To get rid of the dog

[BananaLeafs]

So here goes..my first post and I am open to hearing if I'm being unreasonable.

Around 6 months ago I got a reactive rescue dog, she wasn't from a rescue center but from a home where she was mistreated. She doesn't listen at all, she knows her name and will only respond if I offer her human food. She is dog and people aggressive, lunges and barks on lead, cannot be near anything, guards her crate and toys and food, very viciously, even guarding the hallway.

She will also lunge at you if you have something she wants eg food or plastic bottles. She has been spayed and I have had a dog trainer which hasn't helped. I am exhausted I just want to cry, she even barks at neighbours and lunges.

She is not the dog I thought I was helping, I knew she had a few issues but nothing like this. She has put her ears back and attempted to bite when we go anywhere near her things, she destroys blankets and beds and growls if you pick her up.

She will not let me answer the door or even leave the house,its like I'm a prisoner in my own home. I cannot go anywhere and have to take her everywhere I go or she barks until I come back.

I don't know what to do anymore I have tried so many things and leads and harnesses, she destroys everything including my social life and confidence to go out. She drags me about on walks too

I cannot take her to a rescue center as they will not take her, this is why I took her in or she would be euthanized or bred in a puppy farm. It's not getting any better.

I suffer from depression and wanted a dog to get me out more so I wanted to help a dog rather than buy a puppy so we could both be helped in one way or another.

I want to cry all the time as I don't know what to do anymore.

I don't know what I want for sharing this, I just need to let it out somewhere thank you for reading x

I really really hate the human race sometimes. The poor dog has been mis-treated previously, and this is the result. I really feel for you OP. It’s a big ask to try to help a poor animal that unfortunately is probably past help. Heart breaking. 😢

Please do NOT follow this advice, Southend Dog Trainer is horrific, using prong and shock collars to punish dogs and suppress behaviour which can result in a dog who gives no warnings. All Southend are good at is marketing and social media 'flash'.

This dog is fearful and anxious, she over-reacts to anything she perceives as a threat with aggression, whether bluff or real doesn't really matter, to get whatever is happening to stop/people to back off.

Using pain and fear to punish her into not DARING to respond to things she finds frightening is fucking stupid, and flies in the face of the science of learning theory and our animal welfare laws.

@BananaLeafs Seek out a decent behaviourist/trainer with behaviour interests. You can find someone qualified, knowledgeable and who has to under go annual CPD to ensure they're on top of their skills and not making it up as they go along at

abtc.org.uk/practitioners/

www.apbc.org.uk/find-an-apbc-member/

It is not wrong to say you can't do this, it isn't even wrong to say you don't want to do this - but I think morally you should seek help at the same time as seeking to rehome.

Whilst it would be hard to get her into a rescue shelter, there are rescues who only use foster carers, and there are rescues who will provide rescue back up (so if anything goes wrong with a rehome, they will step in) and help you find a home, and she stays at yours whilst that is found.

This means you can work on her issues to a degree, at least learning how to safely manage and make her feel safe (Which should then result in YOU feeling safer and calmer) whilst that home is found.

If you can't do that, and can't reasonably find someone who can do that (without going near the likes of shock-jocks like Southend and his ilk), then behavioural euthanasia is the kinder option - this dog is not happy and doesn't feel safe. Nothing you've said makes me think it is unfixable, but it may well not be fixable by you, in your home, with the resources you have.

I love animals as much as anyone OP (am even vegan) but I would have her put down. Sounds like the kindest option to me - she doesn’t sound happy and it sounds like you’ve tried everything.

You’re vegan and are condoning having a young animal put down, through no fault of its own? What? 😱

She hasn't tried everything. The dog hasn't gone to a proper rescue.

The OP hasn't even confirmed if she's seen a vet.

If you can find a rescue to take her then of course that is a logical course of action. But almost all
of the rescues that I know of (and I’m friends with a lot of ‘doggy’ people on social media so I see a lot of dog and dog rescue related posts) are struggling massively at the moment. Not just financially, but also with not having enough space/staff/resources to take on any more dogs. You might have more luck with a breed specific rescue, but I do wonder how many people who are advising to take her to a rescue (like it’s a very simple thing) actually have much understanding of the pressure they’re under at the moment. They’re allowed to be selective about the animals they will take, and an aggressive, destructive dog that is going to require huge amounts of time and resources before she can reliably be rehomed (if she can be rehomed) is probably not going to be their top choice. However it is definitely worth contacting a breed specific rescue and seeing what they recommend.

And for what it’s worth, I am vegan too. But I’m vegan because I want to prevent animal suffering as much as possible. Keeping something alive isn’t always the best way to prevent suffering.

You’re vegan and you’re advocating killing a healthy animal? Not that vegan then.

I have a very different situation but we took in a puppy a few years ago and I realised that with us wfh and having our two young kids and not a very big house, it was too much for me and I was probably going to have a breakdown if he had stayed so we took him back to the breeder. It felt as I imagine post natal depression to be i just had this constant anxiety and felt completely on edge. After three weeks we took the puppy back and I have never regretted it. I couldn't bond with him and knew I wouldn't be able to. Just came on to say your life is important too and things have to work for you too.

Is it ok to take a life, many many lives, in fact, over the course of a dog's lifetime, by way of the animals killed to feed it?

PTS one dog means far fewer other animals die.

@DuckWalkedUpToALemonadeStand well, I don’t agree with any of it, which is why I have never once eaten meat or fish (veggie since conception) and am a committed vegan. As is my entire household but for the dog. Once a life exists, it exists (rescues only) and my dog would be vegetarian if she was less fussy and wouldn’t starve herself without meat. It would be cruelty not to give her food. She only gets chicken as it is. You are kidding yourself if you think one dead Llhasa Apso will make the slightest bit of difference to the meat industry!

I don’t think murdering a traumatised dog because of what it eats is ok. If you really thought that sort of thing was appropriate then why not go after humans, who are responsible for much more meat consumption than dogs are, not to mention the wholesale destruction of the planet’s life support systems and biosphere. This mentality is purely destructive.

Absolutely everything that was said above. Have you been to the vet to check if this poor dog is in pain? If not then you need a behaviorist as posted above. This sounds like a very scared young dog and Southend type " training " will make it worse.
I have rescued two dogs with aggression issues, and with a help of a behaviorist, it's worked and they got their confidence, but it's slow progress. This poor dog is 18mths old, what on earth went on to cause this? If you really can't deal with the dog, there are a few rescues that can help ,here's one

birkett-smith.org.uk/information/a-bit-more-about-us

A quick Google of rescues that take aggressive dogs and a few phone calls should help. Dogs Trust and Battersea should be able to advise.

Please do not put this poor animal down without exploring all the options first.

I haven’t got a rescue dog but my female dog was (still is kind of) hard work,
calming food, treats, hemp oil, burning lavender oil, leaving radio or tv on when out helps.

ideally you need a trainer though as you mentioned she is aggressive. If you can afford one please do as giving her away will again make her hard work for the next person as she will get PTSD of being abandoned

Please do not
Pts this baby
Would you put a naughty child to sleep 😡

Imagine if people with trauma and anxiety were put to sleep 😐 You obviously havent exhausted all avenues. Remember it takes time and patience as well

Southend dog training sound awful if they are using shock and prong collars.

The lovers of these torture devices say they are”A tool”
But the only tool is the person who puts one of these on a dog.

It doesn’t address the underlying behaviour.

www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/dogs/training/prongcollars

I understand why lots of people are shocked at the "PTS" comments when she's only 18 months old.

But - what is the alternative? OP is clearly no expert and has a dog who resource guards absolutely everything and is reactive to both dogs and people - if she does the "right thing" and takes it to a rescue centre is not going to be re-homed.

Behavioural euthanasia is a perfectly legitimate option for a dog who is so traumatised it can't function properly. A dog who lives in such a state of fear that it guards space is not healthy or happy.

There are also enough dogs in rescue without issues that can't find homes as it is. Most rescues out there are full to bursting with healthy, young dogs who just need a bit of time and patience.

If they can't find homes, why would this dog fare any better? I follow a breed rescue for Foxhounds and they've got cat and child friendly dogs in rescue who've been there two years and they still can't find homes for them!

There are worse fates for dogs that being sent from pillar to post, from behaviourist to trainer to vet to rescue - that's no life. Dogs have no understanding of mortality or death - it would just go to sleep with its owner and never wake up - and most importantly not going to be hurt or scared or frightened anymore.

Try the breed rescue organisation:

lhasa-apso-club.org.uk/breed-rescue/

Going to be brutal, but if she’s this unhappy and aggressive, she needs specialist re-homing (few and far between) or pts.

Children don't tend to come equipped with the means to take somebody's face off with their teeth.

Said as an animal lover - just a realistic one.

No, you wouldn’t. But a naughty child wouldn’t get euthanised (by strangers, after being taken to a strange place and probably not treated very compassionately) if they attacked someone. And a naughty child’s parents wouldn’t end up with criminal charges (as far as I’m aware) if the child attacked someone. And this dog isn’t ‘naughty’, it’s unwell.

It’s a very emotive topic, but a quick, painless, comfortable death (of which the animal will be completely unaware of what is going to happen) is not the worst thing that can happen to an animal.

So based on what you have seen on social media you are recommending them?
You have no idea if they can help this dog and (hopefully) no idea of some of the methods they use. I didn’t say you were the owner, I said that he is known to sometimes follow these threads and it’s an amazing coincidence that of all the companies offering a similar service someone (who mayor may not have a vested interest) always recommends them.

I think you know that you would be wrong to give her up to be pts. Have you had rescue dogs before OP? It takes 6 months for them to even realise that they are safe, you’d expect behavioural changes to come after this initial 6 month period. Has she seen a behaviourist? You don’t actually mention what you have done to rehabilitate her. I understand it’s so difficult when you have a dog like this (I have 2) but ultimately you’re her last chance. I don’t think you’ve given her enough time and perhaps you need to look in to training, behaviourist and seek advice from a vet.

Get rid - seriously, life is far too short to be running about after this creature.

Have you tried getting a D.A.P plugin from the vet, works like an airfreshener but humans can't smell it but it makes the dog feel its back in its litter in a safe environment. this may ease them into your home enough to relax and breakdown the barriers that are causing them to reactive defensively. Works very effectively when moving home or during fireworks for nervous dogs.