Skip to main content
Skip to main navigation
Skip to talk navigation

Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Saved Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Flip

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

The doghouse

Need dog advice please

18 replies

nz888 · 05/08/2019 05:40

Hi everyone please give me some advice ,
I have an 1 year old Japanese spitz who is really cute but ever since he was little he has been showing signs of aggression towards me and my family but mostly to my 12 year old daughter ( it’s her dog ) he suffers anxiety , resource guarding and as I said really aggressive. I feel so sorry for him he doesn’t mean to bite bad it’s kind of turned into a natural instinct. We have done so much for him such as one on one trainings etc so it didn’t have to come to rehoming him. He is a very sick dog who suffers anxiety, resource guards , anemic , aggressive… he is currently taking Prozac. I am so stressed and guilty thinking about rehoming him as I want him to go to a really special, happy , safe , loving home that I can rely on them to look after my fur baby. My daughter gets so upset because she’s wanted a dog for years but she got this special needs dog.

Here are some examples of what he is capable of....

– 6 weeks into having him home he bit my daughter on the face because she was going to stir his food together
– if she trys to play with him he bites her on the hands, legs and arms …
– by the way the special trainer says it’s not our fault he’s like this it’s genetics ( in his DNA / born like that )
– he punctures the skin when he bites
– he guards things eg: toys ( one time he was anxious and started guarding a book !!! )
– noise sensitive

he bit my daughter friend ( no puncture in skin )
my 6 year old niece was bitten and is now terrified of him

Please give me some advice to take on , thankyou so much!
Is rehoming him the best option?

OP posts:

Report

MaitlandGirl · 05/08/2019 05:53

If he was my dog I'd treat him to a piece of good steak, take him to his favourite place for an online walk and then have him pts.

If he's still biting, despite having a trainer work with him, is biting children and can't be controlled its irresponsible and dangerous to rehome him.

nz888 · 05/08/2019 05:55

Thankyou so much for advice

OP posts:

nz888 · 05/08/2019 06:02

Oh and also lately his has unusually started to be scared of walking in some places in the house ( he wants to be carried )

OP posts:

adaline · 05/08/2019 06:37

He sounds dangerous. Dogs with bite history rarely get accepted by rehoming centres and you'd be incredibly irresponsible to rehome him privately knowing what he's capable of.

You've had a behaviourist but have you been to the vet for a full health check to rule out pain or illness? I would be doing that then if he was showing as physically healthy I'm afraid I'd be considering having him PTS.

It's not acceptable to have a dog with such severe bite history around children.

Moondust001 · 05/08/2019 06:49

Heartbreaking though it is, if you've exhausted all possible avenues with the vet and training, then a agree that euthanasia is the only responsible option. And I really would seldom say that, but I was once in the same position. Many years ago a had a collie who grew, over his 18 months, beyond aggressive (and I'm a very experienced collie owner). We exhausted all options in training, then with the vet, and the day that I came back to the house and he tried to attack me for coming into my own home was the day that I booked him in to be put to sleep. I knew that if he was a danger to me, he was a danger to everyone else - a dog has to respect and obey their owner. You cannot rehome a dog like this.

Dontgiveamonkeys1350 · 05/08/2019 07:04

U have done everything I did. I got help from the vet. I paid to have a behaviourist come in. I worked with her for months. Then the day came when he jumped off the sofa, jumped onto my son as he was just walking by and went for his neck.
I spoke to everyone and they all said if we didn’t do something in a few months we wouldn’t be re homing him we would be having him put to sleep.

Trust me. I did everything I could Trainers , I read and read and watched video after video. But. He needed more. He needed someone with the knowledge to help him more than I did.

So I spoke to a breed specific re homing place. They agreed to take him and send him to a foster home to see if they could help him. They knew more than I did. They had training in this kind of thing.

He was there for months apparently. But they managed to help him and he was re homed eventually with someone who knew how to handle a dog like that. Damn I still miss him.

Have u tried a specific re homing place. They maybe able to help you more in terms of re homing. If they say they can’t take him I would maybe consider putting to sleep. A dog like that is dangerous in the hands of someone who doesn’t have the expert knowledge of how to take care of them. I didn’t. Even after all my training from people all the reading I did.
I certainly wouldn’t have them around children if sorry u are in this position, it is heart breaking.

adaline · 05/08/2019 10:22

I also think some dogs are just aggressive for whatever reason and there's nothing we can do about it - it's either too ingrained in them or they were born that way.

I don't think a truly aggressive dog is a happy dog and whilst sometimes they can be "fixed" with lots of time and effort, sometimes that's not possible and it's okay to have them PTS.

There are much worse fates than them falling to sleep and never waking up again.

adaline · 05/08/2019 10:22

I also think some dogs are just aggressive for whatever reason and there's nothing we can do about it - it's either too ingrained in them or they were born that way.

I don't think a truly aggressive dog is a happy dog and whilst sometimes they can be "fixed" with lots of time and effort, sometimes that's not possible and it's okay to have them PTS.

There are much worse fates than them falling to sleep and never waking up again.

adaline · 05/08/2019 10:22

I also think some dogs are just aggressive for whatever reason and there's nothing we can do about it - it's either too ingrained in them or they were born that way.

I don't think a truly aggressive dog is a happy dog and whilst sometimes they can be "fixed" with lots of time and effort, sometimes that's not possible and it's okay to have them PTS.

There are much worse fates than them falling to sleep and never waking up again.

adaline · 05/08/2019 10:23

I also think some dogs are just aggressive for whatever reason and there's nothing we can do about it - it's either too ingrained in them or they were born that way.

I don't think a truly aggressive dog is a happy dog and whilst sometimes they can be "fixed" with lots of time and effort, sometimes that's not possible and it's okay to have them PTS.

There are much worse fates than them falling to sleep and never waking up again.

Dontgiveamonkeys1350 · 05/08/2019 16:07

@adaline I totally agree with u. Mine wasn’t always like that. He was nervous and turned nervous aggressive. I wanted to give him one more chance before he was put down. I wanted to keep him so much I just didn’t know how to help him enough.

I’m pleased I gave him a chance and someone who knew what they were doing were able to help him.
I miss that damn dog everyday. I had him from a puppy. I trained him day in day out. He was a springer. I walked him long walks everyday in the woods. Trained him in the woods. I tried and tried and tried. And I realised that I just wasn’t knowledgable enough. All that effort to fail was heart breaking.

Moondust001 · 05/08/2019 21:43

You didn't fail. You put in effort few owners ever put in, and for a dog that couldn't respond to it. Your dog was lucky it could be helped - some simply can't be. In my case the vet had previously told me that whilst it isn't common, it happened enough for him to recognise - sometimes some Border Collies are born with the kill switch turned on, and it is only a matter of time. I once, afterwards, saw another one like that. It was one of the most terrifying dogs I have ever seen. Big enough to do real damage to people and other dogs, smart enough to think through strategy and downright nasty. I know I did the right thing.

crazycatgal · 05/08/2019 21:49

I have a Japanese Spitz, which breeder did you get him from? I would speak to the breeder about his aggressive behaviour.

Would you be able to speak to someone at the breed rescue?

nz888 · 06/08/2019 04:53

Thankyou so so much! You people are amazing
crazycatgal i got my Japanese spitz from a lady in Melbourne
Also his anxiety is getting worse , so we are booking him in again for an professional dog trainer to come and see what else we can do.
I feel so sorry for him ( he kinda looks sad ) the thing is you can’t even play with this dog it’s to risky , it turns into a game of biting.

OP posts:

crazycatgal · 06/08/2019 09:04

I wouldn't bother again with a dog trainer, he really isn't doing well in this environment. Contact the Japanese Spitz rescue so that he can hopefully have a chance.

crazycatgal · 06/08/2019 09:04

I wouldn't bother again with a dog trainer, he really isn't doing well in this environment. Contact the Japanese Spitz rescue so that he can hopefully have a chance.

OrangeTwirl · 03/11/2019 02:44

Woah! In August you posted about an aggressive poodle and claimed you had no children... What's going on? A troll for sure. Reported!

DramaAlpaca · 03/11/2019 02:55

Well spotted OrangeTwirl.

Flip

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.