Advising someone about their 'aggressive' dog

Hi, sorry if this a waste of people's time since it's nothing directly to do with me but I'm hoping as dog lovers you'll want to give me your input.

I have a lovely and a lodger. The lodger's girlfriend has a dog who is perfect with me and people we see when we go on walks together. He's a 3yo lab and they've had him since he was a puppy. He's incredibly well trained as well, but they do a lot of dominance exercises with him so he has some food aggression and won't let strangers take toys from him (so I don't try any more when playing fetch etc).

The account of what happened according to my lodger: Yesterday he was sitting with his head on his owner, Laura's lap. She was stroking him and then he suddenly turned his head and bit her hand. It left two deep puncture wounds.

Now. This is clearly not acceptable, but my lodger has convinced her that the dog is now considered a danger by UK law and the only responsible thing to do would be to put him to sleep. I told them both I can see why she's upset, if she wants space for him I can take him for a couple of weeks so she can take the time to look into options properly. Now after 24 hours she's spoken to ONE trainer who said that an unprovoked attack shows he has a dangerous personality, it'll still be there no matter how much training is 'thrown at it'!? They had a checkup at the vets and the dog isn't ill or injured in any way. She's decided he's hopeless and would be too dangerous to rehome and even too dangerous to stay with me, someone he's comfortable with, for a couple of weeks. He's been booked in to be PTS next Wednesday since the vet's been told he's an aggressive dog that's been written off by a trainer. They also don't want my trainer's opinion since 'they'll clearly say the same thing'.

So things I'd like advice on:

• Would you actually consider him to be a Dangerous Dog?
• If so, can you recommend any charities/organisations that'll rehabilitate him and rehome him?
• If they don't look into anything would the RSPCA care or do anything if I brought this up with them?

I just feel upset because I have a bad feeling that there's actually nothing I can do. It's not my dog...not my choice. Thoughts are much appreciated.

1 The owner should take the dog to the vet to determine if there is any medical condition that may mean the dog is in pain and hence why it bit(has this actually been done properly or was it a vague visit)?

2 If that has been ruled out then the vet will refer owner and dog to a REPUTABLE behaviourist who is a member of the APBC (the term "behaviourist" is not a protected one so any Tom, Dick or Harry can call themselves this).
Please avoid anyone who is not a member of such a professional body. Especially anyone who is a member of a franchise and only has to have had 6 weeks training before they are "qualified" to give advice!

3 Get hold of Breed Rescue who may be able to advise.

Remember there are thousands of dogs who are waiting for homes out there and many organisations will not rehome a dog that has bitten; unfortunately things are tight at this time of year in all areas.

4 Again "trainer" is not a protected term (although if it came to court the individual would have to demonstrate they fulfilled the legal definition of competency ie had sufficient skills, knowledge, ability, training and experience to hold that title)!

Many "trainers" give such advice when the problem is outside their remit and instead of stating that "they do not deal with such cases" and refer someone, they prefer to say PTS.

Finally it depends on how nervous this owner now is of the dog, nervous owners tend to make matters worse.

Good Luck

Thank you for your swift reply.

I'm trusting that there was a thorough physical examination since that was the only reason for the vet visit in the first place. Thanks for reminding me about the APBC registration, if he's not with them hopefully it'll persuade Laura to at least ask someone else.

Good idea about finding a specific breed rescue, I'll email a couple tonight. I know what you mean about it being chockablock near christmas though :S

Yeah Laura won't go near him now, my lodger spent the night there so he could care for him. That's why I said I could take him for a while, so she'd make a well thought out decision and not one based on fear.

But still, after I've contacted a couple of charities I think I'll have done everything I can? It's their choice in the end I guess, I just feel bad for the dog because I know it's something that would get fixed if he had better owners.

Unfortunately I don't think there's much you can do as he isn't your dog. If I were in this situation with my dog though I certainly wouldn't automatically assume he was dangerous and needed putting to sleep. I'd be looking into WHY he bit and what could be done to prevent it happening again. It doesn't sound as though that's what his owner wants to do though.

Most breed rescues will not rehome dogs with a history of biting.

I would suggest they contact a good (APDB or APFT) behaviourist to work with them. Passing the problem on would be very irresponsible.
BTW `Dominance` is an outdated theory that should be consigned to the bin. It doesn`t work, and it isn`t helpful.

Hi,

If he's been subjected to certain dominance regimes, this dog will very possibly bite and it's his owners who may be to blame for this in the first place.

I hate pointing the finger, but unless there is something medical wrong with the dog, the evidence is there.

It would be tragic if the dog was PTS when it could be helped.

He therefore may be turned around with more dog friendly methods, agree with the other posters, here are some links to find someone to help:

http://www.apbc.org.uk/
http://www.apdt.co.uk/

http://www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/why-not-dominance.php
http://www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/if-not-dominance.php
http://www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/im...punishment.php
http://www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/find-a-trainer.php
http://www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/be...r-problems.php

Wys
x

One of the first signs of thyroid disease is a change in character and/or aggression - did the vet mention a test for thyroid disease?

You mention that they do "dominance" exercises with the dog - that worries me slightly, what do they do and who advised them to do so? How did the dog get food and toy agressive in the first place - has she had the dog from a pup? Is the dog neutered?

What way did they present the dog to the vet, a vet can only go by what he/she is told

There are so many questions that need to be asked before any help can be given and this is such a volotile situation that I think there is no hope of resolution via an internet forum. I am willing and happy to give advise for free on the phone to anyone. I am not an apbc or apdt member so am given little credence on this forum, but if you google my name you will find my website and you can judge for yourself. That is not an "up myself" remark, just an observation. Make up your own mind. Ill help for free if anyone involved wishes me to. Just call me. Daytime.

Whatever you decide, I commend you on seeking help on behalf of this dog, who seems to have landed in a challenging and limited mindset situation.

You have done a great deal for the dog already and should be very proud of yourself. Good luck whatever you decide. Denise Mcleod

OP please encourage the dog's owner to take up Denise's kind offer if you can. I think she's shown enough experience & knowledge on this forum to be able to give some very good advice & help, even without the accreditations mentioned.

It does sound as though, on the info you've given, that this poor dog's behaviour has been adversely affected by the "dominance reduction exercises" that the owner carried out. This sort of treatment can often lead to a dog's warning signs being ignored so the only way they can express displeasure, fear etc is to bite. They've found out that a lip curl or growl doesn't work, so the only way is to bite.

It could well be that the trust & bond with the owner could be restored but it will take some patience & work ~ maybe the owner is not prepared to do this, but I do hope that the poor dog doesn't have to lose it's life over this.