Aggressive Rescue Dog - Help!

[stilldazed]

We got our 10 month old rescue dog that has been with us 2 months now. She is great with us, a lovely dog in the house and great with other dogs. The problem is when visitors come, she is very aggressive. Barking incessantly and then biting, she bit the cleaning lady, she bit my husband's 2 aunts when we went to visit them and this weekend it escalated. My parents in law came to visit. It started as usually with excessive aggressive barking and then when my mother in law got up to go to the bathroom she followed her biting and her, when she came out of the bathroom she was bit and fell to the floor. The bite was superficial but there was a fair bit of blood. The dog then bit my father in law.

I worry the aggression is escalating as she is defending what she now feels is home.

The lady we got her from says she will take her back, my husband wants to keep her and see if we can work through her problems, seeing a behavioral specialist etc.

This is my first dog, I have no experience and honestly I'm ready to give her back. should I persevere? I would really appreciated your opinions.

She is medium size, crossed breed (we don't know what) she looks a bit like a mini golden retriever, to give you an idea

I really feel for you, how bad does he want a bit to be before he will admit hes wrong?
Doesn't he care that as a minimum your childrens social lives will be affected?
DDog had some resource guarding issues as a pup and actually bit both me and DH once (partly our fault for handling situations badly), we worked with a behaviourist and sorted it out but our red line was The DC.

Ask him how he'd feel if your dog was reported and taken off you for biting someone?

Why are you letting the dog repeatedly bite people?
Much as it might seem unpleasant for you, the dog is a danger, and should be humanely euthanized.

Your husband is an absolute moron.
So his aggressive dog bit his mother, and instead of getting the dog or shutting it away like any halfway normal person would do, he sat back and watched the dog attack his mother AGAIN just a few minutes later??
I actually find this a bit unbelievable.

I don't know anything about dogs , but did your MIL go to A&E dog bites can become infected.
She may need IV antibiotics.

True

How on earth was the dog allowed to bite? Surely common sense would tell you to use a lead?

And a muzzle, put it in a safe crate. unbelievable and I know nothing about dogs

I am going to warn you what happened to my friend she took in a rescue. I think it was a Rottweiler cross anyway perfectly fine at home a bit nervous if anything even of my little dogs but it seemed fine but it was out in the garden and a man passed by went past it jumped over the fence and bit this guy. It wasn’t really a big massive bite because the guy didn’t end up going to hospital but he took it further he called the police and the Matter, even if it’s a nip, it’s still classed as a dog attack
So anyway, my friend ended up going to court getting £1000 fine and the dog got took away into I guess kennels I think the original people that she got from might of took him back, but I’m not sure
The point is do you want to risk that? Do you want to risk being in court for a dangerous dog? And furthermore do you want to risk one of your relatives being? Really really hurt? I think you need to put a stop to it personally I don’t think that dog should be rescued again. I think some dogs just can’t be helped.

Vet for full detailed health check ( not just the check the heart one)
Full discussion around Medication to help dog with its anxiety
NO visitors in house AT ALL unless dog is crated or placed in a room before they arrive.
Full experienced behavourial support and not from one of them who thinks ‘giving the dog treats’ is going to work.
Your husband may think he is helping this dog but unless he and you step up and step up fast to get the correct help, advice and support you are putting your whole family at risk.
You are letting this dog down and it is going to pay with its life.
I know the above is harsh but it is reality

I used to have an aggressive dog. She was managed not rehabilitated.

The reason being that she was a guard dog acting on instincts and when she finally came to me, that behaviour was so ingrained that it was impossible to correct. The dog would have had to fight it's own natural state of guarding against intruders. It's a bit like taking DC on purpose to a sweet shop and telling them they can have a quick look but aren't allowed any sweets.

I did manage to get this dog to accept visitors to my home, but it took a lot of time, I had to use my knowledge and experience with the breed and had a llot of help from my best buddy (one of my other dogs.).

I don't think your household is set up for managing or rehabilitating this dog.
Can't you get one of the people that were bitten (MIL) to talk sense into DH?
Or would he listen to FIL?

If your H (idiot) is so concerned about the dog maybe get him to consider what will happen if the dog bites anyone who reports it.
The dog will be seized, thrown in kennels where it will be confused, scared and God knows what else for a bit and then euthanised by strangers.
The alternative is that it is euthanised calmly at home while being with its owners or at a vet with the owner there having gone straight from its home
Which one of those options is kindest for the dog?
It WILL bite again and at some point the Police will be involved and it will not be a nice end for this dog

Ask your DH what he will do if the ‘ training ‘ doesn’t work and the dog bites someone on the face.

That happened with a friend with a similar dog, who made excuses and paid for (very expensive ) training, until the dog bit someone in the face.’Lucky ’ it was her, and not a visiting child.

The rescue centre were to blame here.
Expect one of the Romanian rescues- @stilldazed Our local vets say they rehome to anyone who pays and a significant number are ok at first then flex 💪 and become very aggressive.

Lots have been PTS from the lockdown mania.

At this stage, I'd be telling him that either the dog goes or you and your children do. He's being an utter dick.

The rescue centre sound seriously negligent here giving an aggressive dog to a novice owner.

I'm another saying the best option is to return the dog to the shelter or put to sleep. I would never get a rescue dog as a first pet. But I've learnt that through experience after having a jack Russell who adored me & hated everyone else. I returned him to the rescue after he bit the neighbours daughter.

I currently have a rescue cocker spaniel & she's very reactive to visitors. So now we have a mailbox & a parcel outside the gate. We always have hold of her & introduce her properly to visitors. We have special doggie snacks we give her when visitors arrive now. As long as she sees they're friends she's best buddies with them now within a minute.
There are meds you can give to a dog to calm them down a bit but these are all major interventions & require intention.
Not suitable for a first time doggie owner.

OP says the dog came from "a lady" so maybe a private re-home.

If your husband wants to do rehabilitation, then how much time does he currently put in to training the dog, is he already investigating trainers, vet checks etc.

If he's doing nothing but saying he loves the dog then sadly that isn't going to change.

I've seen too many women doing most of the dog care with a dog they are scared of, with a male partner who does 5 minutes rough housing with the dog a day and thinks he is owner of the year.

It needs putting down and you as a family need to get a Goldfish.

Or a one-woman "rescue" - there's a few of that kind of thing.

I understand the position you are in. I have taken a dog from a rescue centre a month ago with a bite history.

I haven't read the full thread.

We are working with a behaviourist.

When the dog came home we were advised to allow the dog to decompress after the change and allow the dog to settle.

We were advised to not get the dog excited and to be calm with her.

We also know that she has to be away for the foreseeable when we have visitors as it's too much for her.

It seems you have taken the dog on and chucked it in the deep end with visitors and taking her places.

If you plan on keeping the dog, you need to have a space where the dog can be away from visitors so they're not getting stressed.

The dog needs to have some enrichment whilst people are visiting.

My rescue loved a snuffle mat or deer leg.

You do need to get proper help and guidance before someone gets hurt