what would you do? Dog help

[zzGypsy]

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I think this is true, they're smart, hard-headed, tough little dogs, with strong ideas and personalities. think about what it takes to be willing to get into it with a 2000 lb steer when you're that size. the trouble with them is, if you get one who's not willing to let you be alpha dog, or who is always looking to challenge you for that position, its a battle you have to stay on top of for their entire lives.

not only do you need to be willing to do whatever it takes to keep this dog controlled and contained with 100% certainty, and be willing to take responsibility for the risk of what damage could occur to a child if you somehow fail or this smart little dog defeats your plans, but you have to do that for the next 12-18 years. that's a big challenge.

I'm a good dog handler with a lot of experience, and I've taken on some tough dogs, with good success. Even with experience, sometimes you take a gamble and lose. we had a black lab / sharpei cross pup that was extremely agressive to strange dogs, but fabulous with people. we had her in a secure pen with 6' run fencing and no-dig cement footings. she had shown no inclination to try to escape her run. I was working with her every day on control, obedience, behavior, and getting some good success. one day this 20 lb 6-month old pup climbed the run fence, then climbed another fence into our stock yard and mauled and killed two 150 lb ewes and mauled another so badly we had to put it down. she had not previously shown any agression towards the livestock. we put her down the same day. I should have made the hard decision sooner, I should have prevented the suffering the sheep endured. I shudder to think what could have happened had she climbed the property exterior fence instead of the livestock yard fence. I put the neighbors kids at risk by not making that decision sooner. although she'd never shown agression towards people, she clearly had the capacity to be dangerous. your dog *has* shown agression towards kids. please think this through very carefully.

some agressive dogs have a place - guarding and defense work, or hunting feral hogs, for example. but if agression is not part of this dog's job, and it is part of this dog's nature, you will always, always have to be mindful and careful. that's a lot of work, with no room for mistakes. consider the risks carefully, they're real.

 

[xchairity_casex]

also rember no matter your decision dont feel guilty about it we cannot all be experts on dogs behavior we are not all experts on what makes a tick or do the things they do we do our best to help them and try to show htem what is and is not acceptable but sometimes we are unable to know exactly what it is that will stop the behavior. even the experts have cases they cant help and have to suggest the "alternative" to owners. we are two differnt species we will never fully understnd them though we will always try we never will and thats the biggest problem. so please evn if you opt to have this dog put to sleep dont ebat yourself up thinking "i should have tried harder" i did that with my last dog who was only 4m onths with severe aggression i kept thinking to myself "i shouldnt have given up on him i should have tried harder" and i thought "i should have just kept him and dealt with him not let him be put to sleep" but then i thought about what kind of a life he would have had never could he be touched becuase sometimes out of nowhere he would snap for no reason so i couldnt chance petting him he could never be let outside without wearing a muzzle never could i have him around ym nephew he would have always had to be locked away and thats no life for any dog. so please dont ever feel guilty

 

[cafarmgirl]

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The thing is, even if you found a new home for her as a ranch dog, those ranch dogs need to be ok with people too. Even a rancher/farmer doesn't need or want a time bomb dog that may very well attack whoever happens to stop in, walk or ride by etc. It's just way to much liability.

I am very willing to work with aggressive dogs, to a point, but not human aggressive dogs. I have one bone headed one right now with dog aggression issues but I am able to control him and we are always working on it. However, I do not have any tolerance for human aggression whatsoever.

I'm sorry but I agree that in this case I would have the dog put down. It's just not worth potentially ruining the life of someone who gets attacked as well as your own when you get slapped with a huge lawsuit.

 

[xchairity_casex]

Quote:
I think this is true, they're smart, hard-headed, tough little dogs, with strong ideas and personalities. think about what it takes to be willing to get into it with a 2000 lb steer when you're that size. the trouble with them is, if you get one who's not willing to let you be alpha dog, or who is always looking to challenge you for that position, its a battle you have to stay on top of for their entire lives.

that hard-headedness comes from the Bull terrier in the breed!

 

[ZoeS95423]

I have an blue heeler mix, and he is aggresive towards strangers, but gets along great with the family, and over time, he gets used to strangers, especially if they give him treats whenever he sees them.
He has bit 2 people also. Not terribly, just leaves bruises, but it does often terrify me that it could be worse.

We had one dog that was a a mix between like 5 different kinds of dogs, and he bit every stranger, no exception. He bit 2 or 3 people, and was an outdoor dog only, but with family the most loving guy ever. We finally got him a chain he couldnt break, and he lived happily with dailey walks, and attention for the next 13 years of his life.

 

[zzGypsy]

Quote:
I think this is true, they're smart, hard-headed, tough little dogs, with strong ideas and personalities. think about what it takes to be willing to get into it with a 2000 lb steer when you're that size. the trouble with them is, if you get one who's not willing to let you be alpha dog, or who is always looking to challenge you for that position, its a battle you have to stay on top of for their entire lives.

that hard-headedness comes from the Bull terrier in the breed!

well that makes sense... I *love* terriers but the combination of hard-headedness, independence and brains can be *very* hard to work with sometimes. get one with a tough personality and they can be a trial. now that you mention this, I can sure see it in the little cattle dogs.

 

[Snowygirl]

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x2 I'm sorry about your dog.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Need more information, such as age aggression first noticably occurred, and if it always happens in a pattern, or if it seems more unpredictable. Own a cattle dog (good with strangers when we are around, and seems to know who to growl at. Has helped us out of many a bad situation, such as getting some really creepy dude away from me), but also owned a cattle dog/aussie mix. We adopted him at around age two or three, the age many epilepsy related issues start. He became increasingly aggressive at very sporadic times first with our cat, then our dog, then us. Behaviorists did not impress us. Told us he was being dominant, even though behavior was widely unpredictable, he just didn't look "right", and was showing signs of uncharacteristic fear at these times. Turned out to be degenerative epilepsy, though I was the one to finally figure this out rather than the vets or behaviorists. He also did subtle things (odd blink, ran into walls one one side of his head on occasion) that if we had known what to look for, we could have figured out the problem much earlier. Meds unfortunately did not work well enough for him. Covered his emerging grand mals, but not the behavior altering petite mals. Had to euthanize him. Miss him as he could be incredibly sweet, but I don't have any regrets. Increasing aggression means I would look into the various likely medical causes for this. Either way, I would euthanize as I agree with others that people aggression in a dog is bad news. Regardless of what you decide, I echo getting a muzzle. Ensure you use treats and go slowly when introducing the muzzle. If you do that, you'll have a dog who does not fight the muzzle or you. Racing muzzles prevent bites, but still allow the dog to pant, drink, and eat, and can be left on longer than others. Very stressful situation to be in, and hoping for the best.

 

[navasima]

One thing you must get yourself to understand is that aggression like this is in no way YOUR failing. If you were a negligent owner, uneducated regarding dogs, apathetic about aggressive behavior - okay, then you need spanked, but none of this seems to be true! Not every dog makes a good pet just as not every chicken is good for the flock. Unless you have very controlled, specialized circumstances (and I really mean have been working dogs professionally & well for a couple decades or more) a dog that has bitten and continues to bite and display aggressive behavior is not a good pet. Would you give away a car if you knew that the engine could blow up at any time? No. A dog like this cannot be rehomed safely. The kindest thing, IMO, is to put an end to the unhappiness, both yours and the dog's.

 

[flowerchicks]

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You don't say how big your yard is (what is semi urban?). A cattle dog is not a city dog, it needs room to run and be active, and it needs a job or it will invent one (chasing strangers). Is walking her the only outside time/exercise she gets? If so, I would muzzle her anytime she went outside. If she has a yard, is there a reason you have to take her out on a leash? Does she know basic obedience, i.e., come, stay, off, down, etc? Does she have a good recall? If not, I would focus on the basics before letting her interact with anybody outside of your immediate family. If you have room in your yard, you can teach her agility. You can buy the set up online. Good luck

My first ACD did not like strangers, especially men, and I couldn't trust her around any dogs. She was barking and growling at strangers when she was 10 weeks old. She learned to like kids when the neighbor kids (who she would nip at on their skateboards) would come over and play fetch with her. She would start whining everytime she heard them outside because she wanted to play. But, I would NEVER let her outside, unleashed, unattended.. EVER! She had the normal ACD personality, she bonded with me and my dad, she liked my neighbor (female) and my brother and sister in law, and a couple friends who visited regularly, but anybody else had to earn her trust, and that took time. I would never let a stranger approach her or pet her. My current cattle dog is people friendly, she is cautious but curious about strangers, and tends to trust them quickly, but I don't trust her around other dogs. Even so, I am still always in control of her when she meets somebody new. She is a cattle dog, and they generally take time to trust new people.

I would definitely contact a dog behaviorist and have her evaluated. I believe that MOST of the times, the dog is not the problem. If you have a dog that's fine with you and your husband (and kids) and is aggressive with strangers only, I would keep her away from strangers, and introduce new people slowly and in a controlled environment while she was muzzled. I wouldn't take your ACD and your GS puppy outside together until you have control of your ACD. If you aren't able to get somebody to help your your dog, or keep your dog out of situations that may end in her biting someone, you should contact an ACD rescue group. If you got her from a legitimate breeder, contact the breeder. Putting her down should be a last resort.