For those who didn't here's the deal...
We have an 80lb Lab, a 40lb Jack Russel/Beagle mix, and a 16 week old 25lb Great Pyraneese/Pit/Boxer mix.
The Lab has last attacked the Jack Russel. She had a pretty deep gash to the side of her face. She's fine, the vet cleaned it, no stitches since it was a rigid laceration.
This isn't the first time. She's also attacked the puppy twice.
She has EXTREME food aggression, too.
Her temper has been getting worse and worse these last 2 weeks and after this last attack, we decided to give her the benefit of the doubt one last shot because something may be physically wrong with her or sick.
We took her to the vet. The vet couldn't find anything wrong with her. We dropped a lot of money for extensive testing, blood work, etc.
The vet wasn't even optomistic (sp?) but gave us a number to a really good animal behaviorist.
He came out and evaluated her for hours, attempted to work with her and he even said basically, she's a lost cause. We got the results of the tests today and everything came back normal.
Now we are at a crossroad. The vet is worried bc I have a 4yo DS and just her size alone could overpower him. She said she's worried about the increased progression of her aggression and we have to get her away from my DS.
I HATE this. She bit my mom today, too.
I don't want to give her up, we're not those type to get a dog and first sign of trouble, bam they're gone. I don't want to put her down.
If we rehome her, it'll have to be a kid and animal free home.
Even worse, if we get rid of her, we can pretty much say good-bye to my dad :(
He isn't in good health and she is his life. We're already getting his affairs in order as it is bc his COPD and lungs are deteriorating quickly bc he won't stop smoking. We don't think he'll make it to the end of the year so taking Sadie is going to make it sooner :(
It's a double edged sword and I hate it!
Quoting Ollie123:
Sounds like you have done every thing you can do. You have a tough decisicion to make but in the end you need to protect your kid. Sorry I know it has to be heartbreaking.
We're all going to sit down tonight and talk about what needs to be done.
Quoting skittlebeans88:
You have to protect your child. Keeping the dog locked up forever isn't good for her either.
If she is rehomed, it will need to with someone with an alpha personality, not afraid of her, etc which will be hard to find because she's already bit me, my mom and both the dogs.
Quoting LoriLou75:If it were my dog, I would have it put down. I understand not wanting to do that though.....
It sounds like she thinks she is the alpha in the house. The only way to change her behavior is to change her status. I do a lot of watching of the dog whisperer and he teaches you how to be pack leader where all dogs know their place in the ladder of the home. I'm just suggesting that you go to his website and check it out. If you have the time and energy to put in to retraining the dog...and keep her away from difficult situations while you are training her...it is something to consider. If you do not have the time...then as you are screening people to take her...you need to find out of they are spoilers...or leaders. Your lab needs a leader personality to mellow her out. I wish you the best of luck with your situation...but as Caesar puts it...no dog is a lost cause...every person can be trained to be pack leader...even your son.
There's an emerging issue with Labs developing the sort of issues you're describing. Even the best trainers say that once a Lab starts to go around that bend, there isn't much that can be done to bring them back. The problem apparently stems from inbreeding show lines; the inbreeding is doing something funky to the Lab's personality in middle life. It's horrible that you have to make such a decision! Are there any breed rescue groups in your area? Breed rescues tend to be smaller and usually can take more time to rehome a dog appropriately. You might also see if a rescue group could get her sent to Dog Town (it's in the middle of nowhere, Nevada). They put in years, if necessary, to get a dog ready for an appropriate home and the "lost causes" stay in a special part of the town where they have a good life but can't hurt each other or humans.
Am I overreacting or? Eta and small update
- BeAmour
on Jul. 12, 2012 at 12:13 PM