Putting my 8 year old dog to sleep....

[loubbyloob]

2 years ago we got Sam from the kennels.
He has been badly abused by his last owners (burns to his skin,matted fur etc )
After a few weeks he snarled at me and showed his teeth.
The week after he bit me (when I went to kiss boyfriend )
I think he thought I was going to hurt bf.
He is a nervous wreck,jumps at any noise,won't let us stroke him.
We have had 3 bites In two years and needed antibiotics.
We have no kids so there's no risk there.

He will only sleep in our bedroom.
Otherwise he howls all night long.
We bought him a single bed so he wouldn't jump on ours.
The last two weeks we go to bed at 11pm and he spends 4 hours just staring at snarling (there's nothing there)
Jumping as if someone is there and barking.
He won't settle.
We are shattered all the time.
He finally falls to sleep at around 3am

My boyfriend wants to put him to sleep.
I don't.
I want him to have a nice life.
I rang vets and booked in next week.
They recommended herbal calming tablets.
I've ordered them.

Any ideas why he is doing this ?
Is he seeing things?
Does he have PTSD?
He is so unpredictable and we can't stroke him or let him kiss us because he just flips.

Makes me laugh with the term put to sleep, let’s be accurate you’re having the dog killed !! Fact you even have to ask on here is playing with your conscious. Get the poor dog a new home and don’t have another pet you sound far too immature to be fair !

Makes me laugh with the term put to sleep, let’s be accurate you’re having the dog killed !! Fact you even have to ask on here is playing with your conscious. Get the poor dog a new home and don’t have another pet you sound far too immature to be fair !

Makes me laugh that you think this response makes you sound mature to be fair.

Our rescue was 3 when we got him, according to the rescue, turned out to be more like 8/9.

We think he was about 17 when he was PTS (doggy dementia and cancer)

Get the vet to have a good check of your dog to see if they agree on the age.

What is he like at the groomers ? I presume you take him to be clipped given his breeds ? or do you do it yourself ?

@loubbyloob please try Pupcakes rescue before you think of pts. They are a rescue that specialises in dogs with complex behaviour and bite histories. They also have a lot of poo crosses so will be familiar with the breed. They are near Lincoln but do have volunteers with transport.

I don’t think of dogs seeing ghosts and spirits but do think they can hear stuff and sense things we can’t. I know some scientists found spots which are thought to be haunted actually had high levels of a certain sound frequency humans couldn’t hear as sound but made them feel uneasy. I wonder if it’s possible he can hear something be it an animal, an alarm someone puts on at night or something else. Do you have any neighbours with dogs to find out if anyone’s else’s dog behaviour has changed at night? I hope you can find a way forward, such a horrible situation to be in when you clearly really care about him

Of course it’s unreasonable to consider PTS without even considering medical issues and involving a behaviourist

I only ask about the groomers because if there is an area which is painful , they are probably going to notice when doing a groom, so if he is tetchy when doing ears or paws etc ?
If you are grooming him yourself, are you concious of his bite history and so maybe don't do as thorough a job because of it and there may be matts you haven't discovered as a result which cause pain ?
I know this might seem like a daft question but is he trimmed so he can see properly ? if you can't see very well as a dog, sudden movements in your vicinity could be seen as a threat, especially given his previous history.
With the nightime barking, dogs have much better hearing than us, there could be something nesting on the chimney or guttering or living in your loft or be outside but close by, like a shed or garage or outbuilding, that is setting him off ?

Poodle cross Bedlington , so you have a very intelligent dog with an inflated sense of its own importance crossed with a terrier which believes it is slightly higher than God and wants to kill everything else given even the slimmest of opportunity, with a known history of abuse, 3 bites in 2 years doesn't sound bad going TBH !

I think dogs can see things that we can't but as for what, I've no idea. My aunt lives in a very old house, used to be one house but split into two. There was a passageway leading to the cellar and apparently someone was killed in the passageway. We found this out through research because her dog hated that passageway. Avoided it all day, wouldn't go in for anything and laid by the door all evening, hackles up, growling at it. Never took his eyes off the door, never turned his back to it. If you called him over he would back up first before turning towards you and even then he tried to always stay where he could see it. I don't know to this day why he hated it so much.

They see a different colour spectrum than we do so maybe something to do with the light? Something casting a shadow that scares him? Have you moved or changed anything in the room before it started?

My other thought is something neurological. The staring and snarling at nothing could suggest a tumour of some kind.

I'd try a behaviouralist first but if he can't be helped, what kind of life does he have, really?

Hi op, you say he is 8. Are you sure? It is really difficult to age dogs. He may be much older and suffering from dementia or a neurological condition. Being awake at night agitated is really strange behaviour. Sudden reactive biting is also unusual in dogs. I would go to the vet before a behaviourist. Best of luck op.

My friends dog about a similar age to yours started doing this. Was perfectly happy lovely dog then overnight started howling, snarling and snapping.

Turns out poor thing had a stroke. He was PTS because there was nothing that could have been done for him, the brain bleed had caused damage, he was in pain and just couldn't cope anymore.

I'd take him to a vet OP.

How did it go @loubbyloob?

Find a behaviour counsellor through the ABPC - you will need a referral from a vet to rule out any physical issues.

Good luck, and remember that an animal who is PTS is not suffering so doing that is not being cruel if it turns out to be the best option.