogs. And most dogs showing aggression aren’t doing it from the get go. When dogs exhibit aggression as a new behavior (i.e. a behavioral change), there is a physical pain component like 70-80% of the time.

For people who would like to avoid putting their dog down, getting a behaviorist evaluation is a pretty easy step. You can see if there is a pain component and you can try anxiety meds if recommended. The behaviorist will also do a danger assessment and make recommendations accordingly. And don’t be fooled, they often recommend behavioral euthanasia.