- Sep 4, 2007
- 1,262
- 6
- 183
I realize this issue has likely been resolved, however I still want to give my input.
It does not sound like this dog is being aggressive, just a high energy hyper dog that needs work. HOWEVER, if it's to the point they are not planning to keep the dog I would put it down!!! Why? Not because of liability, or hard to rehome, or any of that, but for the dog.
This is a rescue dog with a sad past, I don't know how many here have taken in rescue/shelter/ or past around type dogs, but they rarely make it through without some issues, they suffer from separation anxiety at the least. So lets look at the options, rehoming, I guess if you know someone that would be awesome and willing to take in the dog it could work, although every rehoming the dog's issues will get just a bit worse, so the only way I would rehome is if I felt 100% that this would be the dog's last one, AND the new owner was fully prepared and willing to deal with whatever issue popped up. And you must realize this is not going to be easy on the dog he is being ripped from his home and family once again, and forced to adjust a completely new life, in this dog's case I would expect he would probably revert back at least partial to the dog he was before all that hard work had been put into him. Second option, no kill shelter, well I'm sorry but I would never send a dog to a shelter, you think that's not cruel? Again being ripped from his home and family, placed in a cold cage, and left to wither away until a suitable family can be found, which may never come, and dog like that is going to be hard to place.
Putting the animal down is NOT the easy way out! Dropping him off at the nearest shelter and forgetting about him, telling yourself some one great took him, while in reality he is put down (surrounded by strangers, scared to death) or spends the rest of his life living in a cage with no one to love, THAT is the easy way out, out of sight and out of mind! Or being rehomed and, again, forgotten, feeling you did the right thing and all is good, not knowing (and not caring because you choose not to know) that when he doesn't work out (or it turns out he's just a lot easier to deal with on a chain in the yard with little to no interaction, cause that would just be soo much better then death!) he's pasted on to the next person, then the next, until he eventually dies or is put down (or even dumped on the street). Sometimes death is the kinder option.
NOW if I was the one in this situation what would I do? I would suck it up and figure out how to fit this dog into my schedule and life, why? Because #1 it doesn't sound like he's actually being aggressive, and #2 that is the commitment I made when I brought the dog home and that doesn't just mean I only have to honor it as long as it's convenient. IF he was showing real aggression and I feared my child's safety was in question, putting him down would be back on the table. And it would be done humanly surrounded by his loving family.
Now it's not something that would be done without a lot of thought and consideration, I probably wouldn't do it over one quick snap, especially if it was completely out of the blue (I don't think dogs w/out some kind of health issue just snap! Yes I've heard of it, but anytime I've actually been able to witness it, the dog has been throwing signals, and even at times practically screaming it, before it's had enough, I have seen sooo many children allowed to torment and abuse the family pet, and the parents are oblivious! He's always done that to Muffin, she's never minded before!?). I've seen to many parents jump the gun when the family pet nipped their kid, without considering why it may have happened? Like, for example, the dog that, after being put down, had a 3 inch pencil removed from inside it's ear. I have a nephew that not once, but twice bit my dog!! In the first case I was standing right there, saw him do it and quickly corrected him (the child, not the dog), don't remember how much time went by between then and the second bite, in that case my mom and sister were both 4 foot away, neither saw what happened, just heard the dog yell and the kid start crying, he has a bloody mark on his face (the kid not the dog), and they had no idea if he (the dog) bit him or what (although that was the first assumption), (in a different family my dog would have probably been put down, or dragged outside and shot on the spot, without even figuring out exactly what happened), I had come in when I heard the commotion and already had a pretty good idea, so I checked my dog's ear, sure enough a nice wet bite mark right on the end of his ear. As for the child's injury, it was squarish, and scraped down, just the perfect shape of my dog's toenail (I'd recently trimmed them, making them squared off), where he'd leaned back bringing his foot up then down (across the child's face). I always make sure my dogs have a place they can go to get away from annoying children (or adults), a crate generally, and when they are there the children are NOT allowed to bother them, I think this generally keeps everyone safe, the dog never feels the need to snap when his warnings or beggings (for peace) are ignored.
It does not sound like this dog is being aggressive, just a high energy hyper dog that needs work. HOWEVER, if it's to the point they are not planning to keep the dog I would put it down!!! Why? Not because of liability, or hard to rehome, or any of that, but for the dog.
This is a rescue dog with a sad past, I don't know how many here have taken in rescue/shelter/ or past around type dogs, but they rarely make it through without some issues, they suffer from separation anxiety at the least. So lets look at the options, rehoming, I guess if you know someone that would be awesome and willing to take in the dog it could work, although every rehoming the dog's issues will get just a bit worse, so the only way I would rehome is if I felt 100% that this would be the dog's last one, AND the new owner was fully prepared and willing to deal with whatever issue popped up. And you must realize this is not going to be easy on the dog he is being ripped from his home and family once again, and forced to adjust a completely new life, in this dog's case I would expect he would probably revert back at least partial to the dog he was before all that hard work had been put into him. Second option, no kill shelter, well I'm sorry but I would never send a dog to a shelter, you think that's not cruel? Again being ripped from his home and family, placed in a cold cage, and left to wither away until a suitable family can be found, which may never come, and dog like that is going to be hard to place.
Putting the animal down is NOT the easy way out! Dropping him off at the nearest shelter and forgetting about him, telling yourself some one great took him, while in reality he is put down (surrounded by strangers, scared to death) or spends the rest of his life living in a cage with no one to love, THAT is the easy way out, out of sight and out of mind! Or being rehomed and, again, forgotten, feeling you did the right thing and all is good, not knowing (and not caring because you choose not to know) that when he doesn't work out (or it turns out he's just a lot easier to deal with on a chain in the yard with little to no interaction, cause that would just be soo much better then death!) he's pasted on to the next person, then the next, until he eventually dies or is put down (or even dumped on the street). Sometimes death is the kinder option.
NOW if I was the one in this situation what would I do? I would suck it up and figure out how to fit this dog into my schedule and life, why? Because #1 it doesn't sound like he's actually being aggressive, and #2 that is the commitment I made when I brought the dog home and that doesn't just mean I only have to honor it as long as it's convenient. IF he was showing real aggression and I feared my child's safety was in question, putting him down would be back on the table. And it would be done humanly surrounded by his loving family.
Now it's not something that would be done without a lot of thought and consideration, I probably wouldn't do it over one quick snap, especially if it was completely out of the blue (I don't think dogs w/out some kind of health issue just snap! Yes I've heard of it, but anytime I've actually been able to witness it, the dog has been throwing signals, and even at times practically screaming it, before it's had enough, I have seen sooo many children allowed to torment and abuse the family pet, and the parents are oblivious! He's always done that to Muffin, she's never minded before!?). I've seen to many parents jump the gun when the family pet nipped their kid, without considering why it may have happened? Like, for example, the dog that, after being put down, had a 3 inch pencil removed from inside it's ear. I have a nephew that not once, but twice bit my dog!! In the first case I was standing right there, saw him do it and quickly corrected him (the child, not the dog), don't remember how much time went by between then and the second bite, in that case my mom and sister were both 4 foot away, neither saw what happened, just heard the dog yell and the kid start crying, he has a bloody mark on his face (the kid not the dog), and they had no idea if he (the dog) bit him or what (although that was the first assumption), (in a different family my dog would have probably been put down, or dragged outside and shot on the spot, without even figuring out exactly what happened), I had come in when I heard the commotion and already had a pretty good idea, so I checked my dog's ear, sure enough a nice wet bite mark right on the end of his ear. As for the child's injury, it was squarish, and scraped down, just the perfect shape of my dog's toenail (I'd recently trimmed them, making them squared off), where he'd leaned back bringing his foot up then down (across the child's face). I always make sure my dogs have a place they can go to get away from annoying children (or adults), a crate generally, and when they are there the children are NOT allowed to bother them, I think this generally keeps everyone safe, the dog never feels the need to snap when his warnings or beggings (for peace) are ignored.
