Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Where to put aggressive dog while we are on holiday?

105 replies

hockeysticks89 · 19/03/2022 15:24

We have a Romanian rescue dog who we love dearly however since adolescence she has become more and more nervous and has nipped strangers twice (long story but she felt threatened by them), a level two bite which didn't break the skin and led to a graze.

We're working with a behaviourist to manage or desensitise her triggers, we muzzle her if we go outside and having people in the house has to be planned and involve the use of several gates and barriers. It's a nightmare but I'm hoping she'll get better.

The problem is we go away in august and don't know where to put her. Last year she went into a dog boarder's house with other dogs however this is no longer suitable for her- frankly, I feel she'd bite again whilst we are away. Has anyone ever dealt with this or have any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
Extrabreit · 20/03/2022 16:45

Only a ‘level two’ bite then? Oh, what are they complaining about then. Glad I’m not your postman.

ThaggieMatch · 20/03/2022 16:51

Down is the answer. All aggressive dogs should be put down. They're a hazard to humans and a tragedy waiting to happen.

DrDetriment · 20/03/2022 16:55

I think you only have two choices. Don't go away, or board the dog with a behaviourist that takes dogs in for training if that exists. You can't send the dog to kennels.

Buildingthefuture · 20/03/2022 17:12

The shite spouted on here about “imported dogs” grips my shit. Honestly, the sheer ignorance shown by some people is breathtaking Angry
Anyway, back to you op! IME it very much depends on the dog. I have lots of dogs and use a very trusted sitter. However, one of my dogs is fear aggressive to men she doesn’t know. To the point where I would not leave her with my sitter. So, she goes (with one of my others who is her BFF) to a brilliant local kennel, run by 2 women. We were totally honest about her issues and how to manage her. They listened, met her and we went from there. She always runs in happily when we take her, never looks back and has never had a problem. Most kennels will be experienced in dealing with reactive dogs (amazingly, most of which are from the UK!) But, I know her and I knew she would cope well with kennels (providing they were staffed by women) So, depending on your dog, the right kennel could work or perhaps your behaviourist could suggest someone?

Hohofortherobbers · 20/03/2022 17:32

@ThaggieMatch

Down is the answer. All aggressive dogs should be put down. They're a hazard to humans and a tragedy waiting to happen.
Completely agree, any normal person would never forgive themselves if their dog mauled someone and they'd already known the dog was aggressive. Even if you undergo extensive training how can you ever trust it?
fairylightsandwaxmelts · 20/03/2022 17:34

@villainousbroodmare

2 yo male Rottie, 50+kg, very powerful, previously killed a small dog in a park and we had referred to a behaviourist due to ongoing resource guarding issue with family. Also took a chunk out of a electricity service worker working outside the fence but hadn't apparently harmed anyone within the home until that incident. Owner unfortunately v rose-tinted view of him, told sitter he was fine. Sitter needed the money and took the gig against her instincts. Sad Very very lucky that she had her phone.
God, that's horrible, thanks so much for answering.

I've only ever once been in a situation where I felt threatened by a dog - luckily it was scared and kept away from me and I had the sense to leave the property rather than try and push the issue.

That poor girl too, how horrendous for her. She's so lucky she had her phone and the smarts to contact you. Well done for helping her!

Happenchance · 20/03/2022 17:52

@CovoidOfAllHumanity

I have a foreign rescue dog who is not fearful, aggressive or bitey (FWIW we got him from a UK charity so we did not really intend to 'import a dog' but we wound up doing that as Uk charities have foreign dogs too). He is super friendly, bouncy and chews a lot of stuff up but these seem like typical issues for an adolescent dog and not really related to him being rescued. He also is not neutered yet as vet advised not to until 18 months and this is an issue for any group settings.

We tried to get a sitter for him for our holiday but it proved quite tricky as most of them were also dog walkers and wanted to leave him quite a lot which he is not used to as we wfh. He also failed his meet and greet with one girl by being too over friendly and desperately trying to hump her leg. We gave up on the sitting idea.

I didn't want him to go to kennels as I thought it would set him back a lot.

In the end we have booked him for residential dog training so it's home boarding but with a very experienced dog breeder and trainer who will also work with him. We had a meet and greet and met the trainer and his dogs and family and felt reassured that he'll be well looked after by someone who can cope with any issues. Seemed like a win win to us. It was expensive but not much more so than the sitters and ordinary boarders in the end.
Quite a lot of companies and individuals do this now so maybe there's one close to you that's an option?

I would be very wary of residential board and train facilities because you can never be certain what techniques they use, especially if they promise results in a short period of time. Also, dogs behave differently for different handlers and in different places, so even if they appear "trained" when you collect them, there's no guarantee that they will behave the same for you once they're back home.
Viviennemary · 20/03/2022 17:52

Fear agressive??? What nonsensical psychobabble. Dog is scared of you so takes a chunk out of you. And thats OK. Confused

ABitBesotted · 20/03/2022 18:14

@Viviennemary

Fear agressive??? What nonsensical psychobabble. Dog is scared of you so takes a chunk out of you. And thats OK. Confused
What I love most about your post upthhread saying you didn't like dogs and didn't know anything about the subject was that you thought that we needed to be told that.
user3837313202 · 20/03/2022 18:15

@Viviennemary

Fear agressive??? What nonsensical psychobabble. Dog is scared of you so takes a chunk out of you. And thats OK. Confused
Just because you don't understand a concept, it doesn't make it nonsensical, or false in any way.

How do you ever expect to resolve an issue (of almost any description, in almost any area) if you don't understand the causes?

No one is saying that a dog taking a chunk out of anyone is ok. But if you understand why it's happened then you can put in place strategies to reduce the fear, and so reduce the risks to an acceptable level

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 20/03/2022 18:17

@Viviennemary

Fear agressive??? What nonsensical psychobabble. Dog is scared of you so takes a chunk out of you. And thats OK. Confused
Why do you post on these threads when you fully admit you don't like dogs and don't actually know anything about them or their behaviour?

Nobody here has said that aggressive behaviour is acceptable but fear aggression is definitely a "thing" and not to be dismissed under the same category as regular aggression.

Dogs act aggressively out of fear because, well, it works. Nobody wants to go near an aggressive dog so they learn that barking, lunging and snarling works to keep whatever they're scared of at a distance...

Babyvenusplant · 20/03/2022 18:22

One of my friends parents own a boarding kennels and her father would happily take a knowingly aggressive dog and has done in the past

The dogs never mix with other dogs and get walked individually, he's been bitten god knows how many times but it doesn't phase him

I think its a case of ringing round boarding kennels and being completely honest about the biting, you'd may find somebody will take her

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 20/03/2022 18:30

A kennel owner in Scotland was killed recently by an aggressive dog he was caring for.

I think pet care providers are becoming more and more hesitant when it comes to taking on aggressive dogs - understandably so, really. The risks are just so great.

I personally won't take a dog with a bite history or a dog that shows any aggression towards people. It's just not worth it.

www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/angus-mearns/2851821/adam-watts-dog-auchterhouse/

carefullycourageous · 20/03/2022 19:32

@tabulahrasa

Um, this thread will attract people with reactive foreign dogs though.

If it helps for balance the mist reactive dog I’ve ever had was bred on purpose in this country.

No, this doesn't help.

We have too many dogs in the UK, too many are badly trained and badly socialised and we see increasing problems.

I understand that people like dogs, but importing dogs with problems is not a good idea.

I do not know why people get upset about this, it seems obvious to me that dogs need to be well bred (as in healthy, I don't mean pedigree), well raised and well looked after.

carefullycourageous · 20/03/2022 19:36

No one is saying that a dog taking a chunk out of anyone is ok. But if you understand why it's happened then you can put in place strategies to reduce the fear, and so reduce the risks to an acceptable level

Personally I would like to see far higher penalties for owners where dogs bite, whatever the reason. There is too much excusing done by owners, too much interpretation of the reasons and it is dangerous.

They need to take proper responsibility.

Midlifemusings · 20/03/2022 19:38

Maybe there is a rescue foster parent who would take her for the week? They are used to taking in rescues and the behaviour that comes with them.

overreactionreally · 20/03/2022 20:30

If you really need some one to have her. What about the behaviourist?

NoSquirrels · 20/03/2022 20:55

@tabulahrasa

Um, this thread will attract people with reactive foreign dogs though.

If it helps for balance the mist reactive dog I’ve ever had was bred on purpose in this country.

For balance, my Balkan rescue dog is the soppiest animal you’d ever meet.

She’s so calm she’s basically the dog that people who are nervous of/don’t like dogs cite as the only dog they like. Honestly! Children who are really quite scared of dogs will be happy with her in a short amount of time. If I had time & opportunity I’d take her through the PAT qualifications for being a therapy dog - she’d be brilliant at it.

you won't have a clue what you are getting if you adopt from abroad. No idea at all. All that you know is that you CAN adopt from abroad because no one will check and no one will care.

We had a home check from a qualified home checker who also worked for the local
rescue and the RSPCA branch.

The rescue took a full history from us of our experience etc. They sent us videos of her being cat-tested and with children.

We did pick her up at a motorway services, as it happens, but it was just for convenience.

The rescue kept in touch with us and had back-up UK fosters if for any reason it hadn’t worked out.

She is not by any means perfect. But only in the same way any U.K. born and bred dog would be. She clearly wasn’t ever a feral street dog.

tabulahrasa · 20/03/2022 21:32

“I understand that people like dogs, but importing dogs with problems is not a good idea.”

That wasn’t really my point tbh, I have a foreign rescue... I got him from a U.K. rescue though. You’ll often find me urging caution on threads where people are considering getting one because there are specific issues that tend to be more common with foreign dogs that are a lot for unprepared new owners to deal with and I do think there’s clearly a bit of an issue with people bringing badly or completely not assessed Dog’s over to unvetted owners.

But, this thread is a bit self selecting so it’s going to look like a much bigger issue than it is, there are foreign rescue dogs who have no issues, ones with minor settling in issues and dogs born in the U.K. with major behavioural issues too, that was all I meant.

boomshakalacka · 21/03/2022 05:31

The shite spouted on here about “imported dogs” grips my shit. Honestly, the sheer ignorance shown by some people is breathtaking

You're not going to trouble yourself to enlighten us then?

JaneEyress · 21/03/2022 06:09

To sleep. It should be illegal to own an aggressive dog. It’s selfish and a risk to other dogs and the community.

DaphneduM · 21/03/2022 06:46

Not sure what the answer is, but at least you do sound a very responsible dog owner. We've had to stop walking with our little grandson at our local arboretum due to dogs bounding around, completely not under the control of their owners. When there's an issue of one bounding up to our grandson and terrifying him, you get the standard 'oh he's ok, he won't hurt him' - we don't know your dog. The world and his wife seem to have dogs round here, sick of irresponsible, entitled owners who think the world revolves around their animals.

Eyerollerhighroller · 21/03/2022 07:04

A friend of mine is a dog behaviourist and also dog hotel near Droitwich. She has done lots of work with reactive and aggressive dogs along with working alongside a breed that is often seen by the public as dangerous.
Is it worth speaking to your behaviourist to see if she is aware of anything similar nearby?

Joystir59 · 21/03/2022 07:19

I have an rescue who can bite if he is stressed. I have one friend who knows him very well who I leave him with. I have a family member who also knows him and is prepared to look after him. That's it. Otherwise it's me. If you place him in kennels etc and he bites you may have to have him put to sleep.

carefullycourageous · 21/03/2022 07:20

a breed that is often seen by the public as dangerous

Breeds are often seen by the public as dangerous because lots of people have first hand experience of those breeds being badly trained and a little bit scary.

It is not 'the public' that is at fault for being cautious around certain breeds.