If you have 5 minutes to read this and respond, I'd really appreciate it. There's no way I can condense it into a few sentences.
A little over a year ago, a dog came into my life unexpectedly. I wasn't looking for one, but this poor dog had nowhere to go. He had been abandoned, neglected, malnourished, and I later figured out he was abused. After he was abandoned by his owner at a friend's home, I took him to our animal rescue league hoping someone would adopt him. I received a call from them 3 days later saying they were going to euthanize him because they found him aggressive. I was in disbelief because I spent 3 days with him, and he got along very well with me and my little dog. I decided to take him back and try and find him a home myself.
I did find him a home, but that lasted for 3 months, and they gave him back to me in January. While they had him, they left him off of the leash all the time. During that time, he toppled a man to the ground, chased a little girl, and they believe he nipped a joggers ankles (but the jogger kept running, so they're not 100% sure).
I decided to keep him, and put all of my effort into making him a wonderful dog. I did a DNA test, and it came back that he's 75% pitbull and 25% redbone coonhound. I'm his 5th home, and he's 3 1/2 years old.
It's been almost year since I've had him. He's 90% great, and 10% not good. I did 5 in-home private training lessons, and an 8 week group cl$#@!. He's made great strides in some areas, but has remained the same in other areas (and those are the ones that needed changed). He was terrible when visitors would come over. He would lunge at their faces. Sometimes he would settle down, but sometimes he wouldn't. I would then put him in his crate. He has terrible "boundary frustration/aggression." I used to love taking him to an enclosed tennis court to play fetch, but after sometime, he would lose his mind if another dog was on the outside of the cage. It was as though he was having a meltdown. It was so hard to regain control over him after that, so we stopped going there. Walks (on leash) can be a bit of a nightmare. If he senses that a human is afraid of him, he'll growl and viciously bark at that person. If there's someone walking another dog in front of us, he'll lose his mind. If we quickly walk by another dog, he does better, but a dog in front of us is not ok. He's very protective of me, and is very territorial of my property. He is not food aggressive, not toy aggressive and has never once gotten into a fight with my 9 year old little female poodle mix. I've been taking him to doggy day care 3 days a week since January, without any problems. He still marks my house on occasion. I cannot figure out if that's anxiety related, or dominance related. He has extreme anxiety before he needs to poop. He'll spin in circles about 50 times, and completely try to dig up someone's entire front yard before he poops. He's a fence jumper. He has jumped my 6 foot fence, so now I have to keep him on a leash in my fenced in yard. He still wants out if he hears a dog nearby. If a human gets too close to the fence, he freaks out.
3 weeks ago, my father was visiting. My dad gave him some treats while he was still in his crate (I have to do this every time a visitor comes to my home). My dog came out, and was quietly sitting on the rug, chewing on one of his nylabones for about an hour. I got up to go into the kitchen, and all of sudden, I hear his vicious bark. He had lunged into my father's face for no reason. I had to keep him in his crate for the rest of the night. He continued to growl and bark at him. My mom was visiting this past Monday, and he did a mini-lunge at her, but nothing like my dad.
I immensely love this dog, but I'm afraid. I live in fear of what could possibly happen. What if I'm not holding his leash tightly enough? What if he breaks from the leash in my backyard? While he hasn't bitten or attacked anyone while I've had him, I believe there's a potential to do so if I'm not being 100% watchful of him based on his past. Are my fears unfounded? Am I the problem? I try to be the "leader of the pack," but maybe I'm failing. Or, has he been too damaged by his past, that there is no other option? Several people have told me I need to put him to sleep. Some people say he's not wired right. I've contacted a few sanctuaries that keep animals that cannot be adopted out. They say they are full.
I'm so sad. I'm riddled with guilt, sadness and shame of the thought of euthanizing him. Maybe there is more that I can do. Maybe there isn't. I feel like a failure. I've completely altered my life to help this dog. I traded in my compact car for an SUV to accommodate my dog's crate. I'm allergic to him, but I'll live with that. I've bought him the best of everything, feed him the best food. I want you to know that I LOVE him, more than you can imagine. He's so cuddly, affectionate, loving, warm, playful and loyal. And he loves me - I think this is what's hardest. He totally loves me.
Thank you for your thoughts
A little over a year ago, a dog came into my life unexpectedly. I wasn't looking for one, but this poor dog had nowhere to go. He had been abandoned, neglected, malnourished, and I later figured out he was abused. After he was abandoned by his owner at a friend's home, I took him to our animal rescue league hoping someone would adopt him. I received a call from them 3 days later saying they were going to euthanize him because they found him aggressive. I was in disbelief because I spent 3 days with him, and he got along very well with me and my little dog. I decided to take him back and try and find him a home myself.
I did find him a home, but that lasted for 3 months, and they gave him back to me in January. While they had him, they left him off of the leash all the time. During that time, he toppled a man to the ground, chased a little girl, and they believe he nipped a joggers ankles (but the jogger kept running, so they're not 100% sure).
I decided to keep him, and put all of my effort into making him a wonderful dog. I did a DNA test, and it came back that he's 75% pitbull and 25% redbone coonhound. I'm his 5th home, and he's 3 1/2 years old.
It's been almost year since I've had him. He's 90% great, and 10% not good. I did 5 in-home private training lessons, and an 8 week group cl$#@!. He's made great strides in some areas, but has remained the same in other areas (and those are the ones that needed changed). He was terrible when visitors would come over. He would lunge at their faces. Sometimes he would settle down, but sometimes he wouldn't. I would then put him in his crate. He has terrible "boundary frustration/aggression." I used to love taking him to an enclosed tennis court to play fetch, but after sometime, he would lose his mind if another dog was on the outside of the cage. It was as though he was having a meltdown. It was so hard to regain control over him after that, so we stopped going there. Walks (on leash) can be a bit of a nightmare. If he senses that a human is afraid of him, he'll growl and viciously bark at that person. If there's someone walking another dog in front of us, he'll lose his mind. If we quickly walk by another dog, he does better, but a dog in front of us is not ok. He's very protective of me, and is very territorial of my property. He is not food aggressive, not toy aggressive and has never once gotten into a fight with my 9 year old little female poodle mix. I've been taking him to doggy day care 3 days a week since January, without any problems. He still marks my house on occasion. I cannot figure out if that's anxiety related, or dominance related. He has extreme anxiety before he needs to poop. He'll spin in circles about 50 times, and completely try to dig up someone's entire front yard before he poops. He's a fence jumper. He has jumped my 6 foot fence, so now I have to keep him on a leash in my fenced in yard. He still wants out if he hears a dog nearby. If a human gets too close to the fence, he freaks out.
3 weeks ago, my father was visiting. My dad gave him some treats while he was still in his crate (I have to do this every time a visitor comes to my home). My dog came out, and was quietly sitting on the rug, chewing on one of his nylabones for about an hour. I got up to go into the kitchen, and all of sudden, I hear his vicious bark. He had lunged into my father's face for no reason. I had to keep him in his crate for the rest of the night. He continued to growl and bark at him. My mom was visiting this past Monday, and he did a mini-lunge at her, but nothing like my dad.
I immensely love this dog, but I'm afraid. I live in fear of what could possibly happen. What if I'm not holding his leash tightly enough? What if he breaks from the leash in my backyard? While he hasn't bitten or attacked anyone while I've had him, I believe there's a potential to do so if I'm not being 100% watchful of him based on his past. Are my fears unfounded? Am I the problem? I try to be the "leader of the pack," but maybe I'm failing. Or, has he been too damaged by his past, that there is no other option? Several people have told me I need to put him to sleep. Some people say he's not wired right. I've contacted a few sanctuaries that keep animals that cannot be adopted out. They say they are full.
I'm so sad. I'm riddled with guilt, sadness and shame of the thought of euthanizing him. Maybe there is more that I can do. Maybe there isn't. I feel like a failure. I've completely altered my life to help this dog. I traded in my compact car for an SUV to accommodate my dog's crate. I'm allergic to him, but I'll live with that. I've bought him the best of everything, feed him the best food. I want you to know that I LOVE him, more than you can imagine. He's so cuddly, affectionate, loving, warm, playful and loyal. And he loves me - I think this is what's hardest. He totally loves me.
Thank you for your thoughts
I think I need to have my pit mix put to sleep. I'm devastated. I need your advice
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