Will you give me permission to put my Ddog to sleep

[Inaverydarkplace]

I am completely heartbroken and in turmoil. We’ve had our Ddog since he was a puppy, socialised him, trained him, loved him. He was perfect until the teenager stage. When the aggression started. We’ve found lots of ways around it and given him space but this summer he has really escalated. He’s bitten several people, leaving puncture marks that break the skin. He can be so loving and cuddly but he just has this switch that flips into aggression. He’s 3 now and he adores us and we adore him but he bit my 6 year old last night. Dchild just wanted to stroke their dog. Today he’s still growling at our child so they can’t be near each other. I can’t re home him, he would be so upset, he’s completely obsessed with me and adores DH too. If you tell him off he challenges you so we normally move away and give him space. He’s aggressive with his crate (he sleeps in there in our bedroom), he’s aggressive when he gets in the car (he has to go in the car every day for his walk), I can’t give him high value food/treats because he’s aggressive then, he’s frightened of other children. He has to be sedated and muzzled at the vets and still puts up a fight and be pinned down like a wild beast. He growls when you wipe him with a towel, when you hose him off (I used to take him to the bathroom but he became too aggressive to do that), he barely tolerates us getting seeds off his fur. He doesn’t let you brush him, if he hurts himself he won’t let you near him to help him (eg if he has a thorn in his foot). He has been raised in a loving house, he’s not been abused or neglected. He has the most wonderful life. A different off lead walk every day, I’m at home with him all of the time. I socialised him from day 1, followed all of the advice. I don’t know what has gone so wrong. He can be so gorgeous and loving so I feel so much guilt and shame. Everything has just escalated and he’s bitten several times this summer. Getting near him with a muzzle is an ordeal. Yet so many of our friends haven’t seen him like this and would be completely shocked that such a loving dog will be PTS. But others have seen the other side of him and would understand. We know his mum and she’s the most loving dog, which is why we had him but his dad is a working dog so I think his intense personality is from him. He’s a springer spaniel. I am so so sad, we all are 😭 please tell me I’m doing the right thing.

Have you engaged a vet before? Dog trainer? Behaviour training? What did they say?

His life is miserable with limited quality you have done your best now do the right thing by him if there are genuinely no more options (and it sounds like you have run out of options) then you need to do right by him and everyone else

I feel so sorry for you but don't think you have much choice here.

Have you consulted a dog behaviourist/had him checked at the vets that he's not in pain etc? When did this aggression start?

He sounds deeply distressed, have you had him thoroughly checked for any medical issues that could be causing pain?
Plus he's not working for your family, I would consider finding a breed specific rescue and see if they feel he could be rehomed in a different environment. Only then if they said no would I consider PTS.

Your dog is in crisis. Having a dog PTS is horrendous but is very necessary in this case. Big hugs xx

Is he in pain? What has the vet said?

I was on the list for a behaviourist but the waiting list was 6 months. By the time we had our time he had mellowed and we had managed things so we didn’t go through with it. Then after a few months the aggression ramped up again. Our vets won’t neuter him because he’s crazy at the vets. I asked for a behaviourist recommendation but they said they didn’t have one. Now he’s bitten so many times I don’t think we will ever get him back. Our house is open plan so we can’t lock him away from our child. Unless he was in our bedroom I suppose. But that doesn’t seem much of a life locked in a bedroom when he just wants to follow us everywhere. He’s always next to me wherever I go.

Also honestly biting my child would be enough for me

You can contact a springer rescue see if they would take him on but be very honest with his issues because you could put him through separation trauma for nothing they might say its best if he is pts too

Dog training initially but if thats a no..then theres no other option. If my dog bit my child or any child unprovoked and he could not be trained, i would put him down without hesitation... cannot risk someone dieing from a dog attack

I am a dog person and have had dogs for years that we all adore.

I presume you have ruled out anything that could have been causing your dog pain without a visible cause; you mention vets trips etc. Presuming the pain thing is ruled out, OP in your shoes I would already have had your dog PTS. Probably the first or second time it bit a person.

Why does everyone recommend sending aggressive dogs to be rehomed? Any reputable rescue will not take aggressive dogs - if they are aggressive in an environment they know, they will be twice as bad when they are uncertain.

if this dog has bitten, and it sounds like you are all a little scared of him, the best and kindest thing is to PTS. He sounds very unhappy, possibly in pain. Dying is not the worst thing.

I'm sorry OP but if an aggressive dog has bitten a child unprovoked then for me it has to be PTS. My Dsis had a rescue that was aggressive with her DS and bit him once, was then muzzled but bit him again when the muzzled was removed at feeding time. She also tried everything to rehab the dog but nothing worked. Dog was PTS after 2nd bite

Heck we had ours pts before she had bitten anyone.. You have crossed the line of common sense. and things are blurred now op... Imagine today you are sat with a dc in icu or worse.... You are correct you can't rehome.
Has a vet seen ddog? Ours had a brain tumour which added to her unfriendly nature.. She attacked 2 of our ogwhr ddogs and had a scarey stand off with me. Big rottweiler... Your dc must be heart broken also. Make sure they know it isn't their fault ddog has to go...

He’s been to the vets several times recently, he was treated for an ear infection but nobody can get near him to treat him unless he’s sedated, muzzled and pinned down. If something bad happened to him (like a car accident) I have no idea how we’d ever be able to get near him. We’d have to wait for the sedation to kick in I suppose.

You know deep down it's time.

He has no quality of life - he can't even be washed or receive medical care. It's fairest for all of you to say goodbye like this, as opposed to it being because he's been hit by a car or because he's hurt himself and got an infection.

My friend had a Springer like this . The vet said it was because he was from a working line and not suitable for a family pet . He was taken by a woman who had lots of working Springers and the idea was she would keep him with her other dogs and my friend could visit . Within 2 weeks the woman had sold him on . My friend was heartbroken and never saw him again .

Even the sedation isn’t enough at the vets though, the last vet was so shocked how he was, she said he must’ve been running on adrenaline to override the sedation. It’s like he needs tranquillising just to be able to get anywhere near him in the vets. He cornered me at the vets once and I had to just stand in the corner looking away from him until he calmed down. That was because I was trying to get the muzzle on him. He is Jekyll and Hyde. His eyes glaze over. I cannot rehome him, he’ll either be locked away or beaten. I can’t do that to him.

What breed is he?

springer

@Inaverydarkplace oh my friend, I'm truly sorry you're in this situation.
I think you know its time, you seem have have exhausted all the options and to wait 6 months will give him 6 months to potentially seriously hurt your child.

I am very sorry to read this x

Hi OP. I'm so sorry to hear this, I've never heard of a springer being aggressive. There must be an underlying cause, illness or cancer? If he's been brought up in a good home then I can't think of anything otherwise. Our little doxie went through a stage of being really aggressive and our vet put it down to her not being very well. She's fine now, but I'm wondering if that is the case? Have you considered paying privately and seeing a specialist?

There's definitely something not right with your dog OP and it's possibly something to do with being from a working line. Neutering might help to a degree but you'd always be fearful of him biting your child again.

I too am a dog lover, but I can see when the unthinkable needs to be done. It sounds as though your dog is escalating, and your dogs devotion to you may be a trigger. Was the dog near you when your child tried to stroke it? If so it could have been "protecting" you (in its mind). I think you have to put your dog out of its misery before something worse happens and it gets dragged away and destroyed (or heaven forbid shot) by the police. If your vet has seen how bad its behaviour has been then there shouldn't be any questions raised. I'm so sorry this has happened. You just wanted a nice friendly family dog, and it sounds as though you did all the right things at the beginning with socialising and training. Sadly this dog is mentally unstable and you have to put your family, and others, first.

BTW, there's no way I'd be walking such an unpredictable dog off lead unless it is securely muzzled.

We’ve always managed it and given him space but his redeeming quality was that he’s good with our child and other dogs. He’s now turned on our child and other dogs. Even this morning he’s growling at my child, the bite was around 4pm yesterday and I didn’t punish or scold him (because that makes him worse). So there is no reason for him to be bearing this grudge. There’s always a ‘reason’ for his aggression which is why we’ve always found ways to adapt around him but it’s too much now. He’s crossed a line. I feel so much guilt and pain. Life is so cruel at times.

I have put a loved dog to sleep under similar circumstances OP. It's the right thing to do.

You can't re home as you risk passing the buck to someone else and they get hurt or the people that seek these dogs out do so for dog fighting.

There are worse things than death for an aggressive dog. It's time to let go.

I'm so sorry.

From what you describe of how he is at the vets, people talking about further investigation for the underlying reason are being completely unrealistic. It would most likely just be more stress and distress for the dog, and for your family.

It's not your fault, OP. Honestly I think you've already gone above and beyond trying to work this out. The dog simply isn't safe to be in your house with your child.

You need to do the kindest thing for everyone, and let him go.