My mastiff has mauled a small dog, I have a baby, my family want her to be pts. wwyd?

[bittenipples]

I will try and keep this short whilst not drip feeding. Needless to say I am devastated.

Bull Mastiff rescue bitch - very dog aggresive, never shown any human aggresion. I got her when she was 6 from rescue, she had a bad fight when I slipped on ice and lost grip of the lead and since then she is not off the lead due to her bad dog aggression. I have worked with her intensly and trained her to be okay to walk past other dogs without too much tension, took 4 years but we got there!

We live in a flat, so as a holiday every 6 weeks or so she goes to my parents house in the country with huge garden so she can relax and wander off lead in a gated and fenced area. She must be about 9 now, no problems since I have been on top of her training and walks. She has bad hips and Cushings disease which we medicate but she still hates the stairs in the flat.

We have been at my parents for a week and having coffee outside when we hear the gate latch. The church warden has visited unannounced and walked in with her miniture breed. We did what we could but obviously my mastiff gets there first and mauled the dog. The dog is fine, thank god, after surgery but it was a close call - I am gutted. My family wont have her here again and think that she is a risk to my 10 mo son.

Yes she is a risk, but no more than she was 2 days ago. she has never shown human aggression, when we pinned her down to let go of the dog we really hurt her hips but she just howled but didnt harm us at all. I dont know what to do. Every one is saying to put her down, but I think this is unfair because a the dog walked into her territory. I know she is dog aggresive and i manage it. but do you thinbk she is a risk to my son in the flat? I keep them apart at all times, I will teach him to respect her space.

Sorry for the typos, very upset.

WWYD/

her quality of life will be diminished now she is not allowed back to my parents lovely garden and stuck going up and down the stairsand I can understand and respect thier desicon on that, but pts is a step too far or is it?

Help!

You need to look at this as a parenting decision, not as a dog owner decision. The dog comes second, I'm afraid.

(hugs - as I rehomed a dog aggressive dog that I just couldn't be 100% around my baby, so I know how hard it is).

Do you know what? I think that in your shoes I would almost be less concerned about the dog aggression than the problems of an elderly large breed dog with hip problems that will eventually struggle to manage the stairs. He's a mastif, you're not going to be able to carry him.

Also he may be lovely with you all now but what about when he is in an increasing amount of pain and maybe the confusion that comes with advancing years?

How are you going to manage this at all?

The stakes are very high

you only get one chance

Btw not doubting your story but you say you had her from 6, she's about 9, and training her took 4 years...could you just clarify?

I wouldn't take the risk OP Really sorry - sounds like you have done all you can and and been such a responsible and caring owner, you clearly love your dog so much but, I wouldn't take the risk. Really.

I think I would go down the pts option, hard as it will be.
There is no way I would consider a rehome.you have had her so long it would be horrible for.her and v unlikely to find another home anyway.
Isn't 9 a very good age for a big dog?
I think you have given her a lovely life and really invested a lot of time and love into her so I really feel for you.

I would never rehome her but I think I would PTS - the fact that she has hip problems and aggression problems,along with the cushings, if she has to go up and down stairs with pain from the hips and never goes off lead, and considering you will never really be able to trust her - don't pass the issue off to someone else, you need to deal with this yourself one way or another. Personally I would PTS.

I implore you to do the right thing here, whatever the disposal the dog must be removed from your home.

It's hard but the only safe and sensible thing to do, there are too many unknowns to declare it safe.

Why do you think she's a risk to your DS?

Dog aggression doesn't put him at risk unless there's a possibility of him being in the way if she was biting another dog.

Focus on the time you have given him already.

There is no question imho - you must protect your baby. You have all the ingredients there for a nasty incident - small flat, pain and aggression already. If something did happen to your baby as they start to toddle, could you live with yourself?

Oh Bitten what a horrible situation .

Firstly I don't believe she is currently any more a risk to your son than any other dog and you keeping her separate and supervised sensibly is the best solution and what most of us do to a greater or lesser degree.
But - she is 9, she has 2 degenerative diseases and her hips are already struggling and causing her pain with the stairs. As she becomes more sore or out of sorts with the Cushings (depending on how well she is managed and responding with the medications) then she will become more of a risk (as any poorly dog would) to a baby that will soon be very much a toddler. Meaning more restrictions for both of them.

I have to be honest, I admire your hard work and love for her - she got a chance and happiness she would never have had without you, but I am not sure of her ongoing quality of life due to this particular mix of health and home situation.
Now the situation is - stairs many times a day to get access for toileting, on lead or road walks only which will get shorter the worse the stairs make her hips, no access to anywhere outside she can just mooch about off lead, stairgated around the flat - is that right or have I got the wrong end of the stick?
Assuming that's correct I think I would have to take the decision best for her and I think it wouldn't be very long in that set up before she was very unhappy.
You know there is no way she will be rehomed .

Is there anything that can change? Access to a secure grassy area (some local place may let you use a tennis court or other private arrangement) or any lifts in the building? It sounds like a lame sentiment at the end of what I've just said but sometimes even small changes can be significant.
You have my sympathies though, no option is the easy one

Sorry x posted, shitty connection.

I do still think I would be trying to give her some qol changes so she had an easier time before I had her pts, give her the best time I could and then say goodbye. You could have 3 or more years of her being heavily restricted by behaviour and health issues and it's not fair.

Hi, just to clarify, although we live in a small flat, and I wouldn't recommend it with a big breed in hindsight, I do walk her at least 4 times a day, one 40 minute walk the other 3 or 4 walks are between 10 and 20 mins. My life revolves round dog walking and baby napping. But she is getting on now and very slow. So it's been tough but her welfare was okay in a flat, especially witha respite every 6 wwweks.

Sorry for ambiguity over age and years. The rescue said she was about 6 when I got her jan 2010. Didn't mean to exaggerate

TotallyBurser you have got the situation spot on.
30DD thanks for the insight on the breed. She is gentle and loving with us.

Every single poster has posted great advice, thank you.

It's her quality of life I am concerned about and her health and age and general grumpiness coinciding with my ds toddler years.

I need to ask my vets advice about it.

Thanks again for your kindness too. This is horrible.

34DD I've got a great specially made muzzle for her
Also stair gates for certain rooms. Thanks for all advice, she is definitely showing her age

Don't let go of the fact, whatever you decide, that you have done a good thing by rehomibg loving and caring for her for the time you have had her.

My FIL's large and gorgeous St Bernard died of a heart attack at 9. Large dogs are not expected to live much longer than that.

I don't think you should have her pts, she is dog aggressive not people aggressive. As long as you trust her with your ds then there is no issue imo. I would keep her on a muzzle though when out, I don't know what the relevance of the yellow ribbon is, I don't imagine most people would. As long as the dog is getting sufficient excersise then living in a flat isnt an issue either as long as the dogs needs are being met.

Our dog was always aggressive to other dogs but fine with us, then he bit ds2 on the face when he was 18 months old.

Tbf there were other issues surrounding the dog's health at this point; he had had fits and we had wondered about epilepsy or a possible brain tumour which could have explained the change in behaviour.

Talk to your vet and, if possible, a behaviourist.

MrsWolowitz, I don't believe in pack theory hence the air quotes. if you dog is off leash and running towards an on leash dog and you can't get it to stop or recall it then your dog is out of control. The incident was investigated by the dog warden and he was satisfied that my dog was not at fault because the other dog was out of control. We paid the other parties vet bill, seen the vet to rule out any underlying thyroid issue (because JA's are prone to them),seen a behaviourist and muzzle him when out. I have no issue with well behaved dogs off leash, but if your dog won't recall when called, then I'm damn sure I'm not going to risk me or my dog being bitten. My dog is on leash and muzzled,he is no risk to any other animal or human while out.

OP, I'm so sorry to hear of this.

Please don't rush into any decisions. I don't believe your child is at any more risk today than they were yesterday - lots of dogs have dog aggression but are fine with people - the two are very different.

I'd second taking dog back to vet to review pain medication etc. Have you considered hydrotherapy for the hips/arthritis? We found it very helpful (recommended by our vet). I agree that you need a safe off lead space - contact your nearest greyhound rescue. Most either have their own or know of safe fields/paddocks where dogs can be let off safely that you can hire by the hour. We do this with our four and it's great.

Stairs - this is a big worry and unless you find the hydrotherapy helps, it may well be this that leads to a tough decision rather than anything else. A mastiff is such a big dog, that you can't carry them up and down.

Unfortunately, as you've found, the Yellow Dog scheme still isn't very well known, and it wouldn't have helped in these circumstances anyway.

I'm so sorry for you - but you can't take the risk that your child could be hurt.