To be considering rehoming my dog?

[GuiltRiddenDilema]

Don’t want to go into too much detail but she’s a 3 year old Dobermann. Had her since 8 weeks old. Was conned by the breeder (the adult dobies I met were not her parents, her parents it turns out … were too aggressive to meet). I did everything by the book, obedience classes, socialisation classes … she just got more and more aggressive. I got a 1-1 trainer … didn’t help. Tried a different 1-1 trainer - helped in the short term but soon went backwards, tried behaviourist who said the dog was fear aggressive and would never be able to be around other dogs or children. I travelled across the country with her for a Dobermann expert who said she’s bright as a button but will always be unpredictable and temperamental.
The area we live in is the worst possible area for her temperament. Lots of offlead dogs running around, lots of small children - I’m terrified she will escape the garden or something. I can’t walk her without being constantly on edge that she’ll hurt someone/something.
I’ve tried for 2.5 years to get her through this but she’s just the same as she always was. We have good days and bad days. I train her daily, I’ve put so much time and money into her training and see nothing for it.

Problem is I love the dog dearly and she’s obsessed with me. The guilt is eating away at me. In the meantime I’m terrified and alienating all the human relationships I have as nobody will come to my house anymore. I can’t even have my grandchild over.
She needs an experienced owner, one that can actually give her some kind of a life.
I’d contact a breed specific rescue and keep her until they could find a suitable experienced owner. I don’t want her going into kennels and I’m not interested in money. I just want to save her 😢

I just don’t know what to do anymore. My own adult children will no longer visit 😔

You have my sympathies. We rescued an adorable adult dog, aged 7, who had been abandoned (tied to a lamp-post in a city centre) and she took a long, long time to become the good natured friendly animal she ended up as - almost 2 years. DS once said 'she hates people, she hates other dogs, but she loves us' and it was true. We were never able to walk her off the lead, but we lived in the country, with a huge garden, and access to lots of open spaces for her to explore. She had 7 more years of life with us, and there are still flowers growing where she rests in the garden.

Perhaps you could contact the Dogs Trust? They are very good at rehoming dogs, and will keep and look after dogs that cannot be rehomed easily or in some cases at all.

Have you thought of a soft muzzle when going out or having visitors round. No need to worry then

@Umbella

I’m sorry you’re in this situation. I would look into rehoming to a specialist rescue and be very honest about the issues. However I think there is a good chance they will advise you to have her put to sleep, and this may well best be the outcome for her and for the safety of others.

I could be wrong but my understanding of rescues is that if you surrender a dog to them they really are not inclined to return it to you (unless the reason were something like homelessness on your part and you then gained a home).

Unfortunately, if your dog is as aggressive as you describe, I'm with those who suggest it's unlikely a rescue will be able to rehome it.

@ddl1

Perhaps you could contact the Dogs Trust? They are very good at rehoming dogs, and will keep and look after dogs that cannot be rehomed easily or in some cases at all.

They won't take an aggressive dog. They can't be rehomed. Only put to sleep or managed with this owner.

I agree with the vast majority of poster in here OP but I really feel for you. I grew up with mastiffs and the breeder we knew said that she could often see aggression in them as a pup and they would be put down as a pup and never homed. She took it really seriously so we knew we could trust her. I wish all large breed breeders were like this OP. You and your dog should never have been put in this situation. Lots of love and strength to you OP. Xxx

There are people whose circumstances mean that they can keep highly reactive dogs safely and happily. We have a relative who takes on dogs that no one else would want and has the scars to prove it. They live rurally and have plenty of land and they care for their dogs responsibly and keep others safe.

With a breed specific rescue you stand a good chance of finding her a perfect home. I don't know what commitment they would be willing or able to offer you though if things didn't work out but I think you are a great owner and you are putting your dog's needs ahead of your own, just as we all should do.

Have a lockable room in your house where you put the dog when anybody visits your house. Do not allow the dog to bite someone and if it's locked in a room it can't bite.
Put a muzzle on the dog and walk it 3 times a day for at least an hour each time. Keep your distance from other people and dogs. Try booking an enclosed dog walking enclosure, they are advertised on internet, so your dog can have a free run without coming into contact with other dogs or people.
Speak to a canine food manufacturer helpline, your dog may be hyper and a different feed may well help.
Continue with play/food/fun based training. Focus on recall, attention, sit/down positions and searching.
Start all this immediately while you consider your future options.
Yes, good dog ownership is time consuming and hard work.
Good luck to you both :-)

@Crazycrazylady

Honestly you're a disgrace to have such a dangerous dog in a small garden in London. If she escapes and attacks someone, you will be arrested and rightly so not to mention the damage she could do. If my mother chose a dog over her grandkids safety, I'd be devastated.

Who on earth said I was in London? 🤔 I’m not 🙄

The breed specific rescue that we got our spaniel from takes aggressive spaniels, they find homes for them. A lot seem to go to a long term foster who has dedicated her life to spaniels. She has a farm and no children, a lot live as predominantly outside dogs on the farm it seems.

Another friend takes aggressive dogs due to be put PTS from the RSPCA, she dedicates all her time to them and now they are all perfectly fine it seems.

Could you speak to the breeder? They might have a list of contacts and people who have got dogs from them before who could offer a good home.

@Sedai

Could you speak to the breeder? They might have a list of contacts and people who have got dogs from them before who could offer a good home.

See the OP - breeders unscrupulous and conned her.

@GuiltRiddenDilema why not call www.dobermannrescueuk.co.uk/ in the morning and have a conversation with them.

On their website is says they "To not knowingly place a vicious or otherwise seriously temperamentally unsound animal in an adoptive home. Any animal that we may be unsure of will be thoroughly assessed by a qualified behaviorist and evaluated by us before we even consider rehoming."

[quote anditgoesonandon]@LuckySantangelo35 this decision should be made by a reputable rehoming charity who deal with the breed regularly. If you don't think it's worth the charity assessing the dog and that it needs to have it's life ended without that assessment then I find that incredibly worrying.

@Daenerys77 seriously? they need to be an animal lover, that has the animal's best interest at heart. Anyone who feels a dog that isn't perfect should have it's life ended without experts from a charity making their own assessment, don't deserve to own a dog.[/quote]
But realistically what more could the charity do that OP hasn’t already tried??

I think owners have a duty to do what’s best for the dog and I agree with others that passing the dog on may well not be the best thing for the dog. You have to do what’s best for her, not for you. Don’t avoid having her pts just so you can avoid feeling guilty.

Sorry, if that’s sounds harsh, I genuinely don’t mean it to be. I came close to rehoming, that was certainly my first thought and I even got as far as approaching a few rescues (they all flat out said no by the way). Yes, I feel guilty for pts but I still believe it was the right thing to do for him. Better than rehoming. I genuinely think he’d have ended up being pts anyway with strangers and I would just have been dodging my responsibilities to him.

@LuckySantangelo35

Any animal that the charity is unsure of will be thoroughly assessed by a qualified behaviorist and evaluated before they even consider rehoming.

Are you a qualified behaviorist or do you just think you know more than one?

@anditgoesonandon - have you read the first post? She has tried two 1-1 trainers and travelled to see a Doberman specialist.

[quote anditgoesonandon]@LuckySantangelo35

Any animal that the charity is unsure of will be thoroughly assessed by a qualified behaviorist and evaluated before they even consider rehoming.

Are you a qualified behaviorist or do you just think you know more than one? [/quote]
You do realise you can have a dog assessed by a qualified behaviourist without needing to go to a charity or rehoming? My dog was assessed by someone with a PhD in animal behaviour, who specialised in aggressive dogs and ran one of the top animal behaviour degrees in the country. He couldn’t do anything. I don’t think any charity would have had a better qualified behaviourist. 🤷‍♀️ We also used numerous qualified positive reinforcement trainers.

@whatwasIgoingtosay

If you were my mother and I couldn't visit or bring my DC to see their grandmother because of your dog, I would be desperately hurt and consider going NC. I think you need to prioritise your family.

seriously

Your mother could visit you instead.

@DownWhichOfLate have you read the posts in this thread that discuss people who take on animals with aggression issues? Usually they have a lot of land and the capabilities to deal with the behaviour. The behaviourists OP has engaged with have been trying to help the dog given the environment OP lives in. This doesn't mean there is no possible alternative.

The whole purpose of this post was for OP to ask if it's reasonable to look into rehoming.

Everyone on here is suddenly an animal behaviorist who are serving this dog a death sentence, despite the fact they only have a tiny piece of information on the situation. I truly hope none of the people forming such an opinion without the qualifications to do so and on so little information will never own a pet.

So just endlessly have the dangerous animal ‘assessed’ by more behaviourists than it’s already seen? But next time, make a charity fund it? To what end?

Doesn’t seem like OP is interested in the replies on her thread anyway.

Why don’t you rehome it then, since you like owning an aggressive dog already, and won’t stop droning on?

@NowEvenBetter I suspect that OP wanted answers to the question they posed.

@NowEvenBetter I have a dog that has issues, in the future when he is no longer around I will be rehoming another such dog.

What people don't realise is that nervous dogs can be incredibly loving. Our dog is the most loyal and loving dog we've ever known. I will be giving a chance to other dogs like this in the future, and it's a good thing I am. I would hate to have the mentality of the others in this thread.