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Originally Posted by BeckyBird  If it were me, I would have to rehome the dog in question. Any sign of aggression is too much for me.
When my son was an infant, my stepfather's niece was mauled by their family dog. She was 2, and the dog was about 10. Out of the blue, the dog grabbed her by the head and shook her. They were not sure she would live, and was transported by helicopter to the hospital. That did it for me!
I would say that this incident has changed my mind forever when it comes to animals around small children. If you know of aggressive behavior, the first time is usually not the only time it will happen. Just like abusive relationships...if it happened once, it could happen again.
Sorry if that is harsh, but it is my opinion.
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I just have to say that I think it's REALLY irresponsible to re-home a dog with an unknown, and therefore, unmanageable trigger. You are passing the problem along to someone else, and are almost ensuring this dog a lifetime of being bounced from home to home. The chances of finding this dog a home with someone experienced and dedicated to finding and resolving his issues, WITH FULL DISCLOSURE ON FROM YOU, is slim.
You can't give this dog to any house that doesn't children. This dog has to go to a person who is knowledgeable in dog training and behavior, and to someone who knows ALL the precautions necessary to prevent this dog from biting
anyone else, child or not. Please don't give this dog away to the first person to come along that doesn't have kids, you'll be doing him a huge disservice (and potentially putting the neighborhood children in danger).
If you don't have the time, resources, and experience to resolve these issues on your own, or to find a proper home for him, please consider humane euthanasia. It is the ONLY way to ensure he will not bite another person.
And by proper home, I do not mean child-free. This dog needs so much more. Unfortunately, most people who will be willing to take him on won't understand the complexity of getting to the bottom of his issues.
And the vet *should* have done more than take urine and stool samples. If you disclosed that he's had aggressive behavior and you're trying to rule out a biological problem, I'm surprised he didn't take blood. Thyroid issues are a common cause of the grumpies, which can only be diagnosed via a blood test. I would definitely get a second opinion.
I do want to comment on the dominance/pack theory thing quickly though. I do think a lot of people are conflating pack theories with correction based training, and I don't think the two mutually exclusive. We have a hierarchy in our house hold, yet are very positive reinforcement based.
Last year we had a board certified veterinary behaviorist come out to the house for my male jack russell, and this was something we talked about a lot. I very much believe in the merits of pack theories, as did she, however, that doesn't go hand in hand with correct based training, nor does it mean everything a dog does is driven by the desire to "dominate". I think that is the part of the "pack theory" that has been debunked for a while, and is one of the reasons why I don't like Cesar Milan. He has 24 different variations of dominance.
Long story short, we have a natural order in our house, and I do advocate for the lower "pack members", like the puppy and my daughter, but I am also a huge advocate of positive reinforcement, and I don't approach everything my dogs do with dominance as the founding motivation (because it's not!!).
Had Ceaser Millan come out to my house to see my Jack Russell Problem Child, he'd had dragged him around by a slip lead and intimidated him into complying, and then said "see, he needs calm assertiveness" while trying to convince me the problem was mine by not being tougher on him. However, when the the BCVB came out, she immediately identified the problem as being between him and another dog, and in moving a few things around the house, switching the feeding times around, and changing his interacting with the one of the females in the house, the problem as greatly improve ON ITS OWN with little interference on my part. Yet, we very much have a pack, and I do have to step in and be a leader; because I am. But mostly because I've earned the position through trust and from building a relationship with the dogs. Not from dragging them around the house correcting them every time they do something wrong.
Pack leadership does not equate to correction based training. In fact, I think it's quite the opposite. Dogs look to leaders as being the ones they can trust to keep them safe. I can force my dogs to do just about anything, but it wouldn't be a reliable result. It has taken a lot of work to build myself up to a position of authority in the eyes of the dogs. Any idiot with a leash can make a dog fear them.
