Do I need to have my Siberian Put down Friday?

Better euthanasia than a dead child. I have re-habbed and managed an aggressive, dangerous resource-guarder, but we have no children, and would not have attempted the feat if we did.

Nobody should suggest a dog with this aggression to be homed with a family and kids. On the other hand, a home without kids and a knowing, properly trained person can turn this situation around.

Dear Ric,

I am really sorry that you have to be making this decision, it's the hardest decision in the world to make.

When I wrote that this behavior is preventable, I mean that it is really important in general to nip resource guarding in the bud, others wrote well about how to do that in the future. Mine! is a great book.

This is obviously an incredibly emotional subject, and you will be getting some emotional responses here that blame you or suggest that certain kinds of rehoming situations will work for you. As someone who has been faced with this decision myself, I have two things to say:

1. You are the only person who can weigh the life of this dog against the safety of your family and larger community. You are the only one who can decide how much risk you can take, and you are the only one who is responsible for this dog. Being responsible to this dog--loving this dog--means being able to assess the situation and do what is best for everyone involved.

It's not just about the emotional impact of being responsible for the dog's life. It's about actually being responsible for the dog's life. Having a dangerously aggressive dog means not being able to let someone else take care of your dog when you go on vacation. It means two leashes and a muzzle. It means being very, very aware of your dog all the time because your dog is, potentially, a weapon. Depending on your lifestyle, it can be a really stressful way to live.

2. This can mean making a really terrible decision. I have put a dangerously aggressive dog down, and it was the hardest thing I have ever done. But I have never regretted it, and I have a much clearer sense of what being responsible for an animal's life means now that I have been responsible (in a way) for an animal's death.

I will never tell you what to do with your dog. I can say that I felt better having a complete thyroid panel and working with a behaviorist first. If you need to talk, feel free to PM me.

Wishing you strength,
--Deborah

Deb...........I have dealt with many dogs not suitable for children............I just don't see putting a dog down for something that might be something a trained person can deal with.......

ORIGINAL:  Cane Corso
 
Why do you want to put him down? You are making an excuse to get rid of this dog because you have not teach him to be calm around his food.

The OP is not making excuses.  So far his attempts at training have failed and his situation is such that the dog may be a threat to children.  I imagine that the OP is also becoming afraid of the dog himself after a trip to the ER.
 
The responsible thing to do in this situation is to ask for and try new ideas.  Then a frank evaluation needs to be made of whether or not the OP can safely manage the dog.  If the answer is no, then sadly the dog should be PTS in the arms of his owner.
 
The OP obviously loves his dog and I don't think it is fair to try to make him feel worse than he already does.

Deb...........I have dealt with many dogs not suitable for children............I just don't see putting a dog down for something that might be something a trained person can deal with.......

Three things:

1. I don't think it's responsible to rehome a dog that bites any human severely enough to necessitate medical care. Rehoming is stressful for dogs, and the chances that this stress will escalate the aggression problem are excellent. In that scenario, the OP is still responsible for injuries other people incur because he did not solve the problem. Why on earth, when the stakes are so high, would the OP trust anyone who says they can take care of the dog?

2. It is respectful to the OP to understand the full weight of his responsibility and let him make the choice. You are free to deal with dogs that bite and accept that risk, just as the OP is free to understand that he cannot take the risk if that is what he chooses.

I don't think it's appropriate to try to make that kind of choice for someone else.

3. You haven't seen the dog. Neither of us have. I think that's important to keep in mind. It's really easy to talk about this as an abstraction, and it's another thing entirely to live with it. "not suitable for children" may mean something different to you and the OP. Words are insufficient like that--we don't have the whole picture and never will because we are on an internet forum.

This makes it really easy to judge the OP (Cane Corso), or use his problem as a platform for a larger, more general issue. But is that fair?

ORIGINAL: Cane Corso
Why do you want to put him down? You are making an excuse to get rid of this dog because you have not teach him to be calm around his food.It is not the dog's fault that he became this, but yours. You taught him that it was ok for him to act like this now you want to euthanize him. After him being gone, I hope you will not get another dog. I would feel sorry for the next dog but not you

You know not of which you speak.... In this case and in many of your other responses.

I make no excuses for the dog. As a past owner of Siberians, I had no problems. Today at the vet he attacked the assistant and the vet.

I am very much aware not to allow him to dominate people. I have had dogs my entire life.... And never had a problem.

This experience of having to put him down as a result of today and past experiences already described was a very difficult thing for me to do.. I will not get another dog.... But not for the reasons you think.

I have read some of your responses to other posts; and how you constantly reply
as if your a wounded animal. I feel sorry for you.

I'm sorry for your loss.   Be kind to yourself in your grief.  In your heart of hearts you should know that you did the best you could.

This is not my area to moderate, but if it were I'd be editing this last post and I would ask the poster to go in and do it himself.
 
This is uncalled for to be so ugly and hateful to other forum members.  On both parts.

you know, I love dogs as much as the next person, but if my dog was human aggressive and I had sought a behaviorist (like Chezra HAS) I would not HESITATE to euthanize my dog. And it would be the MOST HEARTBREAKING decision I would EVER have to make.
Chezra has stated that he has had this dog since the dog was 6 weeks (or was it 8?) old. If the vet doesn't find a thyroid problem, then euthanasia might be due. It's not going to be an easy decison, obviously, or Chezra would not be HERE talking about it. He doesn't owe any of us an explanation for what he's doing and it's obviously a hard decision to make. He came here for advice for a decision that is not an easy one.

I can see if Chezra had adopted the dog, well then, he could not be sure of the dog's past, but sometimes dogs come out and things just aren't right. He's already been bitten to the BONE, and to me, well, he found out that things just aren't right before a child did...

I wish you luck, Chezra. I, for one (along with several other people here), know it isn't an easy decision (or it wouldn't be, anyway) and you should be able to make the decision without being faced with judgment. Please don't focus on some of the insensitive things that have been said here, and realize that you are the one that is faced with this difficult decision, not those that have sat in judgment of you.

Chewbacca, that was a beautiful, elegant, and honest post and I agree with you wholeheartedly.
 

I'm very sorry for your loss.  I know what kind of an emotional roller coaster difficult dogs can put you on.  His psychological distress is over with now and he can wait happily for you on the other side.  And, don't for one minute blame yourself over this or take it personally how he was acting.  When he was doing those things he wasn't the dog, the friend, you knew by name.  He was an animal acting on instinct. 

Chezra, you have my condolences just as would any person who lost a pet.  You did what was right for you and your dog after lots of soul searching.  The dog is now at peace at the Rainbow Bridge waiting for his beloved owner. 
 
When you have grieved and are ready, I hope you get another dog.  It would be a shame to deprive yourself and that dog of the love you could share.
 
Hunt, Laurel, Angel Pawprints: Reflections On Loving and
Losing a Canine Companion, 2/2000, (out of print)
>http://tinyurl.com/5wyf6[/size]
 
Kowalski, Gary, Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet[font=verdana][size=3], 9/1997
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Nieburg, Herbert[font=verdana][size=3], Pet Loss: A Thoughtful Guide for Adults and Children, 3/1996
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Sife, Wallace[font=verdana][size=3], The Loss of a Pet, 3rd edition, 11/2005[/size][/font]
[link>http://tinyurl.com/yt34zt]http://tinyurl.com/yt34zt[/link][/size]

I'm really sorry for your situation, I know it must have been incredibly difficult for you and your family.

I agree with some others here than some dogs are better at the Bridge if they cannot be trained or managed despite the best efforts. I think you came here wanting some support or validation for the need to PTS. In a world of limited resources and time, sometimes euthanasia is the best option. The only other person who could handle such a dog would be someone who has been caretaker for wild canids and they are about as rare as hen's teeth. And that's the best that could be offered is management. It sounds as if you have had plenty of experience, especially with this particular breed. Because there are exceptions to the rule, there will be dogs that don't respond to training or behavior management. That's just a harsh fact of life. And even though you have stated that you won't get another dog for unrelated reasons, I think it may be the right decision to send him to the Bridge. Someone who might have thought of adopting him will instead have the time and resources for a gentler dog.
 
I read of a story where a guy's dog got out of the yard and attacked someone. He gave the victim permission to shoot his dog, as he would rather have the dog at the Bridge rather than have him biting and attacking others. And I am sorry for your loss in advance.

Not every dog can, or should, be saved.  It is easy for others to tell someone to continue to live with a dangerous dog - but most ordinary pet owners, and even pet professionals are not equipped to do so.  Sometimes, it has nothing to do with their abilities, but rather, their life circumstances and who they live with, or where they live.  I get just as mad as anyone when the issues that force a dog to be rehomed or euthanized are trivial, but aggressiveness that has a dog biting to the bone is not trivial, and the liability of owning such a dog cannot be overlooked.  Having taken the steps of consulting a vet and a behaviorist, I feel that our OP has been responsible to that extent, and the decision was probably still not easy.