DDog tried to bite. Rehome or PTS?

[TetleysSurpassesYorkshireTea]

Hi, I have a 10 month old Maltese-Westie cross.

Today, after his bath, I tried to remove some dirt from his face and he tried to bite me. He is normally very placid after a bath, and I had him wrapped in a towel having a cuddle. He had let me wash his face in the bath, but as soon as he saw my hand approach his eye, he tried to bite. He has tried to do the same thing before in similar circumstances, when being groomed.

DDog does have a history of nipping ankles and hands, and we have redirected to toys or said a firm "no". We have also gently pushed him away or distracted by getting him to sit and calm down.

I do feel DDog's behaviour is deteriorating. We have contacted the Behaviourist, based at the vet, about the nipping and have followed her advice, but DDog still tries to attack feet and hands, often in an attempt to play, and despite our best efforts.

DDog has also become very barky. Again the Behaviourist advised us how to deal with this, which I thought was going pretty well, but he has now started barking and growling at people just passing the house.

It sounds silly, as he is only a Maltese, but his nips really hurt.

I have an 8 year old daughter who cannot cope with th1r barking or nipping due to Aspergers. I am worried that the dog will try to bite her when she pushes him away from licking her fave etc.

It seems as if in the past few weeks, the behviour has deteriorated more.

Does anyone have any advice re what the best thing to do in this circumstances?

We were looling at rehoming anyway due to the barking and its adverse affects on my daughter. I have contacted Maltese Rescue and have arranged for the lady to call me back.

Do I try to rehome or PTS? Any advice would be great.

[Wolfiefan]

Better to ask before you take on a “KC reg” crossbreed puppy from a puppy farmer.

[SlowNorris]

You actually believe people would need to google: ‘puppy bit me, should I PTS?’

If OP was capable of finding a dog to buy then she was capable of doing some very basic research too, such as how you shouldn’t kill your puppy when they don’t behave perfectly.

[Applepudding2018]

@TetleysSurpassesYorkshireTea

In your responses to the posters you consider to be 'judgemental' of you, you are actually ruder than their original comments to you.

Your subsequent posts state you have done a lot of research and training around your puppy yet you seem surprised that a 10 month pup will nip, bark and attempt to defend itself when it feels frightened/ threatened. Yes, to your little dog being bathed, squashed in a towel and having its face poked was frightening and he felt threatened.

You have posted that you are planning to rehome (even though subsequent posts seem to suggest that this isn't what you are doing). I really hope for everyone's sake that you do find a more appropriate home for your little dog.

[MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig]

I think that half the posters on this thread are professionally offended morons who love a good argument. How the hell does that help?

Read between the lines people. Obviously the Op is not about to viciously slaughter a puppy. Whether or not it came from a puppy farm is a bit irrelevant now and we know they’re bloody good these days, lots of people still fall for it or they wouldn’t keep trying it. Calm the fuck down and stop making the Op feel worse than she already does. It’s not AIBfuckingU.

Op I think you’ve just learnt that your particular dog doesn’t like being constrained and touched. That’s all. My dog wouldn’t like it either but as he’s a completely passive Labrador his response would probably be to wriggle away at top speed and send me flying.

[WendyWoofer]

I admit i havent read the full thread. The OP asking whether she should kill a 10 month old puppy was enough for me.

Please place your puppy in a re-homing centre, where they will find a home for it with people who know what they are doing OP.

I'm gobsmacked that someone would put puppy and PTS in the same sentence! 😱

[RLOU30]

No it’s not AIBfuckingU but it is a forum and a question has been asked. The answer for most of us here is no you shouldn’t put your 10 month old puppy “to sleep”

[cheesemongery]

I'd probably bite you if I was restrained in a towel and thought you were going to poke me in the eye. My mouth would be my only form of defence.

[BettyBooJustDoinTheDoo]

Hear hear Selavy can’t believe what have just read from the OP, hopefully a vet if told the truth of this dogs behaviour would not put this dog to sleep. How could it even be a consideration, jeez.

[pigsDOfly]

@MissAdorabelle. I think most posters are reading between the lines and what they're seeing is someone who decided to take on a dog without having done any research on the subject at all.

So little does the OP know about dogs that she thinks it's okay to retrain a 10 month old puppy by wrapping it in a towel then trying, from the dog's point of view, to poke it in the eye whilst it has no way of running away or defending itself other than to snap. And when the poor thing defends itself by snapping she's suggesting that it's reasonable to get it pts.

That's why people are annoyed.

Of course where the puppy came from is irrelevant now. However, where the puppy goes from here and how it is rehomed is important, and that's whats concerning a lot of the posters because the OP doesn't seem to have a clue what she's doing.

[pigsDOfly]

*restrain and 10 month old puppy not retrain.

[reallyanotherone]

I would try and track down the breeder.

If they are indeed reputable they will take the dog back.

Strongly suspect they aren’t though. Have you got kc papers for the pup? Where did you find the breeders?

[TetleysSurpassesYorkshireTea]

@Penisbeakers - please stop with the names and troll accusations.

DDog has been to the vet. All the incident was relayed to her, and she also accessed the behaviourists' notes (who is based within the vets).

Vet was concerned about DDog's attempt to bite. As what I was doing to him is something he is well used to, and he hasn't objected to that intervention before. Also, the bite as described, was not within the realms of normal nipping by DDog. Vet said she would check for any source of eye pain or pain elsewhere. If no source could be found, and the attempts to bite increased then PTS may be kindest as DDog may have something akin to Rage Syndrome. This had already been flagged by the Behaviourist as a possibility with DDog due to sudden behaviour changes she has witnessed.

DDog got a full MOT and has hip pain. Common in pedigree Maltese (DDog is apparently definitely NOT a cross breed). This is now being treated and could explain the bite attempt.

Thank you for all the advice received here. It is lovely to know there are so many people who are passionate in their defence of animals.

I so wonder whether the replies would have been similar if I DDog was a GS, Rotty, Doberman, or Staffy - all of which we have had within the wider family from puppies and never made a similar bite attempt.

[ADastardlyThing]

Find a different vet and behaviourist if you're going to to keep the puppy but I hope you rehome.

[adaline]

Wait - your vet suggested putting a 10 month old PUPPY to sleep because it tried to nip you whilst it was being restrained and poked around in the face?

Dogs often tolerate things for a while before snapping. You see it all the time - "well, the kids have always pulled his ears/kissed his face/gone near his bowl and it's never happened before!" - dogs often show distress signals before biting but owners often ignore them because the dog isn't snapping or growling.

And yes, my response would be the same regardless of breed. This isn't a fully grown adult dog - it's a puppy who is still learning how to behave. Puppies nip - often until they're about 18 months old or so. They mouth and are still learning the right way to act around people and in different situations.

[OrcinusOrca]

I would rehome. It doesn't sound like you've had any luck in dealing with the behaviour so I would encourage you to find somebody more experienced to take him.

Some dogs are bitey/nippy dogs. As much as you can work hard with them, you can't ever trust them 100%. I have one, she is very closely bonded to me and never ever bites DH or I or family really, but she can get protective and needs firm handling when she does. She is manageable, and I am very confident in dealing with her. It would also be pretty impossible for her to be rehomed successfully. If it was a dog I had from a puppy, and I was still struggling nearly a year down the line and had DC, I think I would hold my hands up and say it's too much. I would not PTS though, there are many more options. I would contact the breed rescue if you do not think the breeder is suitable to offer him back to.

Also, with regard to what you said about the bath and wrapped up in a towel having cuddles. Dogs are animals, they don't need to be treated like small children. I know plenty of small dogs who react badly to being picked up etc. It sounds like he is an unhappy little thing if he is snapping and growling so much. He doesn't sound like he enjoys people in his space really.

[BiteyShark]

If my vet suggested Rage syndrome based on a description of a young dog that got upset at being manhandled I would be going somewhere else.

[pigsDOfly]

Rage syndrome? Okay.

And your vet is diagnosing that, or something similar, in a 10 month old nippy puppy and suggesting the puppy might be better off being pts?

Is your vet a specialist in neurological conditions? If not and you and she firmly believe that puppy has Rage Syndrome then I suggest you ask for a referral to a specialist before having the poor thing killed for nothing more than defending itself and being a nippy puppy.

Better still, rehome it, but before you do that get a different vet.

It's an adolescent dog, who will be at an age when it is starting to assert itself, and yes, its behaviour will be changing from that of a very young puppy. At the moment it's telling you it doesn't like to be restrained and poked in the eye.

[VenelopeVonSweetz]

Rehome the poor Dog. It sounds like you have taken on more than you can chew and are trying to justify your reasoning for PTS.

I would day the same regardless of the breed.

[Wolfiefan]

Yesterday it was a cross.
Now today it is a Maltese and they have hip problems.
Rage syndrome is extremely rare and not prevalent in Maltese if that’s what the dog is now.
Dogs bite when they are uncomfortable. Just because they tolerated something in the past without biting doesn’t mean they are happy about it.

[Phuquocdreams]

Would you ever just rehome the poor puppy rather than trying to justify killing it. There isnt an ounce of affection or concern for it in your posts. It didn’t even actually bite!