My dog put me in hospital

[lindawaghorne]

Hi
I hope someone can help me I AM DESPERATE. My loving springer spaniel has a behaviour problem. He is a 4 year old male. He attention seeks when i am on the phone or eating by stealing anything he can, he then comes up to me wagging his tail and acting as if he wants me to take it. 9 times out of 10 he will give it to me and i praise him. The problem is the other times he will suddenly turn from wagging his tail to attacking me, he done it so bad the other day that I ended up in hospital with a mangled hand and bites on my body. EVERYONE SAYS I MUST HAVE HIM PUT DOWN, but i can't. I suffer from depression and know that if I do I will not get over it. I have spoilt my dog and am always making a fuss of him.
I also have a 2 year old cocker spaniel bitch that is well behaved but chases children barking at them.
please please HELP.
Linda

[kjd]

Oh, Linda,

What a horrible thing to have happen! I hope your hand is OK now.

Who is "EVERYONE"?

Have you taken your dog to the vet to make sure he is healthy and physically sound? Is it possible he has some physical problem that is aggravated that 1 time out of 10 that he attacks?

If you have already done this, I have some other suggestions, but seeing the vet is number one.

Please let us know how you are doing,
kjd

[lindawaghorne]

hi
I did take my dog to the vets the last time he attacked me and he had blood test etc which showed up no problems.
I have also seen a behaviourist at the vets with no success.
The vet, the behaviourist and my family have all tryed to persuade me to have him put to sleep.
Linda

[kjd]

Linda,

I'm no vet, but can a blood test show that a dog has a mal-aligned spine or hip displasia? Has your vet x-rayed?

kjd

[lindawaghorne]

Hi kjd
The vet did not do an xray but I have tried throwing food a distance from him so I can retrieve the object he has stolen, he still guards what he has stolen and it is obvious that he will attack if I go near what he has which leads me to think it is not a physical problem but a aggression one.
Yesterday he had my tv controls I had to hide behind my kitchen door and was throwing food a distance from him through a crack in the door, he was retrieving the food but no way could I get near to get the tv controls if i had come out from behind the door he would of attacked me.

[kjd]

Linda,

This does not sound good at all!

There are two things you must keep in mind:

#1 This is not your fault!
You didn't make him into the dog he is.

#2 At what point will you be able to say "Enough is enough" and put him down?
You indicate you are the carer of your husband. What would you do if the dog attacked your husband? If he attacked a neighborhood child? If he slashed your face? Since you just asked about the dog, I am assuming the aggression has gotten worse over the years.

It is important for you to know the answer to that second question. My sister-in-law finally had to euthanize a dog she'd raised from a pup. It had always had a bad temperament, but when it deliberately bit her (though no blood was drawn), that was the point for her. She was in tears for weeks, but she knew she had done the right thing.

"Deliberate" is a word you have to define. I was deliberately bitten, and very badly, by a Great Dane. But the Dane, unknown to me, had been taken from an abusive situation. She thought I was about to strike and defended herself. I wouldn't even tell the people in the emergency room what kind of dog it was until they told me dogs can bite trainers and vets. It is assumed they do things that might cause good dogs to bite them so those bites don't count! (I was the assistant trainer in that class.)

Unfortunately, from what you say, your dog is deliberately biting you. The worst part is, you don't know when he will do it and when he'll let you have the object. This sounds to me like a bad temperament steadily getting worse.

Perhaps you can find someone like Cesar Milan, who insists he has never met a dog he cannot help.

Someone else on the forum may be able to give you some good suggestions. The only thing I can add to this is, if the dogs aren't neutered, neuter them.

I'm sorry I cannot give you an answer, Linda. Please keep #1 in mind and consider #2.

kjd

[kjd]

Dear Linda,

When considering that question: "When would I euthanize my dog," also think of illness and injury.

If your dog were hit by a car, or savaged by another dog, at what point would you let him go? If he had cancer? I just had to let my 7 year old GSD go because she had such a bad case of bloat her spleen had been removed and her stomach was dying off. That was horrible!

An earlier dog was euthanized at 10 because of cancer. This was probably the easiest decision because the vet and I had discussed the "when" as soon as we knew it was cancer. He operated twice. The third time I brought her in, he said her whole body was riddled. Then he said, "I always hate to do this. Especially at this time. (It was 4 days before Christmas.) And especially to this dog." You see, when the time came, we could concentrate on making it a happy death. The decision had been made while the dog was still coming home with me.

That is what I want you to be able to do. Not feeling forced into doing something because "everyone" tells you to do it. Not doing it because you are horrified at what the dog did or so angry at him. I want you to make an informed decision as to when you let a dog go -- whether for injury, disease, old age, or temperament. Then, when that time comes, you can mourn your dog's leaving you, but you will be able to say goodbye.


I hope some of this helps you, Linda. Having so recently lost Zoey, I understand how you feel. Please also talk with your therapist. He or she may be able to help you if you decide to euthanize.

However, I hope someone has a better answer for you,
kjd

[crazycrayonmom]

Sorry to hear about your problems, I've been in your exact situation. After one of my dogs got progressively worse (he had always been mildly aggressive) as he got older. He savaged my husband for no reason whatsoever. Our vet told us based on our dog's history and our description of the attack that it was probably senility setting in. There is treatment for it but the only way to know the meds aren't working is if he bites again. With a then 1 1/2 year old son I wasn't able to take the chance of another attack.

Sounds like you've tried everything, including a behaviorist. It's hard to make the choice to euthanize but sometimes, when you've tried everything else, you may have to. Best of luck with your pup. I'll be thinking of you! Let us know how you all are doing.

[MaxHollyNoah]

Hi lindawaghorne,

My heart is breaking as I read your story. I can tell you love your springer spaniel with all your heart.

However, kjd and crazycrayonmom's suggestions may be the right thing to do. My colleague told me just that he had to put his dog down since the Akita bit a friend of his kids in his face, that caused a couple of stiches.

May I ask one question though? Does your dog show aggression only when you (or anybody) tries to take a thing from him? How about when he doesn't have anything with him? Does he seem to enjoy just sitting or lying next to you and being petted?

If it is only when he is guarding something, I think there should be a hope to correct that specific behavior. Please let us know.

[lindawaghorne]

Hi Max hollynoah
Thanks for your reply
Yes my dog does only get aggressive when he is guarding something, the rest of the time he is very loving, he just wants to be made a fuss of, he sits's with me and love's to be told he is a good boy, he will do things like give me his paw and will go into down when i tell him so that I will tell him he is a good boy.
I blame myself for not training him properly so I am trying to do some alpha training with him hopefully this will make a difference.
I will not have him put to sleep until I have tryed everything I can, we don't have any children around so at least I dont have that worry, surely there must be something that will work.
Linda