Putting a dog down if it bites??

valkerie

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How sad that this poor dog does not get a second chance it is plan to see that a new addition of a human member to ones family and who gets it the poor dog kicked out abused or put down it is a well known fact that alot of people who have a pet then have a baby DON"T WANT THE ANIMAL very sad world we live in today its the owners fault if their dog bites I was bitten by a dog just last week big deal I dont blame the dog I blame the owner
 

jaycee

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Originally Posted by valkerie

How sad that this poor dog does not get a second chance it is plan to see that a new addition of a human member to ones family and who gets it the poor dog kicked out abused or put down it is a well known fact that alot of people who have a pet then have a baby DON"T WANT THE ANIMAL very sad world we live in today its the owners fault if their dog bites I was bitten by a dog just last week big deal I dont blame the dog I blame the owner
its not ALWAYS a case of blame, sometimes its just an unfortunate incident/situation.
 

catsallover

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It sounds like something about bringing the child into the picture probably brought back up the abuse issues this dog had.
I think their mistake (as well intentioned as it was) was getting a dog with abuse in it's background if they were planning on having a child (says the person who got their dog from the humane society, but alot more than just picking out "a dog we liked" went into it
), but sometimes these things happen unplanned, so either way... Most rescues (even the purebred rescues) around here won't consider rehoming a dog who bites because of the liability, not to mention the guilt if it seriously injures someone. Having a newborn (hard work, sleep deprivation, adjustments to your whole life,etc. ) and trying to work with a dog who needs consistant, minute in, minute out training just isn't going to work out for most people, sad as it is. It's not like they just did it because they didn't want the "dirty dog" around their "precious baby". Even if he wasn't "mean", he was still dangerous to anyone who might innocently startle him.

I couldn't rehome my pet if I thought it might mean someone else's child might cross that animal's path one day, no matter how much I loved him. Dogs can have fear aggression that can escalate, just like cats, but a dog is more likely to inflict a fatal or disfiguring wound, which makes them more dangerous. Since this dog already had a history of abuse, his fear behavior was probably deeply ingrained when he was in a stressful situation, and IMHO was probably the best thing for him and them, considering the entire situation.
 
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trouts mom

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The dog had never shown aggression before this...

Once they had a baby, they were scared he might snap at the baby and didn't want to same fate for another family..so they put him down..

They kept their 2 cats though, it wasn't a matter of getting rid of pets because there was a baby coming.
 

asecretk

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My first husband had a dog when we met and I was always leary of him. He would sometimes growl at me but he would be waggin his tail at the same time. I thought he was probably jealous to a certain degree but I ignored it for the most part.

After our son was born he didn't bother him until he started walking. Then I caught him several times trying to grab on to the back of his calves. He never broke the skin but I could tell that the dog was jealous and I had to watch him all the time.

When I decided I wanted a divorce I took the dog to the shelter before I left. I knew my soon to be ex has irresponsable and that he would not watch that dog the way it needed when the kids had weekend visitations. My daughter at the time was just learning to walk and I truly feared the dog would attack her if it got angry.

I had another dog at the time as well but I took her with me when I left.

I know there are a lot a different opinions but when it comes to the safety of your child or the dog, I felt I had to choose my children.

I know some dogs that are aggressive are hard to re-home. As someone else said it does depend on the reason for the aggression. I don't think as soon as a dog bites it should be PTS but I think everyone knows their own dog well enough to be able to determine whether it was a one time thing or on ongoing problem that needs to be addressed with what ever means are necessary.
 

2dogmom

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I find it such a shame when people like that (meaning, who do not understand dog behavior and take the easy way out when there are problems) get a dog and then rely on urban legends ("once a dog bites there is NO turning back MMUUHAAAHAAAA") as an excuse to cover up their lack of commitment. Really, this gets me vey very angry. What are these people going to do if they have a second kid and the first one smacks the little one? Have it "put down"??

The key here is that the dog did not break the skin. Remember, dogs cannot speak. Instead of saying "bug off", they growl. Instead of grabbing you by the arm, they nip. If they want to really HARM you, they break the skin (except for the dogs who are playing and who have never been taught where the limits are when playing with humans).

It would not have cost "thousands of dollars". Heck, did they even go on the internet on dog boards similar to this cat board? I hang out on boards like that all the time and see the same story over and over and over and over......

Humans get dog, do not bother to train dog, do not spend time with dog, dog is basically a plush toy that eats and needs to be walked. Humans have child, use as excuse to completely ignore dog, at first sign of trouble whine about how dog has "behavioral issues" and have it killed by a professional.

What can I say, it would somehow be karmic justice if these people's kids ended up with behavioral issues. I can only hope that they would actually try to deal with them instead of taking the easy way out. And I sincerely hope that these people never again get a pet of ANY kind whatsoever.
 

loveysmummy

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Originally Posted by AsecretK

My first husband had a dog when we met and I was always leary of him. He would sometimes growl at me but he would be waggin his tail at the same time. I thought he was probably jealous to a certain degree but I ignored it for the most part.

After our son was born he didn't bother him until he started walking. Then I caught him several times trying to grab on to the back of his calves. He never broke the skin but I could tell that the dog was jealous and I had to watch him all the time.
.
Dogs don't get jealous. This is a human emotion. Growling and wagging of the tail means a dog is uncertain of you and especially if the dog shows dominance issues (like herding or controlling his people), the dog needs a good and dependable training regime.

While you just may not have known better and it sounds as if you were a bit nervous of the dog from the get go (and the dog would have sensed your uncertainty and been confused by it), it sounds as if this dog could have just benefitted from a reliable training schedule.

 

jaycee

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dogs (and cats) totally get jealous.
when we first got a cat, our dog would show his jealousy by peeing on the floor if i pet her. i for a fact it was jealousy.
 

juliekit

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Originally Posted by AsecretK

After our son was born he didn't bother him until he started walking. Then I caught him several times trying to grab on to the back of his calves. He never broke the skin but I could tell that the dog was jealous and I had to watch him all the time.
This is one of the reasons people have dogs PTS. They dont truly understand dog behavior. Now I may be wrong but this seems like herding behavior to me.

If I had my Collie PTS when DS started walking I would have missed ou on an awsome pup. She too started nipping at his heels/calves when he walked or craled. She wasnt being agressive, simply 'herding' him. It stopped very quickly.
 

juliekit

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Originally Posted by jaycee

dogs (and cats) totally get jealous.
when we first got a cat, our dog would show his jealousy by peeing on the floor if i pet her. i for a fact it was jealousy.
Dogs and cats do not show jealousy (or vengeance/spite) These are human emotions. Dogs have a very set hierarchy. Some people will tell me 'Oh Fluffy gets jealous when I pet Max' The dog is not jealous the dog is simply establishing his position in the pack by biting/snapping/growling at the subordinate dog. As a higher ranked dog he 'should' have rights to be petted first. This is a dogs ay of thinking, with cats I can only imagine it would be the same.



I just wanted to add though: I would have definately rehomed the dog. Having it PTS was just taking the easy way out. I belong to a dog forum where there is a member who rescued a very agressive Chow. The dog was tied outside all day, and I believe she had bitten her owners numerous times. With NILIF and proper training the dog is now a great member of the family. She isnt placed in stressful situations, not allowed around kids, strangers may not pet her etc.

But she knows her place and has not bitten anyone since.

If a dog with this history can be succesfully rehomed, why could a dog who lightly bit someone (and was unintentional) have to be put down?
 

jaycee

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Originally Posted by JulieKit

Dogs and cats do not show jealousy (or vengeance/spite) These are human emotions. Dogs have a very set hierarchy. Some people will tell me 'Oh Fluffy gets jealous when I pet Max' The dog is not jealous the dog is simply establishing his position in the pack by biting/snapping/growling at the subordinate dog. As a higher ranked dog he 'should' have rights to be petted first. This is a dogs ay of thinking, with cats I can only imagine it would be the same.
my dog didnt bite/snap/or growl. he wasnt trying to show the cat who was boss or anything. he was never anything but sweet to the cat. he immediately wet the floor with a sad, pitiful look on his face if i pet the cat so that i would stop petting her and would HAVE to show attention to him. he would be looking straight in my eyes when he did it. it wasnt a matter of who i pet first, it was if i pet the cat ever. he had NEVER had a problem with wetting on the floor before. just because a human has emotions doesnt mean another animal cant have them too. dogs experience happiness, contentment, sadness, jealousy, etc. animals do have feelings.
 

asecretk

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Originally Posted by Loveysmummy

Dogs don't get jealous. This is a human emotion. Growling and wagging of the tail means a dog is uncertain of you and especially if the dog shows dominance issues (like herding or controlling his people), the dog needs a good and dependable training regime.

While you just may not have known better and it sounds as if you were a bit nervous of the dog from the get go (and the dog would have sensed your uncertainty and been confused by it), it sounds as if this dog could have just benefitted from a reliable training schedule.
You are probably right but at the time it was all I could think of to do. It was a bad time, I was leaving my husband and I would not risk my childrens safety.

My husbands idea of trainind his dog was smacking it when it growled at me. He would not have spent anytime with a training schedule.

I was trying to defuse what I saw as a bad situtaiton waiting to happen. I pictured the dog growling at the children (3 and 10 months at the time) and him smacking the dog for it. Eventually the dog would have gotten more aggresive with that kind of pattern.


Originally Posted by JulieKit

This is one of the reasons people have dogs PTS. They dont truly understand dog behavior. Now I may be wrong but this seems like herding behavior to me.

If I had my Collie PTS when DS started walking I would have missed ou on an awsome pup. She too started nipping at his heels/calves when he walked or craled. She wasnt being agressive, simply 'herding' him. It stopped very quickly.
He was a husky mix so I am not sure if he was herding or not. I never saw him behave that way with anybody else or even with the cats. He only did it to my son and it scared me.

I am not happy about what I felt I had to do at the time but the safety of my children was more important.


And I know dogs don't feel human emotions like jealousy but it sure seemed that way.

I have three dogs now and if I pet one the others come up and push the others out of the way to get the attention. It appears they are jealous.

Are they just trying to pull higher rank in the pack? They are all females and all older dogs (10,13,15) They also do this is I pet the cats.
 

juliekit

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I know this can be argued about forever, but I honestly think dogs do not feel jealousy or vengeance. These are human faults, and I believe that animals are *Gods* (if you believe in God) perfect creation. I dont want to preach because I am not a big religious person (I dont believe in hell or the devil) but we were *ruined* by our first actions on this earth. We have shown envy and glutony, all of which is unacceptable.

Animals on the other hand have not been touched by these horrid emotions. They live their life as they are supposed to. Dogs only want to please us. Their instincts are not to be treated equally, but to have a clear pack order. They need to know who is above and below them to feel secure. So when we try to implement our emotions into our dogs, we run into trouble.

When we try to treat both dogs equally, so one doesnt get *jealous* we create serious problems because we are disturbing their pack order. We see that one of the dogs snaps at the other when we pet them first. Its not jealousy, but simply saying 'I am higher in the pack and I need to have everything first'
 

jaycee

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Originally Posted by JulieKit

I know this can be argued about forever, but I honestly think dogs do not feel jealousy or vengeance. These are human faults, and I believe that animals are *Gods* (if you believe in God) perfect creation.
God is THE most perfect thing there is and even he feels anger and jealousy

if you dont think dogs feel jealousy then why do you think they feel love? they either have emotions or they dont.
 

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I think it should have been rehomed as well.I placed our Cocker that bite Jordan in the shelter....BUT.....I called rescue to go and get him THAT same day!!!
Whoever gets the dog, NEEDS to know it has aggression issues and then work with the dog.
If the aggression can NOT be corrected, then I think the dog SHOULD most definatly be put down.
 

juliekit

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Originally Posted by jaycee

God is THE most perfect thing there is and even he feels anger and jealousy

if you dont think dogs feel jealousy then why do you think they feel love? they either have emotions or they dont.
I am not going to argue there because I really dont know what God is, or what he feels.

I just simply think that dogs are so pure that yes they can feel joy, sadness and love but I dont think such an innocent and trusting creature can feel jealousy.

Just like a newborn child cannot feel jealousy because they are so pure and untouched by this world, I dont think a dog can either. A baby can feel the joy of nursing, feel content because his little belly is full of milk, or feel afraid, or sad.
 

loveysmummy

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Originally Posted by jaycee

God is THE most perfect thing there is and even he feels anger and jealousy

if you dont think dogs feel jealousy then why do you think they feel love? they either have emotions or they dont.
Honestly, I don't even know what this means...Or what God has to do with it.

You may put the label of jealousy on dogs but they do not feel jealousy as a human emotion....You can call it all you want but it's just not the right label for another species. And this is the reason why so many dogs are understood.

Dogs feel dedication, loyalty to a pack, and a sense of bonding.

They don't feel complex secondary human emotion.
 

juliekit

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Originally Posted by Loveysmummy

Honestly, I don't even know what this means...Or what God has to do with it.

You may put the label of jealousy on dogs but they do not feel jealousy as a human emotion....You can call it all you want but it's just not the right label for another species. And this is the reason why so many dogs are understood.

Dogs feel dedication, loyalty to a pack, and a sense of bonding.

They don't feel complex secondary human emotion.
Well said!
I always end up confusing myself...lol
 

breal76

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I think it depends on the level of aggression. A dog that is extremely aggressive is a danger to society. However, if it was a situation where it bit once, twice..I would ask what was going on at the time of the bite. Try to figure it out from there.


Dogs aggression has a lot to do with fear. I think that's where the basis for most of it comes from.

What feelings/emotions do dogs feel I think noone will have a proper answer for since dogs don't speak english. I know they feel fear, and I think they know when they are being abandoned as well. I think pets are capable of love. Why not? It does come from loyalty, which is a human emotion. After all, a lot of people wouldn't love their moms/dads/brothers/sisters if they were not related..but out of loyalty to the "family" they do. Somewhere in there comes unconditional love.

Anyway, that's just my opinion on pet feelings/emotions and such. I am not an expert and like I said dogs don't speak english.
 

jaycee

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Originally Posted by Loveysmummy

Honestly, I don't even know what this means...Or what God has to do with it.

You may put the label of jealousy on dogs but they do not feel jealousy as a human emotion....You can call it all you want but it's just not the right label for another species. And this is the reason why so many dogs are understood.

Dogs feel dedication, loyalty to a pack, and a sense of bonding.

They don't feel complex secondary human emotion.
i was responding to one of juliekit's posts when she brought God into the discussion
 
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