I am absolutely heartbroken over a pet

[Tiggeroo]

My college son who did not know better bought a puppy three months ago from an Amish puppy mill. Some of you have seen my posts on this. From the beginning it was clear he was a sweet dog but not quite right, very scary. Several weeks after we got him he began showing aggression. He was six months old at the time. Since then the aggression has escalated. It is always only in our home and directed toward my dh and two of my other college children who are here in spurts. Occasionally he has aimed it at me but I'm always able to stop him. We have worked with a vet and a trainer who told me she could not help. We have followed many suggestions from a dog rescue group, several Welsh Corgi Breeders and a behaviorist from UofPenn. where we have an appointment in two weeks.
He has bitten two of my kids and my dh, not to break the skin but caused a nasty bruise. He will be friends with them and then go after them. We have tried to find a cause and cannot. We have changed foods, used homeopathic drops, given him tons of exercise, etc...
When the people he doesn't like are here I am constantly on eggshells making sure he is ok or he is crated for extended periods
I have begun to see that I cannot help him. Although he is mostly a wonderful dog there is something very wrong with him. No rescue group will take him with his history, nor will the shelter. He will have to be put down. For three months this pup has followed me everywhere. He sits in my lap and has me scratch his belly. He loves me very much. Now he sits in my lap and looks up at me and I'm bawling because I know what I am going to have to do. I feel sick and can't eat or sleep. My son who brought him home has begun having panic attacks that I believe are related to this. Please don't tell me I'm bad for doing this unless you have a good solution that will keep everybody safe. If somebody told me for 1000. dollars I could get him dyed blue and it would fix him I would do it.

 

[Tiggeroo]

And I've only had one very sick ferret euthanized. All of our other pets live long happy lives. If he was physically ill I would not feel guilt like this.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I don't have a solution but for you. You are in a bad situation which unfortunately does not sound like it can have a happy ending.

 

[janette]

So sorry, how very hard you've done what you can and given him more love in the short time you had him then he would have had without you. If he was 6mths when you got him from a puppy mill he may not have been socialized at all when young; sometimes that damage just can't be undone.

 

[Magic Mom]

If it were me, and I knew in my heart I had tried everything to make it right, I would have to do what was best for my human family. Contact some corgi rescues and see if they can find an appropriate home for a dog with his problems.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Corgi rescue groups have given me a bunch of advice but won't take him. He can never be placed with his history for liability reasons. If I had lied and said he growled but never bit they would have taken him.

 

[Tiggeroo]

So sorry, how very hard you've done what you can and given him more love in the short time you had him then he would have had without you. If he was 6mths when you got him from a puppy mill he may not have been socialized at all when young; sometimes that damage just can't be undone.

This is exactly the problem. Either he was ill and had to stay in the mill longer then other dogs or he was already in a home first and something went wrong.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I am on year 3 with my aggressive dog, the dog is 5 now. Also coincidentally it is my college dd's dog for the most part. Of course she is not here and we are left to deal with him.

He bit my 7yo nephew 3 yrs ago.

We are trying to work with the dog. DH is going to take him to the place where we board him and they have a 3week obedience/training thing that he wants to try as a last ditch effort.

He is 70lbs and not easy to control when he is out of his mind. I have to muzzle him to go for a walk. He wants to kill other dogs and bite people and children.

Now we have new neighbors with 2 dogs and it is a bloodbath at the fence. We have an model home going up behind us and kids will probably move in and that will be it for him.

I wanted to put him down after he bit my nephew. Now, if he were to bite anyone else a second time, he is history.

Your dog has bitten family members multiple times. I would put him down.

Just want to say, I understand your pain but at some point safety of people takes precedence over a dog that attacks.

 

[Pixee]

Have you talked to or considered talking to another trainer? Maybe the behaviorist will have something helpful to offer when you see him.

I'm so sorry you have to go through this.

 

[DisMN]

I really feel for you. A vet once told me that animals who snap can not help themselves but that he also didn't think they were happy animals. His conclusion was that they are mentally tortured and it was in their best interest to not subject them to situations where they would eventually hurt someone, to not subject them to harsh training/retraining because they weren't trainable and that he felt it was a kindness to put them out of their misery.

How sad but sometimes it's necessary for the safety of your family and others. I would NOT find an *appropriate* home for him.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Poor dog, it doesn't sound like there is much else that can be done. You didn't give up quickly and tried to help him, sometimes there is aggression that can't be corrected. I'm so sorry, I know it will be very hard for you.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Have you talked to or considered talking to another trainer? Maybe the behaviorist will have something helpful to offer when you see him.

I'm so sorry you have to go through this.

Two other trainers wouldn't work with him and told me to put him down. There is a chance that U of Penn center will help but it will be two long weeks until this appointment and it is very expensive with no guarantees. I have a vet appointment on Monday and she will try some meds but I don't even know at this point if I can make it til then.

 

[Magic Mom]

Corgi rescue groups have given me a bunch of advice but won't take him. He can never be placed with his history for liability reasons. If I had lied and said he growled but never bit they would have taken him.

Then your choices are to keep him and take the risk that he will eventually hurt someone, or have him euthanized. I can understnd how difficult that would be to choose. Think about this. Do you think his life is filled with happiness or fear?I'm not asking if you are sweet to him, of course you are. but if he lashes out for no reason, he must be misfiring in his brain somewhere and be living in terror.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

my sister just went thru this -- they had gotten a "black lab" as a puppy and come to find out he is not a lab but something else in him -- they think a boxer maybe.

He snapped and got highly aggressive -- the trainers and vets eventually said they could not help him at all. He was like jeckyl and hyde. He was loving and sweet one minute and then 100 lbs of mean dog the next. They couldn't have friends over or children of any kind. They were afraid of a lawsuit if he were to ever get out and kill someone.

There were TONS of tears shed in that house and TONS of guilt but........

Please know you have to take care of your human family.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Then your choices are to keep him and take the risk that he will eventually hurt someone, or have him euthanized. I can understnd how difficult that would be to choose. Think about this. Do you think his life is filled with happiness or fear?I'm not asking if you are sweet to him, of course you are. but if he lashes out for no reason, he must be misfiring in his brain somewhere and be living in terror.

I know what has to be done and my son more then I, knows it. The hard part is that he is so normal 99 percent of the time. He will have several very good days and then a bad minute that undoes it all.

 

[crz4mm2]

BTDT.
All I can say is I feel your pain.

Hugs to you and your family.

 

[MEK]

I think you have to equate his behavioral problems to a chronic progressive illness. I watched a program once on shelter dogs and the owner of a shelter in NY state had to put down an aggressive dog for safety reasons. Everyone at the shelter tried to work with the dog to no avail. She explained that this was actually the MOST humane thing to do. She took the dog through the drive through at McDonald's for his last meal - a McD's cheeseburger. It was so sad, but it was so clear that what she did was for the best.

I feel very bad for you, but if you make the decision to put the dog down please take comfort in knowing that you have done everything possible to help this dog. This puppy was never socialized correctly and that is something you can't change.

My mother put down a cat who started acting aggressive towards the other cat in her house. It was difficult, but she did the right thing. The cat was dangerous.

As far as your son's panic attacks, they may or may not be related to this. The dog situation may have tipped the scales for an underlying anxiety disorder. I hope your son is able to get help for his panic attacks because I have suffered through them and they are not fun.

Good luck with everything.

 

[Tiggeroo]

My son is having some sort of medical issue where he is frequently getting dehydrated. He works as a beach lifeguard and is very physically active. When he doesn't feel well he has a panic attack. He is getting some testing done and hopefully they'll find out soon what is going on. I believe that stress over the dog is aggravating this. He had a series of panic attacks at another point in his life and saw a great counselor who helped him to treat them. It's been five years since he had one so I'm concerned.
Thanks guys you are making me feel better. I know it's the right thing to do. It's just that you can't see the illness so it's hard to accept. It is my understanding that if the training didn't help this will accelerate. If he is two years old we would have a much harder time doing it. I also can't imagine living the next 15 years of my life like this. And my son is at the age where he will likely marry and have a family while this dog is still living and he could never bring a dog like this around children.

 

[Chelley00]

Unfortunately, Amish puppy mills are infamous for inbreeding (I used to live in Amish country and had family by marriage that were Amish), and eventually that inbreeding can raise the chances for mental illness and other disease. I'm not saying always, so please don't start the flames, but if you research, it's out there. That could possibly be the dog's problem Good luck with your decision OP.

 

[Tiggeroo]

When my son told me where he got him I tried to convince him to take him back right away. He couldn't believe that such a nice couple with a beautiful farm and the puppies runing around in the barn playing with chickens could be bad. They are constantly in trouble in Penn. over this and there have been several recent crack downs.