I want rid of the dog!

[EmmaB84]

Hi all
This is my first time on here.
My husband had two dogs when i met him which wasn't an issue. The pup was 1 year old! he'd rip up the sofa which hasn't stopped and he's 3. Torn our bed to shreads. He attacked another dog at 9 months old then attacked our other dog at 1.5 years. He would not let go and locked his jaw on both occasions. Was very scary to see! on both occasions my now husband and he's to much of libilty and he has to go! he didn't and he still continued to cause havoc in the home. Summer of this year he nipped/play bit my 13 year old on her face. It didn't draw blood but its enough for me to worry especially with other children in the house. I understand any dog can bite but because I've witnessed both fights and how extreme they were i panic. I can't trust him. He's just been away for 3 weeks training but only covered how he is around other dogs and on a lead. I hoped i could feel different and could have trust but i can't as i know what could happen. My husband doesn't understand this and won't re home so I'm packing my bags to protect my children and step kids. Am i being over the top in my decision???

[ButFirstTea]

Have you tried a behaviourist or training? I'd suggest getting someone in immediately who can help, and also installing some baby gates in the house to give the dog some space away from your children. I would also recommend crate training for night times and when you're out to limit the dog's access to chewing sofas etc.

It does sound like a difficult situation though, sorry you're going through this.

[Chippyway]

You do realise that training is an on going thing don’t you?? From the sounds of things it doesn’t seem like you’ve put in much effort! It’s all good and well sending him away to these training centres (personally I don’t agree) but if you aren’t going to continue then there’s no point!

Dogs don’t rip up sofas and destroy the house for no reason. Boredom, separation anxiety etc are all reasons behind why dogs do that. Which is all down to you - is he walked enough? Takes a lot of energy to rip up the house. I’m assuming wasn’t socialised enough if he’s attacking dogs for no reason - unless he was defending himself? Therefore he isn’t to blame. If he attacked the first dog for no reason why did you allow him in a situation where he was able to attack the second dog?
Does he get plenty mental stimulation - probably not because it doesn’t seem like there was much training going on before you sent him away.

The fact is dogs don’t destroy the house for no reason.

How was your dog able to hurt your nieces face? Why was it allowed to get that close? I cuddle and kiss my dog, but if I were to see any other family member get that close to her I’d tell them to back away - luckily my family already know not to do this. You say the dog was playing - therefore it was an accident. Teach your niece not to get so close to somebody else’s dog.

If you do rehome your dog I think you should ‘justify’ it by letting him find a family who are willing to put in the effort, love and training, rather than get rid of him because he’s the problem. He’s not - you are.

[BiteyShark]

Are you both on the same page in wanting to fix the behavioural issues? If you are get a qualified behaviourist in to help you both. Your vet should be able to recommend one.

In the meantime use baby gates to separate the dog and children at all times.

[strugglingtodomybest]

I agree with Chippy.

The easiest thing to do at this point is to take him out for some proper long walks and wear him out. How far does he normally go per day?

[Wolfiefan]

Puppies do tear things up. If they aren't taught not to (by offering something they can chew) they won't stop.
Was this dog left alone a lot? That can make them chew out of boredom or anxiety.
I can't comment on the dog fight as I wasn't there. Dog fights can be out of resource guarding or anxiety or loads of other reasons.
Dogs can't lock their jaws.
What was the 13 year old doing when they were nipped? Playing? Taking something that belonged to the dog? Waking it up? Would be better to give the dog it's own space.
Sending a dog away for training is pretty pointless I think. Decent dog training teaches the owner. Just because that trainer can stop a certain behaviour it doesn't mean you can.
What walking and training do you or he do?
You clearly can't stand to be in the same house as the dog and fear it. So yes I would move out. But it's a shame nobody seems to want to address the actual issues.

[Wornoutbear]

locking jaws myth blog.sfgate.com/pets/2010/09/10/pet-myths-do-certain-dog-breeds-have-locking-jaws/

Poor dog, seems like no one wants to bother with it properly, and in the end the dog will suffer.

[Korez]

I totally sympathise having a destructive dog in your household which you don't want there.

You've said that his is your DH's dog, who doesn't see the problem... is it being left to you to tidy up after and exercise? He really needs to get this dog more training.

As previously suggested, stair gates and crates can help with avoiding damage, and making sure the dog is regularly exercised.

Does your husband take the dog out twice a day? Could you? (With a muzzle)..

[Elphame]

This came through my FB feed the other day - when your dog nipped your daughter he could have hurt her - he didn't. Are you taking notice of the dogs behaviour?

canismajortraining.com/blog/2016/9/21/the-perfect-bite

[Ragwort]

Personally I would have left after the very first incident, and how does your DD feel about living with a dog that attacked her?

[missbattenburg]

While it sounds like a super tough scenario for you, the dog doesn't sound untrained. His owner (your dh) sounds like the one without the right skills or knowledge to look after a dog properly. A dog doing these things is not only unpleasant to live with but is also having a pretty miserable life himself - nervous, bored, scared, frustrated.

Sending him away will do nothing. The dog may be a bit better when he gets back but without keeping up the training he will soon regress back. The dog will then get blamed as being a naughty or dangerous dog and your husband will (no doubt) tell himself he did everything he could but the dog was just a bad one.

As others had said, dogs cannot lock their jaws, However, the phrase you used suggest to me this is a bull breed - as the myth is that it's them that can lock jaws. Whilst I think they are lovely dogs, the sad truth is that any bully breed owner needs to be extra specially careful about training because people are so willing to see them as aggressive dogs and place the responsibility for any altercation on them. The fact that your husband has neglected to realise this and do something about it is incredibly sad (for this dog and for the breeds overall).

As others have said:

• Chewing: you need to identify why the dog is chewing. Is it because he is bored when left or because he is anxious. The solution is different. Bored dogs needs things to entertain them both when you are there and when you are not. Anxious dogs need careful support to overcome their fears.
  

• Dog attack: again, you would need to know why and a decent behaviourist or trainer could help you with that. Remember that aggressive dogs are almost always scared dogs. An owners job is to figure out what exactly is scaring the dog and help him overcome those fears.
  

• Play bite: you would need to look at how the play was happening. Whilst your 13yo might be a lovely gentle child, even they can sometimes mistake how to play with a dog nicely so that they do not get over excited and lose control of their behaviour. Similarly, a boisterous child could easily aggravate a dog by taking away toys, think they are playing but actually the dog just wants to be left alone. Supervision would be necessary to see what was going on.
  

Somehow, I feel like all this will fall on your dh's deaf ears and that eventually this poor dog is going to pay for his ignorance...

[Greyhorses]

You need professional help and to properly train and manage the dog.

If you can't/won't then I think it would be best to rehome him to someone who knows what they are doing.