Anonymous wrote:How old are your kids? Is this an older dog or a puppy?
I'm opposed to rehoming the dog. I think instead you need to invest in some good training. I have a very obedient, sweet dog, but he doesn't trust under 2 year olds. I've noticed he's incredibly patient with preschoolers though. He doesn't bite, but he does growl (without teeth) when children are too rough to him. Humans might think that's being aggressive, but it's literally his only way of letting kids know they're being too rough and he's a little dog.
Why was the dog threatening the dog walker?
No, just no. I am all for working with your dogs to train them and overcome aggression and fear and anxiety. All of that goes out the window when you have a dog that is showing aggression to your children. The best thing for the dog is to be rehomed to live out their life without kids in the home. Keeping this dog in a home with children could so easily lead to a bite and the dog will be euthanized. How is that fair to the dog? Once a dog has a bite history, the opportunity to rehome is over, no responsible rescue will rehome a dog after that.
This mindset that, if you rescue a dog, you keep it no matter what, even when it is aggressive towards members of your family, EVEN when those family members are children, is why so many people are resistant to adopting. The pendulum has swung from "rehome the dog at the drop of a hat" to "you must never, under any circumstances rehome" and we need to find a balance somewhere between these extremes. We need to allow for the fact that, despite everyone's best intentions, some adoptions don't work out and a new home must be found and I believe aggression towards a child in the home falls under this scenario.