I am sitting here crying - opinions please! (Update) - Page 4

I don't know if this was asked or answered yet.  Does he Kill maliciously or over playfully?  I had a lab that killed a few of the barn kittens.  He was just too rough with them.  Now that he is older and the cats can fight back nothing has happened.  If he is killing for the maliciously you aren't going to stop him.  If he is just too rought and unintentionally kills you may be able to fix with proper obedience and training.  My lab now can be left with the cats and any of the birds.  Plus all my dogs love the goat!  I really wish you luck.  These things are hard. My boxer killed and ate one of my hens earlier this year.  I was torn with what to do.  But working with her and teaching her that chickens were off limits helped me.

hello there.

buy the Dog Whisperer Videos - there is hope there.
Watch and learn. The dog needs to learn RESPECt and it is entirely possible. Ifno success,  get the actual Dog Whisperer guy on board - TV programmes are suckers for families with disabled children and animals!! Everyone will love it! something good from something sad.

You need him to respect so that he never hurts anyone by pulling or biting, he has to respect our rules even if he doesnt agree with them!

Theres a heap of simple rules, like making him wwait and watch you eat befor e he is allowe dto eat. Standing on his bed andover his dish to show youre the boss... it all builds up.

katedf

I'm so sorry. 

I know you are in a tough spot and you are torn about what to do.  First, let me preface this by saying that I am not, by nature, a dog lover.  I am an animal lover, but dogs are not at the top of my list.  We don't currently have a dog because we don't have the time to properly train a dog not to hunt our cats, the neighbors' dogs, our chickens or our goats.  But I want to say that ALL of our animals are members of our family, just as I imagine ALL of your animals are members of your family.  Therefore, as one of the chiefs-in-charge of caring for my flock, I will do whatever necessary to protect them all.  Our neighbor's dog got under our fence and into our yard where our chickens were free ranging and killed one of them right in front of me and my kids.  There was no stopping her from doing it.  It all happened too fast.  She got away with that one, but as soon as the neighbors got home, I went straight over and told them if she was in my yard again, I would shoot her.  And I would do it, too, because I have to protect all my family members, be they human, or furry or feathered.

From the perspective of someone not emotionally involved in your situation, you can get rid of your other animals (which you don't want to do - I wouldn't want to do that either), rehome the dog to a place where he is the only animal (which will be heartbreaking to lose him), put him down (which is not really taking care of him), take away all his roaming priviledges and not have any other animals in his access until you undergo intensive training with him (which will be expensive and time consuming and still may not work).

Let me ask you, how upset was your daughter that the dog attacked her hamster?  It must have been a traumatic thing for her if the attack was violent enough for him to actually break the cage.  Your children may start to resent the doggie for his antics, which might lead to improper care of him on their parts.

It seems like you have a lot on your plate.  If I were in your situation, I think I would try to rehome the dog.  That is waht we did a few years ago with a labrador mix we had that kept knocking out kids down and scaring them and chasing our cat.  We found him a home with no kids or cats.  Maybe you could call your dad and see if he will take the dog, since he obviously feels some connection with this dog.

Which is more important to you, the dog or your animals? do you have the time and dedication to work with the dog on his problems of killing animals?

If you do not have the time or resources, good option is to rehome him or put him up for adoption. At this point, I would not put him down until you exhaused all efforts in finding him a good home. Then do not get another dog until you can fufill the obligation and commitment to train and give the necessary attention to the dog.

after reading all this the only thing I have to add is don't discount my comment about him simply beinga  dog that's very gamey and prey driven...

one of my pit bulls is fine in the yard with the chikens ( like sharky on youtube for example)

my female?


She got a hold of one of my favorite hens yesterday ... the hen just got a little too brave and wandered into her tie out are ( my dogs go out for a few hours every day) hailey chomped down once, an egg shot out of the hen and hailey was just like... oops?

it was our fault 100% ... i think if you think about it your incidents will be mostly your fault as well.

I agree totally! Yes dogs are killers and yes they can be trained!!! There are different types of dog trainers and I understand you have already trained him but he might just need a more specialized trainer for problem situations. Don't give up on him!

I have Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and they are NOTORIOUS for being overly aggressive. All my chickens are completely fenced from the dogs but occasionally one gets out and they retrieve it (and kill it) unless told not to. Proper training, and some carefully constructed housing for your other animals should do the trick.

Be patient, he is only listening to his instincts not his boss.

One question: does he slink after he kills and acts submissive or does he try to show it off like "look what I did" or just walks away when it stops moving? The answer may very well help you with finding a trainer that can help. [again I would have to agree with contacting the DOG WHISPERER]

Good luck and don't turn to euthanasia unless all other possibilities are exhausted.
My thoughts and prayers are with you in your decision.

First I want to say you are in my prayers.  I had a whole paragraph to say, I read it, and deleleted it!! The bottom line is I know what I would do, but I am not in your shoes!  I would talk to your vet, see if he knows of any dog behavioralist that could work with you and the dog.  I would go with the vets recommendations, it is so easy for me to say something, YOU are in the situation, it is your family.  All of BYC hope for the best outcome for your family & pets!  God bless, Theresa

I've had dogs all my life, and worked for a Vet for a few years.  About five years ago, I got a puppy (half lab half pointer) and he was a nightmare almost from day one.  Never abused for a second - always a part of the family - HATED kids, would jump up and rip their clothes and try to pull them to the ground, when he got older he'd try and mount them.  Tried everything - even hired a trainer (against my better judgement, at that point I wanted to put him down but husband "loved" him) and got a collar - not a shock collar, but some kind of new technology that affected his nervous system and would stop him in his tracks - WAIT!  that sounds worse than it was, you could hold this thing in your hand and it wouldn't hurt!  Anyway, he got so he would look at me, check out my hand to see if I was holding the remote - if I was, he'd back off if not he'd just go right on doing whatever it was he was doing.

Long story short:  After all vet bills/neuter/shots and trainer etc. probably spent over $3,000 ... and Copper is fetching sticks for Jesus now.  I went to put down his food dish, he bit my hand ... ALL DONE!

If your dog is good with the kids, find a way to confine him to protect your pets and other animals.  A outside kennel during the day is probably the best option, let him inside to sleep with the family at night. 

All the best!  I feel for you - Laura