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

There are so many lovely dogs about ( even from rescue centres) it seems nuts to have an aggressive biter -
A good rescue thoroughly assesses dogs and matches them with a human partner.

Our RSPCA one was matched to us “ This will be a good match to you “
She got awards at Eukanuba rescue dog of year, I was a first time owner - A superb companion for 12 years, kind, gentle and calm.
Lurcher dumped as a skeletal puppy.

True - it's so scary that anyone can set themselves up as a "rescue" and just hand dogs out to anyone who asks.

This

OP you have children and one day your children will invite other children into the house, perhaps after the dogs "rehab". The dog has drawn blood now and if the dog bites a child you will be in alot of trouble and the dog will be PTS. You need to take the dog back. Your husband is not equip to rehabilitate because he has overseen 5 dog bites now, it shouldn't have happened after the first, the dog should have been kept away from guests after you both realised it was aggressive.

There should be no argument here. Your children should feel safe bringing friends home. xx

My DH was a vet, he put down a friends dog which had become aggressive. He pointed out to the owners that they could be sued if the dog attacked someone outside the family, and they knew it's temperament was iffy.

Usually for a fee, and with zero temperament testing.
Responsible rescues would have assessed that dog and probably have euthanised it for aggression.
Anyone can set up a “rescue” - it ought to be rigorously assessed and have liability insurance-
but sentimental fools just pass on aggressive dogs to attack children , adults and other dogs - grossly irresponsible.

100% agree. I know some amazing rescue dogs so it's not like I'm anti-rescue, but it needs to be done properly and this clearly wasn't.

I don't think you are the right home for this dog. Firstly, you've expected a lot of the dog - having multiple visitors, taking it to other houses - considering you've not had him/her that long. It takes a good while for a dog to feel comfortable in a new home, even if the dog doesn't have any particular issues. You kind of set your dog up to fail. Secondly, the time to act was after the first bite, it should never have got to five. Actually, you should've taken action when the dog was barking before the first bite. Thirdly, a bite resulting in a lot of blood isn't a warning bite, that is a proper bite. I think this sounds too much for an inexperienced home to handle even with the support of a good behaviouralist. I think you are out of your depth and that your husband does not understand the changes required to manage your dog (eg no visitors, muzzle training, on lead walks) or the amount of hardwork and time required to try and reduce this behaviour. I also fear you are not a responsible and experienced enough home to deal with this dog as you should have started to deal with this seriously after the first incident.

I've done some searching, and I don't think a rescue organisation in the UK has ever been charged and prosecuted as a result of recklessly rehoming a dangerous dog - either knowingly or as a result of failing to adequately assess the dog before rehoming. Which seems incredible.

I can think of one that's reasonably well known for its dubious rehoming practices that's been mentioned a few times when a rehomed dog has been involved in an attack. And I distantly know someone who acts as an independent rehoming agent (can't think of a better term) for one of the street dog schemes, and who has absolutely nothing in place that you'd consider reasonable or responsible for what they do.

The responsible ones usually get stick on MN for not rehoming to just anyone that walks off the street asking for a puppy.

I'm sorry OP

I have exactly the same issue 10 years in and I'm a nervous wreck I'm on medication for panic attacks and I haven't seen relatives or been on holiday for 10 years.
Vet says it's the way he's wired.

You have my deepest sympathy.
No advice it would be hypocritical of me to do so.

Kindly, it's absolute madness that you have allowed a situation like that to continue when it has impacted you in such a horrendous way. What a waste of your life.

This is a seriously aggressive dog and should be put to sleep.

are none of the multiple victims prosecuting you about your dangerously out of control dog? I would. Stop allowing the animal to be so distressed it feels the need to protect itself.
you have to choose whether you want to continue making the animal miserable and anxious, rehome it to bite more victims, or euthanise it.
*edited to add I cannot imagine anyone on earth would want to rehome a dangerous, aggressive dog, so your choices are very limited.

I took a four year old JRT from Battersea dogs home. They said he had some issues but was basically a good dog, a bit prone to 'nipping'. In the six years I had him he properly bit everyone who spent enough time with him in the house. I tried behaviourists and all kinds of strategies but actually ended up not having visitors. I had to make elaborate plans to be able to have anyone come to do work or deliver anything or visit for any reason. My life shrank. In the end I invited a friend to come and live with me and he couldn't cope even though he already knew her well. I could tell that he was going to bite her. I reached the end of the line and rang the vet and without hesitation they arranged for him to be euthanised that same afternoon- they had been waiting for me to see the light. Don't wait OP- your dog is bigger and will inflict real harm. Don't let your life shrink!

Rescue centres don't provide magical cures for dogs with serious behavioural issues! They hardly know most of the dogs they process as many dogs will not exhibit their true behaviour until they start to settle in a new home, sometimes this takes months. Rescue centres are miserable places for a dog to find itself in. In many cases where a dog is aggressive and stressed out, euthanasia is realistically the kindest thing. There are lots and lots of gorgeous safe dogs in the world OP, bred with loving care and raised with loving care and lots and lots of hard work. Get a well bred puppy that's the right breed for your family. Put a couple of years of time and energy into raising your pup and reap the fruits of your labours!

That’s an insane amount of biting. Yes, the dog needs to be pts