Aggressive Dog + Little Kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You say that way your house is set up makes it impossible for the dog to be near the kids. This is a red flag for me. Do you have the dog primarily cornered off in one area of your house? If this is a large or active breed, that could be a major source of the aggression right there. It sounds like the dog is penned up like a caged animal and fed twice a day until your DH comes home and, what, walks him once or twice?

I don’t mean to pile on, OP. But you seem very inexperienced with dogs and it is unfair to your dog, and dangerous for your children. I’m not in any way saying that the Dog’s aggression is your fault, but you definitely don’t have the knowledge or experience to handle it (although I doubt anyone could handle aggression at this level).

Good luck to you. I’m sorry you have to deal with this. The dog needs to be put down

I basically stay upstairs during the day with the kids. We have stairs in the living room and kitchen. We are upstairs most of the day and come down to the kitchen when necessary. We are able to go outside from the door in the kitchen when we need outside time. The dog stays downstairs. We have gates at the top and bottom of the stairs in the living room and then in front of the kitchen/living room door as an extra layer of safety. He is crated evenings/nights so we can eat as a family in the dining room and have TV time. So kids and I have the top floor and kitchen, dog has ground floor except the kitchen.

DH works from home 4 days a week (downstairs) and only goes in to his office once a week. He normally walks the dog three times a day and lets him out in the yard for a short bit of time. I agree he should be outside more. He used to be out a lot more often and for longer but would dig out from under the fence. This was even after he was neutered. He also started hating walks. We used to do 30-45 minute walks. About 3 years ago, he would start jumping on DH and snarling after about 10-15 minutes until he brought him in. Now he won't do more than 10 minutes.

A dog that hates walks? Hmm. Is this dog getting regular vet checks? Have you talked to the vet about all these problems?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You say that way your house is set up makes it impossible for the dog to be near the kids. This is a red flag for me. Do you have the dog primarily cornered off in one area of your house? If this is a large or active breed, that could be a major source of the aggression right there. It sounds like the dog is penned up like a caged animal and fed twice a day until your DH comes home and, what, walks him once or twice?

I don’t mean to pile on, OP. But you seem very inexperienced with dogs and it is unfair to your dog, and dangerous for your children. I’m not in any way saying that the Dog’s aggression is your fault, but you definitely don’t have the knowledge or experience to handle it (although I doubt anyone could handle aggression at this level).

Good luck to you. I’m sorry you have to deal with this. The dog needs to be put down

Bizarre post. Separating dog and children is the usual recommendation. Do you work with problem dogs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You said in an earlier post that anything you do will be the wrong thing.

Euthanizing this dog is not the wrong thing. It is the right thing to do. No question. I'm sorry that it feels hard and it feels wrong, but it is actually right. You cannot risk this dog biting you, your husband, your kids, or anyone else.

Thank you so much for this. I know you're right, it has just taken me a while to accept it. I feel so guilty.

I’m a different poster who said something similar a few pages back. I just wanted to add that it’s OK to be sad about this, and to have all kinds of feelings about this situation - it’s a sad situation that no one ever wants to have to deal with. It’s also OK to feel guilty, even though I think you should feel confident that you’ve done everything you can.

I’m sorry you’re going through this, I’ve seen other people go through it and it’s so so so hard. ((Hugs))

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You say that way your house is set up makes it impossible for the dog to be near the kids. This is a red flag for me. Do you have the dog primarily cornered off in one area of your house? If this is a large or active breed, that could be a major source of the aggression right there. It sounds like the dog is penned up like a caged animal and fed twice a day until your DH comes home and, what, walks him once or twice?

I don’t mean to pile on, OP. But you seem very inexperienced with dogs and it is unfair to your dog, and dangerous for your children. I’m not in any way saying that the Dog’s aggression is your fault, but you definitely don’t have the knowledge or experience to handle it (although I doubt anyone could handle aggression at this level).

Good luck to you. I’m sorry you have to deal with this. The dog needs to be put down

I basically stay upstairs during the day with the kids. We have stairs in the living room and kitchen. We are upstairs most of the day and come down to the kitchen when necessary. We are able to go outside from the door in the kitchen when we need outside time. The dog stays downstairs. We have gates at the top and bottom of the stairs in the living room and then in front of the kitchen/living room door as an extra layer of safety. He is crated evenings/nights so we can eat as a family in the dining room and have TV time. So kids and I have the top floor and kitchen, dog has ground floor except the kitchen.

DH works from home 4 days a week (downstairs) and only goes in to his office once a week. He normally walks the dog three times a day and lets him out in the yard for a short bit of time. I agree he should be outside more. He used to be out a lot more often and for longer but would dig out from under the fence. This was even after he was neutered. He also started hating walks. We used to do 30-45 minute walks. About 3 years ago, he would start jumping on DH and snarling after about 10-15 minutes until he brought him in. Now he won't do more than 10 minutes.

Sorry but this is borderline child abuse.

Put the dog down. Do not get another dog ever.

If you cannot do the right thing and put your dog down, then your babies need to go live in a home where they will be safe, loved, well cared for and the priority of their parents.

A dog should NEVER take priority over children in a family.

This is shameful.

[Anonymous]

This is fanfiction

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You said in an earlier post that anything you do will be the wrong thing.

Euthanizing this dog is not the wrong thing. It is the right thing to do. No question. I'm sorry that it feels hard and it feels wrong, but it is actually right. You cannot risk this dog biting you, your husband, your kids, or anyone else.

Thank you so much for this. I know you're right, it has just taken me a while to accept it. I feel so guilty.

You should. You failed this dog.

[Anonymous]

OP, what breed is your dog? We had a lab who started showing bizarre aggression (barking at people while on walks, just to make clear, he was not biting, lunging, etc.) and it was due to the steroids he was taking for inflammation. The vet hadn't warned us that that could be a side effect (possibly because he was the world's calmest and tamest lab), and I wish we would have known. It was really scary. I say this because if you have a dog that isn't normally an aggressive breed then maybe something is causing the aggression. Animals tend to get more aggressive when they're in pain or feel otherwise debilitated (i.e. begin to lose eyesight). But if your dog is an aggressive breed, then I don't hold out much hope that there is some treatable solution here, and you definitely need to rehome him. And I would only do that with a reputable trainer or rescue who knows what they're getting into. Don't give your dog away and have them be scared and alone and stressed out only to be put down by a stranger. They deserve better than that.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry you find yourself in this position. I understand that it feels difficult.

People have to come before animals. Right now your children don’t feel safe. If the dog leaps a gate or you make a mistake handling the dog they may, indeed, be in physical danger. This is traumatizing for the children, and they can’t control it.

I get the instinct to want to use a trainer. I’ve been there with an aggressive dog too. Realize that un-learning aggressive behaviors is not the same as learning how to sit or stay. It takes a lot more time, intense focus, and baby steps. Even then, an animal with an aggressive history remains unpredictable and not entirely safe. (For every Caesar Milan show, there are animals that don’t get picked because the probability of success is low.) From your limited descriptions here, it sounds like you still don’t fully understand all of the dog’s triggers. I’m not blaming you for that, but observing that it’s hard to figure out sometimes.

Euthanasia is humane. A dog behaving like this likely is not happy anyway. You will feel badly for a few days and tender for a bit longer, but you will be able to manage the grief. In fact, you may find things easier once you’ve made a decision and you are no longer trying to balance everyone’s wellbeing.

I’ll observe too that this situation has gone on for a while. It sounds like you know it’s unwise. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it seems like something has happened to disrupt your normal instincts and sense of boundaries. I don’t think you’re trying to be irresponsible, yet you’ve dragged out a decision for quite a while. Once your house is back to a safer and calmer state, you might want to reflect on that. Was this really about the dog, or do you need to do more to take care of yourself? I’m wishing you all the best with the journey ahead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You say that way your house is set up makes it impossible for the dog to be near the kids. This is a red flag for me. Do you have the dog primarily cornered off in one area of your house? If this is a large or active breed, that could be a major source of the aggression right there. It sounds like the dog is penned up like a caged animal and fed twice a day until your DH comes home and, what, walks him once or twice?

I don’t mean to pile on, OP. But you seem very inexperienced with dogs and it is unfair to your dog, and dangerous for your children. I’m not in any way saying that the Dog’s aggression is your fault, but you definitely don’t have the knowledge or experience to handle it (although I doubt anyone could handle aggression at this level).

Good luck to you. I’m sorry you have to deal with this. The dog needs to be put down

I basically stay upstairs during the day with the kids. We have stairs in the living room and kitchen. We are upstairs most of the day and come down to the kitchen when necessary. We are able to go outside from the door in the kitchen when we need outside time. The dog stays downstairs. We have gates at the top and bottom of the stairs in the living room and then in front of the kitchen/living room door as an extra layer of safety. He is crated evenings/nights so we can eat as a family in the dining room and have TV time. So kids and I have the top floor and kitchen, dog has ground floor except the kitchen.

DH works from home 4 days a week (downstairs) and only goes in to his office once a week. He normally walks the dog three times a day and lets him out in the yard for a short bit of time. I agree he should be outside more. He used to be out a lot more often and for longer but would dig out from under the fence. This was even after he was neutered. He also started hating walks. We used to do 30-45 minute walks. About 3 years ago, he would start jumping on DH and snarling after about 10-15 minutes until he brought him in. Now he won't do more than 10 minutes.

Sorry but this is borderline child abuse.

Put the dog down. Do not get another dog ever.

If you cannot do the right thing and put your dog down, then your babies need to go live in a home where they will be safe, loved, well cared for and the priority of their parents.

A dog should NEVER take priority over children in a family.

This is shameful.

I agree. OP, you should be ashamed of yourself. Why have you not put your children first, above the needs of a DOG? This is completely insane and honestly I think you need mental help. There should never be a question of keeping an aggressive dog if you have little kids. Dogs have been known to maul and even kill children. How are you going to live with yourself if your precious dog kills one of your kids? I do hope this post is fictional because honestly it is really upsetting.

[Anonymous]

Most recent PP here. I too had to rehome a pet because of my child. The pet was very beloved but obviously the human members of the family must come first. Again, how is this even a question???

[Anonymous]

Just curious, if someone was taking an aggressive dog to the vet to be put to sleep what do you even say to the vet? What if it's a relatively young dog like this case, would the vet try and talk you out of it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious, if someone was taking an aggressive dog to the vet to be put to sleep what do you even say to the vet? What if it's a relatively young dog like this case, would the vet try and talk you out of it?

I think you would take an aggressive dog to animal control, not a vet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious, if someone was taking an aggressive dog to the vet to be put to sleep what do you even say to the vet? What if it's a relatively young dog like this case, would the vet try and talk you out of it?

In all likelihood, the vets won't second guess you if you say the dog is aggressive (particularly since in this case the dog has actually attacked members of the family already) but the vet techs might give you crap. They tend to be young super idealistic "save every animal" types that judge any pet owner if they won't absolutely bankrupt themselves or upend their entire lives for their pets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious, if someone was taking an aggressive dog to the vet to be put to sleep what do you even say to the vet? What if it's a relatively young dog like this case, would the vet try and talk you out of it?

I think you would take an aggressive dog to animal control, not a vet.

You are wrong. You take your aggressive dog to your vet for euthanasia, not animal control.

[Anonymous]

I'm having a hard time believing this is real. OP, we own and train (and have bred) German Shepherds. I love dogs! We have two wonderful, well-trained, well-socialized GSDs who I adore! Right now I have three German Shepherds in my house because I'm babysitting a friends' pup. We love dogs! No good trainer would ever tell you to keep an aggressive dog in the house with kids. I had to have a rescue dog put down several years ago. He started out fine and became aggressive over time. I took him to the vet to rule out physical causes. I talked with other trainers. The consensus was that he was a fear biter due to a history of abuse. The day he snapped at my husband was his last day in our home.

You do not, under any circumstances, allow an aggressive dog to live in a home with children. There are no exceptions. No good trainer would suggest otherwise.