Your advice for an agressive dog, please!! - Page 5

because it is irresponsible to suggest something like this when the dog is seriously aggressive. - hodie

hodie - just to be clear suggesting to kill a dog without see him or offer any other avenues of help is the only responsible thing to do - good to know where you stand on what is responsible and what is irresponsible.

the op asked for opinions and i shared some options i know and have had experience with without being rude or insulting to anyone's else's advise.  i will continue to share opinions when asked and will from this point on ignore all insulting & baseless uninformed remarks and only engage in constructive conversations, but thanks for clearing that up for me.

iloveshepherds - i hope you find the help and answers you seek.  my best to you and Buddy, be safe and be well.

Have you ever had a large dog with attitude in your face and nowhere to run?  
yes

Or seen a small child after being mauled?
not mauled bitten but i pulled the dog off - i am very good alpha bitch

Or even just been bitten? 
yes

Ever see what a real dog attack looks like, I don't mean a bite or grabbing a sleeve, I mean shaking and pulling and not letting go.
yes i have had to take a 2x4 to a dog - not mine - to knock him out

Ever see a German Shepherd kill an 80 pound ram?     I have.
no i have seen a husky kill a goat - again not my dog 

Anyway, it's worth more than 5-10 $ and a few drop's if you had.
i never said rescue rem would stop the aggression go back and read what i wrote if you want to know what i said hodie's got me all wrong
 

justcurious,

I didn't read it in real detail.. just sorta skimmed .

My point isn't really aimed at you but rather this thing some people have about rescue and saving every animal.

Curing an abused tormented damaged animal.   And dangerous animals that are causing a lot of trouble for responcible people.

I think I'm losing my train of thought here as it's late and been a long day..

My dog ever bite's me and doesn't have what I consider a damned good reason I'll shoot him so fast he'll still be looking at me when he hit's the ground.    I would not own a dog I could not trust around the innocent public.  That doesn't include someone sneeking up my driveway in the dark or someone threatening harm to my family.   The dog better know the difference.

It's about control and safety and the worth of an out of control animal.

From what I read in the original post I would put that dog down.   I would have put Charles Manson down. I don't feel the need to save everything.

It's late, I'm tired, sorry if I offended...

Brent.

 Justcurious, 

I offered my opinion, probably a lot more experienced and knowledgeable than many here. The original poster basically already knows what she is going to do, and I suggest she already knew before she ever posted her. But, like most people with a heart, she feels badly and looks for some validation of her feelings. She alone is responsible for the dog and she alone will make the decision. Not me, not you. She already posted that her options are extremely limited. I did not see you or anyone else come forward with legitimate experience and knowledge and willing to take this dog and evaluate it or try to train it.

I will state once again that no one likes to see a dog destroyed for no good reason. But some dogs cannot be safe in society and are a danger to society and those around them. Look at the latest BSL passed in Omaha, NE. Do you understand why, at least in part, such regulations were proposed and passed? They happen exactly because people think that every dog can be saved. It is not true. As related by Sam above, that is a perfect example of a situation where someone could have been seriously maimed or killed who tried to rehab a dog who probably should have been put down immediately.

Nothing personal. But I just think people need to be realistic about this topic.

I didn't read it in real detail.. just sorta skimmed .

My point isn't really aimed at you but rather this thing some people have about rescue and saving every animal. - two moons

brent - i do appreciate you saying this if my posts were actually read it would be clearly seen i said i too felt this dog might not be saved.

unfortunately i've had a very similar experience but it wasn't abuse it was poor breeding - the breeder bred only for hips and we later found out the dam had chewed the foot off another dog, among other things; and less than a year after our litter was born she was put down - she was 4yrs.  we also came to find out her mother, our dog's dam's dam, too carried a craziness about her; she had only one litter and died before she turned 3 - both dams had ofa excellent.  we worked with our dog - he was sweet and loving, just gorgeous soulful eyes, beautiful coat great structure - physically the best dog i ever owned - but his temp was unpredictable.

he just couldn't relax and had many triggers, and you could see it in his eyes when the crazy switch flipped. it's a long story but eventually we ended up driving 8 hr to try and rehoming him with someone who had a littermate but he bit the guy. living near by was another breeder who knew the dogs in his ped. and we had an evaluation done by him.  he was amazing, one of the truly great dog people and he felt we would have to put him down but if we we're willing to try to save our dog he would help us; and he did. we did just want he said and the dog never bit again but after 2 yrs the stress of having a "loaded gun" around all the time was too much and we put him down - he was 5 - we all cried even the vet.  it was a very sad day when you have to kill for this reason.  it broke our hearts to have to do this but i knew we had done everything we could and truth be told in the end i think the dog was happier - it's not easy being crazy.  he loved us and  we loved him, and it was clear to everyone he didn't want to go but we knew it was the right thing all in all but devastating nonetheless.  it was hard not to feel we failed him but for us trying different approaches really helped me be ok with in the end putting him down. 

from reading the op's posts it sounded to me that she too might need to go a similar route - to try 'everything' before she could comfortably live with putting him down.  this is why i looked up trainers who use methods that are known to be effective with dangerous and wild animals (both sats & ttouch were developed by people who work(ed) with wild and or zoo animals) the thing i don't understand is the need 'to be right' and to 'prove' this by ridicule others especially when they are just trying to help a person who is clearly struggling. if you read my posts i gave no dangerous advise nor did i insult the op or any other poster.  in my experience it's not hard to be respectful to people who are sincerely trying to help by sharing resources and tools with a person who is going through a very difficult experience.

I am sure glad to know I am not the only fool that has lived with a physco dog. You can never and I mean never relax. At the time I just plain did not get it, If I loved him enough, found the right trainer, the vet does not know him like I do, He is getting better and can tolerate more things in his life. Your life and families life has to be geared around this dog, Always on your mind, what if someone else in family or friend makes a mistake. I loved him, I cried when he passed an was RELIEVED all at the same time., What an iditot I was, I put everyone at risk. Accidents happen and with this type of Dog, you can not afford to have LIFE happen.

Justcurious,

I do not put you down, I just disagree.

I have experience with caged wild animal's, it's not the same thing.   I know a man who was killed by an animal he trusted.

He thought it was his pet, no, it was a wild animal that tolerated him until one day when it decided not too.

Next to saving animal's who'd be better off put down, people raising wild animal's is my second pet pieve.

Trigger's and crazy switch's....................?   These are fault's worst than any in my opinion.

I'm very outspoken on the subject of the personal responcibility man has for his animal's.  It's not you or anything else you have said about this particular topic.   

The OP can do whatever they choose,  it's not my call.   It's up to them to decide what their responcibility is.   You gave good advice as well as other's each in their own way.   There are no simple answer's.

$3200 dollar's is a lot to spend on a rescue,  To each his own. 

If the OP was a nieghbor and came to me for help I would see what I could do,  I have my way's.   But in the end a choice would have to be made, and it would not be based on emotion's but the welfare of everyone, especially the dog.

Rather than beating a dead horse I will let this go now.

No one is right or wrong,  we arent the one's who will decide.

Brent.

I do not put you down, I just disagree. - two moons

??  i have no clue what you are disagreeing with.  other than this first sentence (which seems like you're putting words in my mouth)  i agree with your post.

i guess what i'm really saying you could have left me out of your post and still said the same thing - take care

Hodie, you said As related by Sam above, that is a perfect example of a situation where someone could have been seriously maimed or killed who tried to rehab a dog who probably should have been put down immediately.  That's what I told her when I first heard about the dog a couple of months before that story happened. And I'm a real softie about animals, but I do recognize a dangerous dog when I hear about certain behaviors. A few dogs are psycho, not right in the head, and it doesn't matter whether it was caused by genetics or environment; you can't fix them. It's sad but true. 

I'm sure it's a difficult decission to make to put this dog down after the time, money and love you have given BUT please listen to the advise you've been given as it has come from some wise experienced folks who love the breed.  They would never tell you to put a dog down that they felt had the slightest chance in being a trusted companion.

My mother in law was a professional trainer who specialized in aggressive dogs and the most difficult thing for her was to tell people like yourself that there were no more options for the dog.  Sometimes it's just the reality.  If you feel the need to "try" do so with someone who specializes in aggressive dogs.  Another option may be to send the dog to someone experienced to see if they can work through his issues on a daily routine without having you put in direct harm trying to work through his problems at home without having the experience to do so.

It takes a special type of person to work with these types of dogs. My mother is law was not a big woman, most of the dogs that came to her were large breed dominant dogs i.e. rotties, pitt bulls, GSD's, Dobes....but even labs and goldens from time to time would be brought to her with some serious issues.  Sometimes it's the genetics, most times it's the level of care and often times it's a little of both.  Most typical everyday pet owners can't ever get past the fear of the dog so even if she herself were able to handle this type of dog it was her duty to base her conclusion on IF she felt the dog owner would be able to live with this dog responsibly once she turned him over to them.  If she did not feel it was safe for the owner, their family or anyone who came in contact with the dog she'd recommend PTS.  There was a time she had to put one of her own GSD's down after several years of raising this dog as a pup.  As the dog got older something just snapped.  It started with chewing rocks, big rocks she'd just snap them in half, not eat them but just bust em in half like it was nothing.  She'd growl at the family for no real reason, they could just walk past her while she was laying in the living room and she'd raise her lips growling.  There came a point that she too could not turn her back on the dog or felt it was safe to have her around anyone so she had to make that tough decission but to this day she'll tell you she had no other choice, no regrets.

I would not wait much longer in making a decission on what you want to do.  The longer you do nothing and continue with what you've been doing the worse the situation will get.  Good Luck to you and I'm so sorry this has happend.