Help! We have to give away our dog!

[boysmom2]

He bit my dh this morning, hard. He's at the ER getting it checked out. We have 3 little boys, 7, 5, and 8mo. If he had bitten the baby as hard he would have lost a finger. We can't have him here anymore, but they're going to be heartbroken. How do I do this?

[ScootchsMom]

I'm so sorry! What provoked the bite?

Can you think of a family member that could take the dog? One that doesn't have children?

[JBaxter]

You MUST disclose the dog is a biter. Many shelters wont take dogs that have a history of biting. I feel bad for you but is there something medical wrong with the dog? Sometimes illnesses make dogs react badly

[NYCVeg]

If your dog is a purebred, I strongly recommended surrendering him to breed rescue rather than a shelter. He will be fostered in a home--which will be less traumatic for a family dog than doing into a shelter--and they will have experience training and placing dogs with a history of biting. Please post on the pets forum, too--you will get good advice.

But I agree with Scootch's mom that placing him with a family member or friend might be a better first choice.

[Pumpkincat]

Wow, i am sorry you are going through this, i know it is hard. I had to give up my dog a few years ago because she bit my daughter. It was provoked by my daughter, but i still would take no chances with my children's safety. Within the hour, i had her at the humane society. I cried the whole way, i still miss her to bits. They took her because she was such a unique looking animal, very good temperment (usually), just a beautiful dog. One of the people who worked there knew my dog, he lived a few houses away from me. I told them about the bite, but they overlooked it because it was provoked. That dog found a home within 4 days, to a childless family. Basically you have to just suck it up and do what is best for your family. Their safety is the most important thing. I also think a rescue would be a great choice. I would not let the dog go with family or friends, what if the dog hurt on of them? All this is assuming it was not provoked. in our case my disabled daughter bite the dog real hard first and swung her, that was out of character for her, but it happened. we do not have a dog now, just an old fat cat, nice and safe.

[dogretro]

Many shelters will put a dog who has bitten to sleep. They probably cannot afford the liability. This happened to friends of ours last year, only the dog bit the three year old's face (unprovoked). Totally sucked b/c the dog was the pet of their 12 year old, but you have to keep your family safe. I agree, though, that you must disclose that the dog bit.

Personally, I do not like to re-home my pets. I would prefer to have the dog put down & then I at least know what happened to him rather than worry about if he has a good life. So sorry this happened!!!

[seaheroine]

Originally Posted by dogretro

Personally, I do not like to re-home my pets. I would prefer to have the dog put down & then I at least know what happened to him rather than worry about if he has a good life. So sorry this happened!!!

For me personally, I agree with this. As hard as it would be, I'd never pass along a known biter. Who knows if it will come across another child at some point and bite them, potentially horribly? For a dog that has bitten previously, sometimes even constant surveillance isn't enough to prevent it from happening again.

Rescues can occasionally rehome a dog in an adult-only situation. That may be your best bet if you can't see yourself putting him/her down.

What a horrible situation. I'm so sorry, mama.

[lonegirl]

Originally Posted by dogretro

Personally, I do not like to re-home my pets. I would prefer to have the dog put down & then I at least know what happened to him rather than worry about if he has a good life. So sorry this happened!!!

Personally, as someone who has had to inject the euthanyl into the veins of healthy pets because owners have made this decision....it sucks! The hospital I am with now refuses to euthanise healthy animals. A biter is different (if behavioural training has been tried)

[SquishyKitty]

I would get in touch with a rescue and look at rehoming with a family who has no children.

I couldn't, in good conscience, put down a dog simply because they didn't work out in my home any longer.

[RooRooDog]

I am so sorry you are going through this. I've been there, although it was my dog attacking our other dogs, unprovoked and uncontrollably. And this dog was my best friend, my baby (before I had any children.) I totally understand- it's very hard when you have to say goodbye so unexpectedly. The fact that it's the right decision doesn't always make it any easier.

I agree with what the previous posters said, if you take the dog to a shelter/rescue group you need to tell them this dog has bit someone. If there are special circumstances involved in the biting (provoked, illness, unfamiliar people/situation), let them know about this, as well. They may be able to rehome your dog, but they may just put him to sleep As PPs noted, a rescue group would be much more likely to rehome him, although most have limited space.

I don't know if your situation warrants it, but you could choose to have your dog put down. This is what I did- my dog had other issues as well, and definitely would have been put down in a shelter. It was heartbreaking, but at least I knew he was warm and comfortable in my lap when it happened. Still sucked, though.

I hope your husband recovers quickly.

[earthgirl]

I am so sorry. We had to get rid of our dog when DD was an infant. She (the dog) was older and had unpredictable behavior, sometimes just snapping at DD b/c she moved too suddenly or something. We were very lucky b/c we had a friend offer to take her and she is actually doing very well in their home. I guess I don't have any additional advice, but wanted to say I'm sorry and I know how difficult this is.

[muttmom92]

Not trying to start anything, but the OP also posted about this in the Pets forum with more details. Her dog could possibly have something physical going on and it doesn't seem like the OP is addressing that. I think jumping to the conclusion that the dog needs to be put down is really unfair.

[madskye]

Every situation is different. If you feel the dog is truly aggressive, that's one thing. If the bite was situational/your dog has a health issue, that's another.

You can't give place an aggressive dog up for adoption without letting the staff know about the situation--but you can call different shelters and get their take on your unique situation. There are certainly "No Kill" shelters that you can also investigate and rescue organizations.

Dh and I had a very unpredictable dog for 10 years, who bit him once and snapped quite a bit. I thought we'd have to either beg my parents to take the dog or put him down when we had DD, but it never came to that. It was very stressful to live with once we had DD, and I hate to say it, but I felt lucky that he died of cancer before it became an issue. It's a very tough sitaution to live in, and with 3 kids you can't have a dog that you feel unsure of in your home.

But, unless the dog has a really disturbing history of aggression, I wouldn't assume it will be put to sleep or unadoptable.

[ollyoxenfree]

I just wanted to express my sympathy too. I hope that if there is an underlying physical problem that it's investigated. I think placement with a rescue organization is a good idea.

[sunnmama]

Originally Posted by lonegirl

Personally, as someone who has had to inject the euthanyl into the veins of healthy pets because owners have made this decision....it sucks! The hospital I am with now refuses to euthanise healthy animals. A biter is different (if behavioural training has been tried)

I've only injected a couple times, but have held dozens of dogs in my arms while they are euthanisized. Yes, it is always difficult with a physically healthy animal, but I still believe it is sometimes the best choice (for the animal).

It really does depend on the circumstances, of course. How many bites constitutes a "biter"? And at what risk?

s for the op. When I worked at a vet hosp, we would sometimes temporarily take in the dog of an established client under these "emergency" conditions (for a week or two) while the owner researched options.

[Maluhia]

Moved to pets, hope this helps.

[boysmom2]

Thanks everybody.

Originally Posted by ScootchsMom

I'm so sorry! What provoked the bite?

Can you think of a family member that could take the dog? One that doesn't have children?

Sorry for the lack of details. This is what I posted on the thread I originally posted in Pets:

He bit my dh this morning. We have 3 little kids, the youngest is a crawling 8mo. We can't risk him hurting one of the kids.

Here's some background: He's a 4yo shi tzu, we got him as a puppy. He's been a pretty good dog except that he likes to eat socks and underwear that don't make it into the hamper, occasionally gets into the trash. He was hit by a car 2 years ago and as a result has only 3 legs. He gets around fine. He's always been "my" dog. If he did something naughty and I yelled at him he'd cower and act guilty. If dh yelled at him he'd bark at him.

Over the past few days, every time he's been left alone he's peed or pooped in the house. He's done this occasionally over the years, but never like this. He did it when I dropped ds1 off at school, then again when I dropped ds2 off at school an hour later, then again when I picked each of them up... So yesterday I kept him in the kitchen all day. He still left messes, but they were easier to clean up. After DH got home, I bathed the dog and mopped the kitchen floor (I had been cleaning up individual messes all day). While I mopped the kitchen the dog peed on the bathroom floor twice. So, dh put him outside while I finished the floor. Maybe 10 minutes. Then we put him back in the kitchen with an old blanket for the night. He barked off and on all night. dh got up a few times to see if he needed to go out.

Then this morning ds1 (7yo) came in our room to say that he wanted to go downstairs to play his Wii. I reminded him why the dog was in the kitchen and told him not to let him out. Well ds must have thought I meant not to let the dog outside, because he went downstairs and let the dog into the house. The dog came running upstairs. I was nursing the baby so I woke dh and asked him to put the dog back in the kitchen. They all went downstairs and a minute later I hear barking and yelling and all this comotion. DH said that he told the dog to go into the kitchen and he wouldn't so he reached down to pick him up and the dog turned around and bit him. He said it wasn't like he just snapped at him, he bit hard and "chewed" on his finger. It looks awful. The dog didn't act guilty afterwards either. DH is getting it checked at the ER right now. If the dog had bitten the baby that hard, he would have taken off a finger.

I don't think we can safely keep him around the kids, but I just feel terrible about this. If I had gotten up this morning this never would have happened. But then again, if he's capable of this, maybe it's good that we found out.

Ugh. I hate this. The kids are so upset too.

Originally Posted by JBaxter

You MUST disclose the dog is a biter. Many shelters wont take dogs that have a history of biting. I feel bad for you but is there something medical wrong with the dog? Sometimes illnesses make dogs react badly

I absolutely would tell any shelter/rescue that we took him to exactly what happened. I couldn't worry that they would give him to another family with little ones. We will be taking him to the vet before we do anything else.

Originally Posted by Maluhia

Moved to pets, hope this helps.

Actually I posted separately in pets. I posted in parenting more for how to help my dcs deal with the potential loss of their dog, but I didn't make that clear at all. I think I was too upset to get my thoughts down well.

[boysmom2]

Originally Posted by muttmom92

Not trying to start anything, but the OP also posted about this in the Pets forum with more details. Her dog could possibly have something physical going on and it doesn't seem like the OP is addressing that. I think jumping to the conclusion that the dog needs to be put down is really unfair.

Just to clarify, he's done this (leaving messes in the house) before to express his displeasure with how much we're leaving him alone. Now I do wonder if there's more to it this time and we will get him checked out. Either way, the fact that he would bite so severely really concerns me. What if he was feeling sick and the baby upset him in some way? I understand there may be a reason behind it, but I just can't take that chance with my kiddos.

[ouesi]

Originally Posted by boysmom2

Just to clarify, he's done this (leaving messes in the house) before to express his displeasure with how much we're leaving him alone. Now I do wonder if there's more to it this time and we will get him checked out. Either way, the fact that he would bite so severely really concerns me. What if he was feeling sick and the baby upset him in some way? I understand there may be a reason behind it, but I just can't take that chance with my kiddos.

I absolutely agree you should not take chances with your kiddos, and whether you rehome the dog is a personal choice that only you and your family can make, though I do recommend breed rescue over a shelter.

That said: I think its premature to think of rehoming and especially not euthanasia. I think the first order of business is a thorough vet check. Dogs don't soil their living areas to express displeasure - they don't think in vindictive terms like humans do. I think you're looking at a combination of ineffective training methods and possibly medical issues. I would urge you to look in to some positive reinforcement training. There are wonderful websites to get you started, one of my favorites is dogstardaily.com and you might get a lot of good info from askdryin.com

When you say you yell at him and he cowers and acts guilty, that's not guilt, those are apeasement behaviors (calming signals) because in his mind you are acting unstable (read: dangerous) and he's trying to get you to calm down. I'm pretty sure the bite to your husband was a fear reaction, exacerbated by poor bite inhibition. Fear behaviors can be rehabilitated very well, and bite inhibition *can* be improved on, though with a dog this small, its not as much of a concern as a larger breed of dog IMO. (I'm by no means minimizing your husband's injury, but I'm coming from the perspective of one who's family shares a home with four large dogs - two of which are great danes.)

I wish you the best with your dog and hope your husband heals quickly.

[RooRooDog]

After reading the whole story, I agree with what PPs said- it sounds like your dog may be ill. If it really does come down to giving him away, though, I am almost sure a breed rescue group would take him- small dogs are much easier to place than large ones. (Reading your story w/o the details my mind just filled in my dogs' traits -big, mutt- for what I didn't know about yours. ) Good luck, OP.