[Blondiega1]

zoo, on 03 May 2012 - 11:57 AM, said:

It was so nice meeting with you today and I already feel so much better about this. You are so knowledgeable and have already taught us so much. We have no doubt that you are the right person for this situation and bear! We look forward to working with you.

Hoping for a happy ending, but please please please keep your little ones safe from him!
I know you will.

[2busy4?]

I am so glad something might work!!!

Please keep us posted on his progress.

[Just thinkin' hard]

zoo, on 03 May 2012 - 11:57 AM, said:

It was so nice meeting with you today and I already feel so much better about this. You are so knowledgeable and have already taught us so much. We have no doubt that you are the right person for this situation and bear! We look forward to working with you.

Hurray for Bear!!! (and all his peeps)

[swtmaggy]

zoo, on 03 May 2012 - 11:57 AM, said:

It was so nice meeting with you today and I already feel so much better about this. You are so knowledgeable and have already taught us so much. We have no doubt that you are the right person for this situation and bear! We look forward to working with you.

I just put down a 11 year member of our family. It was a tough choice. She was a red heeler and since puppyhood had a strong herding drive. As a puppy we got her 2 rats to herd. She was the family dog for many years and was submissive to our Shepard. When he died she took lead dog and bit every dog that came near her. We had to separate her from the other 3 dogs and it was a continuous fear that she would run into them. The other day she got lopse by accident and nipped the lawn man, I was done... I live in a neighborhood where the kids are all in the street in front of my house. I rebuilt the fence up and down, I had obedience classes. This last bite scared me that next time it would be a kid on a bike, or running. Over the last 2 years the vet has advised me that she was unstable but I just couldn't make the decision. Its been a month every one is still sad but the peace and harmony is worth it. I could not rehome her cause I didn't want to pass my problem on. Whatever choice you make is your own and no one should influence you one way or another.

[Just thinkin' hard]

swtmaggy, on 03 May 2012 - 09:09 PM, said:

I just put down a 11 year member of our family. It was a tough choice. She was a red heeler and since puppyhood had a strong herding drive. As a puppy we got her 2 rats to herd. She was the family dog for many years and was submissive to our Shepard. When he died she took lead dog and bit every dog that came near her. We had to separate her from the other 3 dogs and it was a continuous fear that she would run into them. The other day she got lopse by accident and nipped the lawn man, I was done... I live in a neighborhood where the kids are all in the street in front of my house. I rebuilt the fence up and down, I had obedience classes. This last bite scared me that next time it would be a kid on a bike, or running. Over the last 2 years the vet has advised me that she was unstable but I just couldn't make the decision. Its been a month every one is still sad but the peace and harmony is worth it. I could not rehome her cause I didn't want to pass my problem on. Whatever choice you make is your own and no one should influence you one way or another.

You're describing alot of what we went through with our chessie bay retriever. The vet thought he might have suffered an anuersym - hence the sudden attack on my dad. But, my mom was done at that point. 10 years of this and she was done.

[gog8tors]

I am happy you have changed your mind, and are willing to try. I know with small children it can be a hard decision. I too have been in that position. We had a Husky that chewed everything (and, I do mean everything) including my DD, she wasn't quite 2 at the time. We were able to re-home her with someone who knew the breed. We did think of putting her down, but our friend came through.
Good luck to you, and your furpuppy.

[HANK jr]

I have followed this post for 2 days now, and thought I should share my story with ya. I got my American Bulldog when he was a puppy.. I even watched him being born. All was good from the start..About 1 year in.. It got bad. He starting attacking all of my animals, and got aggressive. He challenged my kids, wife and ME.. The choice really sucked.. But we put him down.. No relocate.. No dog whisperer, I miss my Jager everyday.. But.. It was a responsible thing to do. The choice is yours..but don't be stupid... Just my opinion..

[smb90]

HANK jr, on 04 May 2012 - 12:56 AM, said:

I have followed this post for 2 days now, and thought I should share my story with ya. I got my American Bulldog when he was a puppy.. I even watched him being born. All was good from the start..About 1 year in.. It got bad. He starting attacking all of my animals, and got aggressive. He challenged my kids, wife and ME.. The choice really sucked.. But we put him down.. No relocate.. No dog whisperer, I miss my Jager everyday.. But.. It was a responsible thing to do. The choice is yours..but don't be stupid... Just my opinion..

When I was little, we had the same thing happen to us. It was an American Bulldog. We got him when I was 6 and right after he turned a year old he snapped. He bit me him the face for no reason. Then he went after my step dad. My step brother's uncle took him in as a pet and the dog did fine for years. My step brother would often go visit the dog and one day it attacked him and turned on it's new master as well. He got put down as well.

Zoo - I don't really know what you should do, I have not met your dog and I have no idea what is going on behind the scenes (health, ect..). I can not put my place in your shoes, I was a kid then. I really hope that you make the right choice for your dog and that if it does come down to rehoming him that the new owners know what he is doing (or has done if you can correct the problem). I wish you the best of luck.

This post has been edited by smb90: 04 May 2012 - 03:33 AM

[SOLO]

Love my dogs but family will always come first

[zoo]

gog8tors, I was always open for suggestions and although things were leaning towards being put down the whole reason for this post was to exhaust every option. Im sorry you assumed my mind was made up. Had it been, bear would have gone straight to the shelter and this post would have never existed.....

We did make an appointment with the vet to rule out anything medical but the soonest he could get in is next friday so for now we are just being very cautious and isolating him.

I dont know that this will change the outcome but I do feel much better after talking/working with pETIQUETTE. On a positive note, bear did not bite him when he came to evaluate.... although he wanted to...for now bear is showing restraint. I still dont trust bear and am absolutely keeping him isolated from my children, and others. I think we have a plan in place that will give us the time to try and correct this. I would love for all of this to work and bear to be able to stay a part of our family but at the very least hopefully we will get him to a point he can be re-homed. If we ever have to go the route of re-homing I will always be honest and let them know about the aggressive behavior bear showed...but im going to try and be optimistic that we can make bear work with our family

I do want to say if anyone has pet needs (training, obedience, etc) to please contact pETIQUETTE. We spent quite a bit of time together and he is amazing. He understands the importance and urgency to these situations. He is so knowledgeable and he is very open and honest. I dont know the extent of what they cover but I do know you cant go wrong with choosing them for your needs.


Thank you so much everyone for sharing your stories, advice, etc. I am truly reading each of them and taking them all into consideration.

[katcol]

pETIQUETTE, thank you for stepping in on this! I've been nothing but impressed with you.

[RDR8887]

I find most times the dogs are reacting based on the owners. I see it all the time at the local dog parks. If a dog senses you are nervous, they will try and step up for you. I see people coming into the dog park and they are terrified their dog will fight with another dog. They sense this and think they need to protect you. While I think the Dog Whisperer is a quack, his basic principals are true. Calm and Assertive. You are the boss.

I trained my dogs that aggression in any way in the home is not allowed. I have a 2 year old German Shepherd that we are working with a similar problem now. She doesn't like when the other dogs get attention and she tries to growl and put herself between the dog and myself. When this happens, I calmly walk her to her crate and she is basically in Time Out until she calms down (about 15 minutes).

Also, I don't let anyone pet or pay attention to the dogs when they come over. At least until they have calmed down. People are here for me, not my dogs. Once they know their place, they are better members of the household. They aren't perfect, but getting better.

Also, the dog recognizes the alpha in the home. If that is your husband, you need to be one as well. Otherwise, the dog will think that your husband is #1, the dog is #2, and you are #3. When this situation happens, the dog will assume the position as the Alpha when your husband isn't around. Unless you have a guard dog that was properly trained, you don't want this situation. It leads to trouble and the dog not obeying your commands.

I think I have spoken with the person you met at your home. They are good at what they do and I'm sure can help you turn your dog around in no time. As you will begin to find out, 80% of dog training is actually training the owner. You just need to learn how a dog thinks and you will be able to correct most situations.

Also, don't be worried because the dog has some pit bull. One of my dogs has about 50% pit and she is the best dog in the world. Rarely barks, calm, and loves a good back scratching.

Good luck! And it ever get's to be too much to handle, send me a PM with your number. I'll come see the dog and if I think I can help him, I will take him.