What to do with a dog?

[Charlievibe]

I have a question and would like to get some input. Here's the background info....I adopted a dog from a pet rescue group. On his first day with us, he attacked my mom so severely, that she bled all over the place. She wouldn't let me take her to the hospital because she didn't want the little guy put down. She needed stitches and later told me that she went into shock.Then, that night, I was trying to get him to go outside and reached down to scratch his ears, and he bit me, drawing blood.The next day, he seemed to be doing fine. That night, after he woke up, my mom wanted to move him off of her lap so she could get up, and he attacked her again.This morning, the dog is all love and wants to be petted. I am scared to touch the dog, as is my mom, obviously. I can't tolerate the dog attacking my mom. I am terrified that he will next turn on my other three animals. So, I am sending him back to the rescue group. The airlines thinks I am doing the right thing, what do you all think? Does it seem to you like something is wrong with the dog?Thing is, he doesn't growl or anything before he attacks. He just attacks.Thanks.

[Reynoma]

Very simply...the dog needs to be put down. Do it before he attacks somebody outside of the family and you have a lawsuit on your hands.

[Charlievibe]

Quote, originally posted by Reynoma »Very simply...the dog needs to be put down. Do it before he attacks somebody outside of the family and you have a lawsuit on your hands.When I talked to the person who had been his handler, I was told that he never acted that way with them, he was a good boy. Then I find out that he snapped at two people and nipped someone else on the leg. My problem is, I am a softie when it comes to animals and this is killing me. So, that is why I am sending him back to the people I got him from. Not only that, I had to sign a contract that I would not put the dog down, but would return it to them if there were problems.Oh, and so you know, his handler is who brought him here and saw the dog attack my mom that first day. They are trying to excuse it off as the dog was tired and my mom was a stranger.

[joatmon]

Sounds cruel and heartless, but I would have had the dog put down, and if it attacked my mom, I probably would have killed it myself. I know some here will differ, but to me a human life matters more than a dog's. That dog is a time bomb. You are right to get rid of it. What if the next person it attacked was a child? Sending the animal back to the pet rescue group is much more humane than what I would have done. It is admirable for you to have taken the dog from a pet rescue group in the first place, but don't beat yourself up over sending it back. The pet rescue group sent you a dangerous wild animal masquerading as a pet. I would recommend not getting any more animals from that group. I am assuming that animal is just psychotic, but not rabid

[MJN2]

Just return the dog to the rescue group you got it from. I had to do the same thing about 18 months ago with a Malmute I adopted from a no-kill shelter. They told me that the dog was fine with cats, and even proved it to me by taking it into the cat area at the shelter.But, after about a year at home, she started going after my cats, so I, sadly, had to return her. Good news was that she was adopted back out 2 days later, to a family with no other pets in the house. So at least I know she's ok.Better to return the dog to where you got it, and let them work with the dog some more to attempt to get rid of it's issues. If they can't, it will live out it's days at the shelter, which is still better than the alternative.

[AKLGT]

well i'm a big animal fan and i think everyone is right here. that dog is a problem waiting to happen. what if it was a small child it attacked? if you can't put it down, then take it back to the previous owner/handler. but something needs to be done or it will continue to attack. there's no excuse for it and the owner should also not make excuses. if that were mine (and i have 3 little dogs) i would have (sorry for lack of better term) beat the crap out of that dog! when my littlest one, only 6 lbs, bit my friends little girl, you better believe she was spanked and beat. she learned very quickly that behavior is unacceptable and just avoids small children. i warn any kids, including my 2 yr old cousin, to leave her alone or she'll bite.get rid of the dog. and i would report the incidents as well. the last thing you want is that dog to attack some little kid and really do damage... and you knew about its violent history.

[Charlievibe]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »Sending the animal back to the pet rescue group is much more humane than what I would have done. It is admirable for you to have taken the dog from a pet rescue group in the first place, but don't beat yourself up over sending it back. The pet rescue group sent you a dangerous wild animal masquerading as a pet. I would recommend not getting any more animals from that group. You know, we were talking this morning and feel that he was misrepresented to us. What we can't figure is why they would have done that. I guess they smelled 'sucker' when talking to me and went for it. And as for getting another pet through them, I have absolutely no intentions of doing that. I will just get my next pet(s) they way my current three came along....either strays or dumped where I live.Quote, originally posted by MJN2 »Just return the dog to the rescue group you got it from. I had to do the same thing about 18 months ago with a Malmute I adopted from a no-kill shelter. They told me that the dog was fine with cats, and even proved it to me by taking it into the cat area at the shelter.But, after about a year at home, she started going after my cats, so I, sadly, had to return her. Good news was that she was adopted back out 2 days later, to a family with no other pets in the house. So at least I know she's ok.Better to return the dog to where you got it, and let them work with the dog some more to attempt to get rid of it's issues. If they can't, it will live out it's days at the shelter, which is still better than the alternative.I am sorry to hear about your malamute. You had far more time than I have to form an attachment. I know you were so sad. This dog tugs at my heart because he looks so much like the dog we lost several years ago. And this is really hurting me to have to send him back. I sat here at work a little while ago and had tears running down my face I am so upset. And I do understand that there is nothing I can do to help the dog, the professionals need to work with him. But I just can't help feeling like I am letting the little guy down.I fell in love with the little dog as he was described to me and through all of the e-mail communications we had with the pet rescue facility. The dog that showed up shows some of the personality they said he had, but is also showing this aggression no one mentioned.He is on his way back to the people he was happy with tomorrow. I just have to say, this is tough. Thanks for all of the support, I am really glad to have you all out here.

[Charlievibe]

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »get rid of the dog. and i would report the incidents as well. the last thing you want is that dog to attack some little kid and really do damage... and you knew about its violent history. Funny you mention reporting it. My mom has suggested that I send an e-mail to the person who is in charge of the pet rescue and tell them that this dog was violent and should never be adopted out. But rather, should live his life with the other pups.Again, I can't thank you all for all of the support, this is really pulling on me.

[drunkenmaxx]

this is a toughie! well, the dog would make a good guard dog, depending on what breed it is. if it is the type to do that, you could put an ad in the paper for a free guard dog. other than that, the big sleep is really the only other option.

[wicked1981]

Maybe he is not used to being around new people yet. Get a muzzle and have him wear it all the time (except when eating) and see if after a few days he calms down if not return it!

[MJN2]

Quote, originally posted by Charlievibe »I am sorry to hear about your malamute. You had far more time than I have to form an attachment. I know you were so sad. Yeah, I was. Glad I was wearing sunglasses the day I returned her, because I was tearing up badly.Oddly enough, one of the big reasons I bought my Vibe was because it was big enough to haul her around in.Quote, originally posted by Charlievibe »But I just can't help feeling like I am letting the little guy down.I know how you feel. When I took my dog back, I felt like a failure, somehow. My family has owned Malmutes off and on my entire life, so handling one wasn't an issue, even when the one I had weighed a bit over 100 pounds. But, when she bit my 15 year old cat (no damage done, thank goodness), that was enough.Returning the dog is the best thing you can do. Consider the alternatives. If the dog were to bite someone outside of your family, it would most likely end up being put down, if the police were contacted.

[AKLGT]

well, don't let this experience ruin it for you for the future. my best friend is in vet school and she has adopted 2 dogs now and 2 cats. she would recommend any dogs used for lab study or vet studies are good. they are used to all kinds of people and pretty mellow. she has a rottie and now a lab-mix. so, not all experiences end up like this. just next time, go and see the animal first before you say yes... then you can get a better feel for its temperment...

[Stang2Vibe]

I'm sorry to hear about this, Charlie. We adopted a purebred Standard Schnauzer about 10 years ago from a breeder. She bred the dog and still had his parents on her property. Heck, she had most of his family there (the dog's grandfather was also there, he was 17 years old, blind and mostly deaf). This woman loved these dogs and was a very experienced dog handler. She adopted him to a guy who wanted to show the dog in dog shows, and the dog was AKC registered. He won a show and placed well in some others (we had the ribbons). The man who owned him had taken him back to the breeder because, as she told us, he had to move and would no longer be able to show the dog. He was VERY protective of my sister, as they make excellent guard dogs. One night, my mom went in my sister's room to say goodnight and the dog bit my mom just above the wrist. She was bleeding pretty bad and the puncture wound was pretty deep, though she didn't require medical assistance, thankfully. My mom was on the phone the next day with the breeder and that weekend we had to take him back. It ended up for the better because we couldn't trust him after that and about a month later we adopted a puppy from a local no-kill shelter that turned out to be the best dog we ever had. Too bad my stepdad is allergic to animals so when my mom got remarried and we moved, we had to give her away to another family. That was 7 years ago and I am still bitterly angry about having to give her up. She was my best friend though some of the toughest years of my life and I feel like I abandoned her.You did the right thing by returning the dog. I'd be willing to bet that he was abused and something that you don't understand is triggering his aggression. Sadly, sometimes this can never be corrected in some dogs. Hopefully they will be able to spend more time training him and he will able to trust people again.

[Charlievibe]

Quote, originally posted by Stang2Vibe »It ended up for the better because we couldn't trust him after that...The animal rescue group is trying to tell me that he acted the way he did out of fear and that sometimes it just takes a while for the animals to adjust to their new settings. I can live with that, had I been warned up front to expect some of this. However, you stated it perfectly, we just can't trust the dog anymore. I am scared to pet him because I don't know if he will turn on me or not.Quote, originally posted by Stang2Vibe »You did the right thing by returning the dog. I'd be willing to bet that he was abused and something that you don't understand is triggering his aggression. Sadly, sometimes this can never be corrected in some dogs. Hopefully they will be able to spend more time training him and he will able to trust people again.The dog came out of an abuse situation in California. He was at the pet rescue for a while...at least two months. What is making this so hard is that today, he is running around and acting happy like we are the bestest friends in the world. And he is so cute and being funny and friskie. And I look at him and it is breaking my heart, I so much wanted him to work out.He will be heading back to where he came from tonight. I can only hope that this is the right move for the little guy. Fortunately, he is going back to a no-kill type of place, so I am not having to deal with that thought as well.Thank you to everyone for all of your in-sight and support. While this is just killing me, it does bring me a lot of comfort to know others have gone through this or worse, and made it out alive!!!!

[AKLGT]

hey, that's what we're here for! aww..... someone needs a group hug! ****opens short arms as wide as i can****

[Stang2Vibe]

Salsa is right in saying that the dog doesn't respect you as master over him. It is much easier to teach this to a puppy and reinforce it as he/she grows than to get an adult dog to accept you. Teaching this to a dog that was abused is the most difficult. The animal shelter is correct in telling you that this can happen because of the dog's new surroundings, but I still think that you are accidentally triggering his aggression somehow without you knowing it. There's no way to tell how the dog was abused and if he thinks that you are about to make a move toward him that meant pain in the past (even though you are approaching him with the best of intentions) he thinks he has to defend himself from you or your mother.If he was only in the shelter for two months, that is not nearly enough time to train the dog. Unabused dogs will only start to respond to training in that time frame, assuming that they began training him the first day he got there and they worked with him every day. I'm sure that didn't happen. He needs a handler with a lot of patience and at least some experience with training dogs with that kind of background. The behavior can often be corrected by an experienced trainer, but like Salsa mentioned, he has to recognize and accept someone as the boss. If nobody in your household is his boss, then he will behave badly.I've worked with a few professional trainers when we went through our new dog experiences a few years ago. I was chosen (and gladly volunteered) to be the dog's master, as they all told us that dogs more redily accept men as authority figures. Mostly because men generally yell louder, have deeper voices, are physically bigger, and can seem more angry and aggressive toward the dog. The dog is less likely to fight back or be stubborn toward a male handler, though this is certainly not true in every case. There are many women out there who are outstanding dog handlers and trainers. I also think that more women than men are breeders and dog trainers, so they are very capable of teaching the dog who is the boss (afterall, women do this to men all the time, so... )It takes a special person and special training to work with abused animals. I can imagine that it is difficult work. If you don't have the training to work with animals with a background like that or don't have the time to spend on working with them, than it really is best to adopt another animal. I know it must be heart wrenching, and as you say he behaves fine sometimes and then goes and bites people. I really do believe that there is something setting this behavior off in him that you don't recognize, but he sure does. It is so difficult because you realize that he probably isn't really a bad dog and has had it so rough. But if he can't accept someone in your houshold as his master and he isn't trained properly for the behavior problems that he has, he will always be a potential danger in your home. That is not fair to you, your family, the other pets in your home, and the problem dog himself. You really are doing the best thing you can do by returning him, even though it may make you very sad to do so. Doing the right thing usually is the most difficult of the available options. My heart really does go out to you on this.