What do I do with this dog?

[endlessclimb]

I have been in this exact position, except it was maybe worse.

Family member could not handle the pit bull they adopted years prior - kids, divorce, changing living situations. Rescue they got the dog from would not take the dog back. They kept the dog in a crate in the basement for nearly his entire adult life. Dog was 3-4 years old. They knew I was not a permanent home for the dog, but a stepping stone.

The dog came to me very snippy about toys, extreme resource guarding, WAY too much energy, human aggressive at the vet (would take out anyone and anything the second he walked in the door, and he was NOT kidding around), and to top it all off he had some serious physical issues that prevented me from working his energy level down without making the following day the worst day of his life. The vet aggression was bleeding over into “anything that made him even slightly nervous”, towards anyone.

I tried for almost a year to fix that dog. Lots of things improved - he was far less snippy about toys, had much better impulse control. But the vet aggression, high energy, and physical issues remained.

I warned the family, what I was trying, and what options were on the table. No one volunteered to take him back. No one even said “yes I’ll take him but give me a couple months to get my XYZ in order”. It was “no, he’s your problem now.” I called hundreds of rescues (not a lie). I was willing to pay his transport, anything, everything. No takers.

I euthanized him after a year and 5 months of effort finding him a good place to be.

And now? The family posts about how much they “miss Opie” and talk behind my back about how “I killed him.”

All that to say - OP, it’s hard. But your old dog has tenure, period. If a solution can’t be found in short order, something has got to give. You have a heart of gold, and you’ve tried everything. He’s a beautiful dog, with some big issues to get over.

[Djones]

It shouldn’t ever be “easy” in the sense that one casually, effortlessly, mindlessly puts a dog or cat or horse etc down. With that said, it can be done while loving the animal deeply and simultaneously accepting the facts and probability of future issues, be they old age, temperament issues, finances, whatever they are, they aren’t emotions, they are statistical probabilities based on facts and past events.

I have dearly loved many a dog, horse, cat I put down, though theirs were age related euthanasia or with some horses, dire health emergencies. My husband is too-tender hearted which at some point is selfishness, keeping a dog alive to punt the pain-ball down the road serves only the self, never the dog.

I try to imagine what I will feel in addition to grief; will it be guilt and regret or relief and release. That has never failed me.

[enjoytheride]

I have spoken about our own aggressive dog a few times and people usually either accuse us of abusing the dog, or tell us to put it down immediately, tell us to rehome him, then make a lot of suggestions that the dog is going to go cujo and we’re going “to pay”

The abuse because he has a 60x12 foot run and a 12x12 stall as shelter and stays outside 24/7 except when temps drop as they do right now. Then he’s inside and crated. The euth immediately because e’s not fine at all around chickens, fine around cats until they move, and fine around other dogs until he isn’t. Totally fine around people.

It’s hard to have people telling you to just shoot the dog while others want you to rehome them to a nice couple with no other pets. There are simply NO HOMES for a dog like this. Or at least, no homes that I’d trust as most people want to have other pets or dog walk or etc. In fact, we used to walk him leashed in parks frequently but the number of people who are oblivious to leash laws made us stop.

I can say that basket muzzles sort of work, but this particular dog a basket muzzle does slow down injury but does not prevent attack.

I can also say that while the dog has never bitten a person on purpose, he has bitten someone when being separated from another dog on accident so that’s always a risk

[Rackonteur]

@McGurk

I just think that since she’s the one who will have to do it, she deserves a little understanding and grace.

I do too. So let’s give it to her instead of going all preachy soft-hearted to other posters on here. I have plenty of understanding and sympathy for OP. What I do not understand is your jumping down my throat with a sermon about your irresponsible friend.

[Mosey_2003]

@endlessclimb

And now? The family posts about how much they “miss Opie” and talk behind my back about how “I killed him.”

This happens so often, and it just astounds me. Not the same, but I took on a small pony from a former friend, she begged me to take him for months. She was afraid of him, I wasn’t. She told me to do whatever I wanted with him, sell him if I could, keep the money. I bought hay and dewormed him and had his teeth done and had him gelded and all of his shots and farrier and instilled some manners in him and groomed him up all nice, and sold him for, I believe, $150. It was either that or $200 maybe, it wasn’t much, but the lady was a good fit and I offered to give friend half, even though I had spent much more than that. She told me to keep it. I heard from the grapevine years later that she tells everyone I stole her pony and refused to split the sale money with her
But they sure love you when they want you to make THEIR problem disappear…

[Djones]

@Rackonteur

do too. So let’s give it to her instead of going all preachy soft-hearted to other posters on here. I have plenty of understanding and sympathy for OP. What I do not understand is your jumping down my throat with a sermon about your irresponsible friend.

Responding to you is not attacking you.

[Heinz_57]

I’m still here, reading replies and thinking. I’ve got a lot going on at the moment, so not surprisingly my feelings seem to waffle from one side to the other.

Vet didn’t really have any new suggestions over what’s been covered here. She did say that the dog issues may go away once he’s more settled in a new environment, and that neutering would likely help too. He’s about 1.5, very healthy (not even a flea), just needs to be dewormed and neutered. He does have a problematic dermoid on his eye that needs to be removed - the least costly option is an enucleation, which could be done by them at the same time as the neuter. Vet mentioned offhand that more people might be interested in him as a one-eyed dog, the sympathy factor.

He was very well behaved at the vet. Everyone there raved about him. He completely ignored the dogs we encountered, even when they barked at him.

[OnAMission]

You’re a saint, Heinz. I totally get the pickle you’re in and I appreciate that you’re doing the best you can. You can’t do a wrong thing here but I admire that you’re being so careful about it.

I wish I had had any responses from the places I contacted that would help!

[cutter99]

Whatever you do @Heinz_57, please don’t rely on neutering to help or solve the aggression issues. I have seen neutering have absolutely no effect whatsoever.

[Rackonteur]

@Heinz_57

I cannot have a stock-chasing, dog-aggressive dog when I have horses and an elderly border collie - and I cannot find a single person, rescue, shelter, or anyone that will take him.

I think I know the answer, but what do I do with this dog? Is there some avenue I haven’t thought of? I feel terrible for even putting euthanasia on the table but I will not allow any of my other animals to be injured. Feel free to read me the riot act. I was trying to do the right thing by getting him off the street and now I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.

No you’re not. You’re stuck between your loving and kind heart and the harsh fact that there is no one there to fix this situation for the dog and you. It is a horrible position to be in and I wish I, or someone, could fix it.
So I am going to keep praying and jingling for you and this dog and hope that a miracle will occur.

[4horses]

A friend of mine fostered a dog with health issues. One day the dog snapped and nearly destroyed her arm in the process. She had to get a plate and screws put in her arm and had multiple surgeries. I believe it was months before she could use that hand at all and she has some extensive nerve damage. The dog was euthanized. She suspected it had a brain tumor but perhaps it was just an aggressive dog. I don’t think we will ever know.

Although in this case, I believe you should give the dog a chance to adapt to a new household. Not all dogs are inherently bad. Sometimes I think people underestimate how dangerous a dog can be compared to a horse. Use a muzzle and try to take safety precautions.

[candyappy]

@cutter99

Whatever you do @Heinz_57, please don’t rely on neutering to help or solve the aggression issues. I have seen neutering have absolutely no effect whatsoever.

It also won’t change his behavior with regards to your horses. Fencing him out is the only sure way to protect your horses.

He doesn’t sound like a bad dog at all. He just hasn’t had the correct upbringing. My in laws have a wonderful dog who showed up here. His only flaw is his predator like tendencies with the animals.

It isn’t his fault. He just wasn’t raised around livestock to know what is appropriate. So we watch him.
We have fences so he can’t get in and we keep our eyes on him if he does happen to slip in when we are doing chores.

Funny thing is that the animals can sense it and do not like him even though he has never done anything but slink around. My gelding kicked him a few weeks ago. He will stand with a back foot cocked the minute that dog comes near.

I didn’t see it ( didn’t know he snuck in) as I was around the corner cleaning the shelter but the dog was down and seizing.

It was awful but I am so thankful he was up after a minute or 2 and has recovered fully. I know if you keep this dog @Heinz_57 you will do what is necessary to protect your animals and to protect him from himself.

[Spudsmyguy]

The shelter near me will euthanize dogs and cats for a fee no questions asked. I took a sick cat there recently and they did the deed. The cat was not going to get better so thought this was the best choice.

[libgrrl]

Just recognize that shelter euths aren’t necessarily the most pleasant. They often are not anesthetized for the procedure, and they generally need to wait until the end of the day when the public is gone. I was a weekend volunteer at our local SPCA, the most heartbreaking part was when folks would drop their old dog off to be put down. The poor things would look so frightened and confused

[endlessclimb]

This made my throat clench up. I’m sorry you have to witness that, I’m not sure I could do it.

[Pepsy]

Perhaps this young dog just didn’t know how to behave around horses. Sounds like he MIGHT benefit from one on one training. A big time commitment. Daily practice. Strict boundaries. Dog only near horses when on command. How he accepts training will tell you a lot. Most dogs love it.
Likely not saying anything you already don’t know. Good Luck with whatever you decide to do. You have a big heart and only you know if any of these suggestions are plausible in the situation you find yourself in.

[Djones]

I live in the deeply red south, where most folks do not get their pets fixed and many,many folks treats pets like tires. Needed, enjoyed, discarded. You hopefully cannot imagine the volume of dumped dogs and cats around me. Quick and confused is miles ahead of dropped off to starve.

All of it sucks, all of it.

[2tempe]

OP - if the solution is to have doggo crated most of the time, that will not be quality of life for him. This is obviously not news to you. To have a dog that you must watch every second and that other family members need to also be on guard is not a quality situation for you or them. It creates stress and one slip up could have bad consequences.
I think your vet’s thoughts on things that “might” help were understating the situation you have described, though she was only judging the dog in front of her. And the one-eyed thing…Really? If shelters are full, who’s going to adopt him? You could run ads or something, but full disclosure is sort of important.

[Dr_Doolittle]

I completely agree with this (and I’m a trainer; I see lots of dogs of all types and breeds - and many are adopted rescues, all of them adopted by well-meaning people) - this dog in this situation is a bit of a ticking time bomb.

The priority is the safety of your animals - and though you are clearly a kind person with a good heart, this problem was thrust upon you; you didn’t choose it. Managing this dog around your life and your animals will be a complete headache - as ridiculously unfair this is to you (and the dog!), it’s really a no-win - unless you are willing to commit to keeping this dog separated from all of your livestock (and YOUR dog!) indefinitely.

Big hugs, I know this is really hard…

[Djones]

Old Yeller was a cautionary tale, no?

ETA…the rabies isn’t the point. The fact was love alone couldn’t save the dog.

Love is not enough, facts prevail.

Hugs to all involved.