Please please please give advice

[nz888]

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
  
• also just today he got out and this lady was walking her 2 dogs and my dog started growling and nipping at the dogs ( lady was swearing her head off at my daughter )
  

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

[mistermagpie]

Rehoming him? No that's not the best option. Having him put down is the best option.

I can't believe this is actually true and that any sane person would still have a pet dog thar had bitten their children and others.

[DramaAlpaca]

I was going to say exactly what mistermagpie said.

[Loaf90]

Have you discussed with a vet?

[Singlenotsingle]

He's got a fatal flaw. He's going to do serious damage, maybe to your dd. Agree with pp.

[HeidiPeidi]

Agreed with all pp, I’m afraid. Speak with your vet ASAP. My neighbour had a labradoodle who showed many of the issues you’re talking about here, from a very young age. At 6 months old he lunged, unprovoked, as we were sat chatting and bit her 1yo ds [who had been sat playing quietly on the opposite side of the room] on the leg, luckily it just tore his jeans and left a red mark. She’d had 2 behaviourists and plenty of 1-2-1 training prior to this, nothing helped, she was told by one behaviourist it was just ‘something in him’ and unfortunately he was unlikely to improve, but one of the trainers told her it was because she was pregnant and he’d be better once the baby was born. She believed/trusted the trainer. After this biting incident she decided to re-home him, and went to great lengths to ensure he went to a lovely woman with a farm, plenty of land [including her own boating lake!] and no kids or other dogs. For a while she received updates and adorable photos of him sat in a boat wearing a life jacket, running in the fields, playing in the snow etc. Then one day she received an email from the devastated lady who’d had to have him euthanised after he’d bitten one of the farm workers, leaving him needing stitches and scarred for life.

I know we can all spout anecdotal evidence, but so, so much of this is uncomfortably familiar. Please, speak to your vet. In fact, speak to several vets, get more than one opinion so you’re certain you’re doing the right thing & wont be wracked with guilt. And when you do, please be 100% honest. It would be entirely unfair to re-home this dog.

[Pollydron]

He sounds like a very anxious and unhappy dog. I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but the chances of finding him the sort of home you describe are slim.

Rehoming him will stress and confuse him more. And even you think you’ve found him a good home, it’s no guarantee that he’ll have a happy future. People will make all kinds of promises but can’t always follow through when faced with the reality of a challenging animal.

It’s an awful call to have to make, especially with your DD involved, but the kindest and most responsible thing to do is put him to sleep.

[Sweetpeach3]

Have you cut his bits off to try calm him down?
If not I'd defiantly re-home it isn't worth the risk around children incase he just changes- my brother had a Rhodesian ridgeback and she was the softest donkey walking. Had her 8 years then 1 day she bit my niece on her face. She was put Straight to sleep.... it's not nice

My best friend got a German Shepard last Christmas for her kids as they cried for years and years for one. He was exactly like this and she contacted dog shelters and they re homed him with the police as he was still young enough to train. Something like this may be good for him as he sounds like he needs someone very dominant to what he is.
Their is going to be a more suitable home for him somewhere so don't be to upset. These things happen xx

[longearedbat]

@Sweetpeach3 - I don't think a japanese spitz is going to be useful as a police dog. You are also mentioning dominance, so I really do wonder if you know very much about dogs at all. There is not going to be a more suitable home for this dog. Who wants a dog that bites regularly?
OP, the kindest thing you can do is have this dog put down. By not doing so, you are just passing the responsibility onto someone else. I rehomed a small dog once and I was lied to as to the reason for rehoming. I had him put down after he bit two people on two successive days (totally unprovoked). I later found out they rehomed him because he had bitten their child. They just didn't have the moral fibre to make the decision for themselves; just passed it on to muggins.
Do the right thing.

[Jouska]

Who put him on prozac - was it a vet with behavioural referral or the vet?

Are you in the UK?

Who is the specialist trainer and what are their qualifications?

[WagathaChristie]

If you want pm me I will show you a picture of my daughters face after our shihtzu went for her unprovoked this summer.
We were stupid because he was cute and looked like a teddy bear we thought these little random acts of aggression he had shown signs of over the 3 years we had him could be sorted.
They couldn't he lunged at her for no reason and left her needing ten stitches.
We had him put down the next day and it was the kindest thing we could do. I wish I had done it the first time he had bitten.

Sorry it's awful but it's the kindest thing to do. If I'd rehomed him I would have constantly been waiting for the news he had hurt someone else.

[Silencedwitness]

I would go to the vet and discuss options. We have a year old dog and he’s smothered in love by my autistic dd but he’s never lunged or bitten at all. My other dc’s friend was bitten on the face by a dog and the dog was put down. I think maybe you need to consider this as an option.

[Veterinari]

Your dog is clearly unhappy.

It does sound as if he's Genetically predisposed to anxiety which can lead to aggression but additionally you sound very uninformed as a dog owner. No child should be approaching a dog’s food bowl - especially not a resource-guarding anxious dog - it’s setting the dog up to fail.

There is almost always a series of warning behaviours prior to a bite - however many parents/owners ignore these or aren’t aware of them.

We were stupid because he was cute and looked like a teddy bear we thought these little random acts of aggression he had shown signs of over the 3 years we had him could be sorted.
They couldn't he lunged at her for no reason and left her needing ten stitches.

This is a classic example: a dog that has shown little acts of aggression has not bitten ‘out if nowhere’, he’s been telling you for 3 years that he’s uncomfortable and his communication has been ignored. Then when a dog’s patience finally runs out (often at a child as they are unpredictable, noisy and invade space) there’s the excuse of ‘it happened out of nowhere. No it didn’t - it’s been happening for 3 years.

I find it bizarre that people get dogs without knowing the first thing about dog behaviour or safe dog child interactions. The result is often a scarred child and a dead dog and an adult shrugging their shoulders as if the situation was entirely unpredictable.

[Veterinari]

If anyone is interested in learning about dog behaviour there are resources on this thread
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/2956670-Useful-resources-for-common-questions

[Jouska]

I find it bizarre that the dog has seen professionals and the OP is asking randoms on the internet what to do. None of us can say none of us have seen the dog in real life. Go back to professionals.

A good behaviourist will assess the situation and give advice and help with the dogs future what ever it may be

None of us can help you

[Winterdaysarehere]

He should have been pts at the first point in your post.
He bit her face and you kept him? You referring to him as a fur baby isn't healthy imo.
He is a dog. An aggressive dog. Who you have placed higher than the safety of your own child!!

[MadameLeFunky]

Is rehoming him the best option?

What makes you think someone else wants this dog? Try calling up a Akita rescue and describe it exactly as you have here and see what happens.

If your 1-to-1 trainer and vet couldn't help you decide what to do, why will a bunch of strangers on the internet be any better???

Besides, you posted this exact same thing back in Aug and have done nothing since, by the look of it.

[longearedbat]

Yes, this is almost word for word the same message that you posted in August. Honestly makes me wonder if this is a genuine request for help?

[OrangeTwirl]

First off who the hell would say the dog belongs to a 12 year old?? You cannot expect or allow your DD to be responsible for a dog!

The Dog has bitten many times. You are obviously not the best family to train the dog. Please rehome to a breed specific rescue...hopefully the dog will be worked with and, later, rehomed to someone who has a clue....

[Bunnybigears]

Either rehome through a breed specific rescue being very honest about his circumstances or have him put down.

[Wolfiefan]

You asked about this in August and then said you had seen a behaviourist who gave good advice. What was this and did you follow it? Q

[Wheat2Harvest]

This dog is dangerous! I think you know this but don't want to admit it. If you do try to have it rehomed you MUST be honest about what it does. I remember the very sad case of Lexi Branson who was killed by a rehomed dog that the previous owner reportedly hadn't been very honest about as he wanted to get shot of it.

However, I think the best solution would be to have it put to sleep. This could be difficult for your daughter, but if you are charged with having a dangerously out-of-control dog things will be MUCH worse.