Shall I Have My Dog Euthanased?

[tigerlily46514]

To Mewzard //"No problems, it was a really good point for me as it's helped me see Oka's behaviour in a nature vs behaviour way."//

OH yeah, i hear you there, Mewzard. I find innate and inherent behaviors fascinating. Like you, i find it helpful to know which ones are almost 'default' prewired tendencies. I have saved that link btw, it was just too cute. I may have to pick up one of that authors books for next time i treat myself to a fiction book. I bet they are fun reads.


To Rosiemom:
//"Maybe she is shy??? But as long as I have known her she has never snapped except..."//

Not all shy dogs show any aggression. Shyness mostly refers to a dog who does not enjoy contact, being touched by, unknown humans. There are many levels of SHYNESS. It's genetic, and it is permanent, on some level, for life. It's not your fault, Rosiemom. It's not something you did "wrong" raising Rosie.
But you can make Rosie better,
or worse,
by how you manage Rosie's shyness---that is -------IF IF IF Rosie is shy, (can't really tell online.)

But, when a shy dog DOES escalate to the point the dog displays aggression, often, their primary and lifelong target is HUMANS, not other dogs.................... not like my dog's condition. My dog has "dog-aggression", and HIS primary target is other dogs, not humans. It's two different disorders, with two different targets, and really, the approach and goal for each type of dog is a lil different. In MRIs, the shy dog brain and DA dog brain, do not match each other.

The methods that help a DA dog, might not help a shy dog, and vice versa. But, most ppl lump "all aggressive dogs" together in their minds, but, it's two different kinds of aggression, and in some ways, the two types of dogs are opposites. But shy dogs can also develop aggression TO DOGS as well,
so if i were you, i'd do whatever i could to keep your sweet lil Rosie away from dogs like my dog, who may be in your aggression-class............... there are probably some d0g-aggressive dogs in Rosie's class............

But a dog can by shy, and never ever growl or bite anyone.
Many shy dogs live their entire lives, and never aggress to anyone, especially if their owners understand shyness, and take steps to prevent the dog from having to put up with unwanted contact, the dog is less likely to feel threatened enough to resort to aggression.

The shy dogs who are SEVERE cases, or who are forced to try to "get over" being handled by humans, are more likely to turn to aggression. Not all shy dogs are aggressive, and even the shy dogs who ARE aggressive, can have their aggression reduced.

Proper management, IF IF IF Rosie is a lil mildly shy, can help prevent or reduce any tendency for Rosie to feel she has to resort to growling to keep ppl back at a distance where she feel safe and comfortable.

 

[tigerlily46514]

Yeah, i think the cue "go to your mat"
especially if you convey to Rosie that is a GREAT and happy thing to do,
might be helpful for when strangers are in your home.

So Rosie has to wear the martindale collar on just her everyday walks? NOt just in the aggression class?

oh no.........oh no....last thing you want, is for Rosie to associate seeing humans with being choked. DAng.........i feel so utterly bad for you.

Rosiemom, maybe you will want to consider buying TWO of these collars, and jerryrig one of the collars to never choke at all, for your everyday walks. Insert some wire or something, so the collar can not tighten up, but yet, it would LOOK like Rosie is wearing her court-ordered collar on her walks.
And keep one martindale collar in it's 'normal' choking condition, for your class.

and then, i guess i'd get to work on helping Rosie learn to never pull, since she is being forced to wear a choke collar.

EDIT: oh, nevermind, i see you and Rosie have conquered loose leash walking! YESsssss!!

 

[tigerlily46514]

//"My friend and brother think I am being obsessive over all this but I tried to explain that puppies do take up alot of your time and I'm sure in the long run it will all be worth it."//

LOlz, i hear you on that! But, besides really caring about helping my dog become his best self, i am honestly fascinated with what helps, why he is this way, and safety. I am kind of surprised, in YOUR case, that anyone could chide you for worrying or wanting to know more about what to do,
when you've just gone through
some outrageous crazy stuff cuz of one simple growl out of Rosie. Imagine the scenario if Rosie ever did escalate to a bite.

New waves of information or discoveries,
or new onset of things that impact your home,
are often very interesting and compelling, especially at first. I think that is normal. I think, especially in YOUR case, where you could even lose your dog altogether, it's very very understandable that you might feel concerned to learn best way to help Rosie become her best self.

I love animals, i love dog training, i love understanding the how's and the why's of most anything. My brain is set up that way, to be curious. I was a mom once, (well, i still am, but my kids are grown now) and i take my responsibility to any lil dependent creature in my care pretty seriously, dogs included. If my lil messed-up dog needs me to learn some things to help him get better,
and to make my street safer,
i'm more than happy to do this, both for my dog, and for the peace in my neighborhood.

I get a lil thrill out animal behavior, anyway. Some ppl dedicate their entire lives and careers to studying animals. I myself dont' find spending some time working on my own lil dog that odd of a thing. Most all dog owners do work with their dogs in way or another, or at least, they should!!

I myself hit upon some wrong ideas at first on ways to handle Buddy's dog-aggression, and soon enough, i came to realize,
there are a million theories on it, a million ways to approach it, and not ALL ideas about aggressive dogs are fact-based or helpful. AT first, i was overwhelmed!!

Rosiemom, IF IF IF Rosie does have any behavioral issue, at first, it can be overwhelming, especially at first. It gets easier, once you have found a few helpful cues that help you manage your particular dog. It has become rote, every day thing for me and my dog by now, not like it was at first.
It gets easier and easier, it does, both for you,
and for Rosie.
You'll see.

 

[helpsavemydog]

//"My friend and brother think I am being obsessive over all this but I tried to explain that puppies do take up alot of your time and I'm sure in the long run it will all be worth it."//

LOlz, i hear you on that! But, besides really caring about helping my dog become his best self, i am honestly fascinated with what helps, why he is this way, and safety. I am kind of surprised, in YOUR case, that anyone could chide you for worrying or wanting to know more about what to do,
when you've just gone through
some outrageous crazy stuff cuz of one simple growl out of Rosie. Imagine the scenario if Rosie ever did escalate to a bite.

New waves of information or discoveries,
or new onset of things that impact your home,
are often very interesting and compelling, especially at first. I think that is normal. I think, especially in YOUR case, where you could even lose your dog altogether, it's very very understandable that you might feel concerned to learn best way to help Rosie become her best self.

I love animals, i love dog training, i love understanding the how's and the why's of most anything. My brain is set up that way, to be curious. I was a mom once, (well, i still am, but my kids are grown now) and i take my responsibility to any lil dependent creature in my care pretty seriously, dogs included. If my lil messed-up dog needs me to learn some things to help him get better,
and to make my street safer,
i'm more than happy to do this, both for my dog, and for the peace in my neighborhood.

I get a lil thrill out animal behavior, anyway. Some ppl dedicate their entire lives and careers to studying animals. I myself dont' find spending some time working on my own lil dog that odd of a thing. Most all dog owners do work with their dogs in way or another, or at least, they should!!

I myself hit upon some wrong ideas at first on ways to handle Buddy's dog-aggression, and soon enough, i came to realize,
there are a million theories on it, a million ways to approach it, and not ALL ideas about aggressive dogs are fact-based or helpful. AT first, i was overwhelmed!!

Rosiemom, IF IF IF Rosie does have any behavioral issue, at first, it can be overwhelming, especially at first. It gets easier, once you have found a few helpful cues that help you manage your particular dog. It has become rote, every day thing for me and my dog by now, not like it was at first.
It gets easier and easier, it does, both for you,
and for Rosie.
You'll see.

.Great minds think alike I have set up the collar that when it is pull it just fits nicely around the neck, when it is loose it doesn't slip off as she has a very hairy neck (boarder collar coming out in her). My husband had to take her to dog obedience on Tues night as I was working, he said she was the best in the class!!! I was so proud of her and so was my husband. Shocked everyone else "Take that" I took her for a bike ride the other day and foolishly I let her off in a non residential area - quiet oneway road surrounded by Australian bush. She loves running fast, we have a race. This particular time she decided to run in front of me!!! Rosie is fine the bike is fine, I have grazes here and their and a stitch on my knee Silly me so she stays hooked to the bike from now on. She is funny though - the place I used to unhook her she starts limping, I edge her on and 2 mins later no limping. SHE IS A LITTLE ACTOR! I haven't heard back from the council or the 'Bark Busters' Dear Me I just want all this to be over. I've been trialling her in the outside enclosure trying to get her to stay in there even when I' at home without barking. She is getting better. Still growls at my brother, mainly when he comes back inside after being out for a short while - even when he knows who it is. My brother doesn't take any notice when I tell him not to pat her when she is growling so continues to pat her and she never has once looked like she would bite. I'm not sure she is shy because she is soooo sociable. I tell her to go to her mat when she hears noices outside and starts to growl, it doesn't stop her from growling. She had a shampoo today and looks beautiful!

 

[tigerlily46514]

Aw about Rosie's leg, poor baby! Hope you are okay too!
There are dozens of types of "bicycle leashes" that one can attach to their bicycles to keep dog out to the side, if you are interested, here is just one example:
http://www.thedogoutdoors.com/walkydog-dog-bike-leash.html

//". Still growls at my brother, mainly when he comes back inside after being out for a short while - even when he knows who it is."//


If you want to work on that, you probably could get Rosie to stop doing that. Not by scolding or "correcting", nope,
but by rewarding any calm behaviors, having brother toss treats to Rosie, and by using the "Bathroom Trick" mentioned in reply#69 of this thread.

//"My brother doesn't take any notice when I tell him not to pat her when she is growling so continues to pat her and she never has once looked like she would bite"//

Not sure if by "pat" you mean "pet"?
No, if your brother IS petting the dog while Rosie growls, that is not good idea. Rosie might see that as being rewarded for growling. It IS hard to get other ppl to respect OUR wishes for what they should do to our dogs, but, you need to be assertive with that brother, and tell him he has to listen to you, as YOU are the one who has to live with a growly dog, not him.
Another method you might want to consider,
for Rosie growling,
is the "Bathroom Trick" mentioned in reply #69 of this thread.


BUT, OVERALL, IT'S GOOD TO HEAR YOU SOUNDING LESS FRUSTRATED, MORE HOPEFUL NOW!! YAY!!!

 

[tigerlily46514]

//" I tell her to go to her mat when she hears noices outside and starts to growl, it doesn't stop her from growling."//
That is okay if Rosie growls over there. It's just something Rosie can do if you have a visitor in your home. It probably won't help much at all, for growling about noises outdoors, at all.

If you do want some help desensitizing Rosie to some of your visitors, this can be done. Like getting Rosie to like your brother, so that Rosie no longer feels the need to growl at him, this can usually be done,
BUT
your brother has to go along, your brother has to co-operate. Is no point in explaining how to do this, if your brother is not going to listen to you. Let me know, if you do want to know a few things to try to get Rosie to stop growling at your brother,
but
it will only work, if your brother listens and obeys to you.


//"I'm not sure she is shy because she is soooo sociable"//
You are right, Rosie might NOT be a shy dog, at all.
But some of your remarks, about how Rosie is "so wary" of strangers, made me wonder if Rosie is shy.(?) but maybe Rosie is not shy. Shy dogs are usually fine with ppl they KNOW, it is the UNKNOWN human touching them, or being too too close to them, that the shy dog has a concern about.

There are MANY levels of shyness,
from mild,
to severe.
But, one can't really tell by online words if a dog is shy or not. But sometimes, when the owner makes remarks about how "wary" of strangers their dog is, the dog might be a shy dog.

 

[Puppylove]

Belle, my 5 year old Rottweiler is reactive to dogs. Granted she's not a severe case and she's never bitten anyone but I would never consider putting her down.

It's never too late to train your dog, all dogs can learn regardless of age. My other two dogs attend the local dog training club but there are too many dogs there for Belle's liking so I've enrolled her in a much smaller school where there is a maximum of 6 dogs per class and she has excelled. She is able to do all the behaviours and tricks my other two do.

I live in Sydney, Australia so I know how difficult councils can be and it is exactly for this reason that I chose to adopt Belle 4 years ago... I knew she would be my greatest training challenge but I also knew that with me she would have a loving, safe home with a person that will teach her what she needed to learn to live a happy life. She was so reactive when I adopted her that I feared what would happen to her if someone else without my perseverance adopted her.

Have you looked into dog training schools or clubs?