Hey, one of my paid jobs at a shelter was training dogs who were "borderline unadoptable" because of training issues. I am all for saving dogs.
But a simple fact is that you just can't save all of them. And a sad fact is lovely, healthy, cuddly dogs are being put down every second of every day.
Also, some dogs are just wired wrong. I had to put down a schnauzer mix that I loved, he got very aggressive in a strange way and it was because of a brain tumor. How do you train away from a brain tumor?
These things happen. People can be neurotic, schizophrenic, etc. So can dogs.You can't really train away from a neurosis. You can sedate them until they're drooling idiots, but what kind of a life is that? And heaven forbid you forget a dose, I've seen that and it's not a happy event.
But say, lets all beat on the OP and say it IS nothing but a training problem. Well, in nearly three years it's been a problem too big for them to deal with. Do they keep struggling with a dog that (at this point) a professional may have trouble handling? And what trainer do they go to? When I had that little schnauzer mix it was before I became a trainer myself. I called every one in the phonebook of a large city. "Keep Alpha rolling him till he gets it" "Just pull his teeth" "You just don't love him enough, dogs need love" "Get about 6 inches of garden hose and whack it across his muzzle every time he makes eye contact"
I'm serious! These are some of the EXACT replies I got. They are burned in my brain forever and why I learned all I could about training and went on to be a trainer. GOD BLESS the trainer who listened carefully and asked me if I'd seen a vet. And the vet found a tumor.
So just maybe if the OP were educated enough in canine behavior they'd be able to do something about it. And just maybe they couldn't.
Either way, in the meantime, this dog could bite someone again. What would you say if this dog lived next door to you? Right next to the yard your children played in? This dog has BITTEN someone. And it is NOT the first time it has acted aggressively. How many of you would be singing a different tune if it was YOUR loved one who was bitten by a dog who was known to be aggressive?
How much time and money and heartache should the OP spend on a dog who may cost them their home and life savings? Before you answer that question, go to the pound and volunteer to walk the dogs to the back room for their last shot and then tell me that THIS dog deserves to live more then those dogs do. Or maybe the OP should take a deep breath, have a good cry, put this dog down, buy a good training book and read it and then go adopt some lovely, sweet, older dog who's only fault was that the old owner got a new couch and the dog's fur doesn't match it (you would NOT believe how often I've heard that)
