Quote:
Originally posted by nononono
Thanks, bnb - neither my ex- nor I want to put him down (though this is not his first incident, it is the first of this much ferocity - my leg is still black and blue where he bit), and I think it's on us to try what we can to make it work. I'm not sure it will ever be an easy peace, and I don't want the whole family to have to tiptoe around the scary dog, but I am somewhat hopeful.
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Did you say in an earlier post that you are certain he is not a candidate for rescue? Have you even talked to all the rescue organizations that you can? My thought is that if there is another incident with you, you will have no choice but to put him down. But if there is a chance for rescue, that is, for placement in a household where it will be less likely that there will be another incident, because the new owner will be a more consistent alpha (bitch!) than you, then you may be doing both the dog and your family a better turn by exploring this option thoroughly now, rather than trying and possibly failing on your own.
And not to pass the buck, but if the dog fails in a new situation and has to be put down, at least the burden -- both of "tiptoeing" around the dog, and of making the difficult decision that he can't be rehabilitated --- wouldn't be on you.
While bnb's perseverance and achievement is really commendable, I don't think she had one little person, let alone two, underfoot when she and her ex made it work with the dog.
I once fostered an adorable lab puppy that I fully intended to adopt, but after about three formal training sessions I realized I would never be alpha enough to manage her. Even the trainer remarked that she was unusually aggressive for a lab and that she would require a lifetime of very assertive alpha leadership. I knew I couldn't pull it off, and I knew I wanted kids someday, so the rescue organization found a home for her with a childless couple with prior experience with a dog with aggressive tendencies. Now, maybe they were just blowing sunshine up my ass, both then and during subsequent updates, but I knew that the puppy had more hope with someone else than she did with me.
I am a huge dog lover and a big fan of rescue and am always saddened by people who give up good dogs without trying, or out of laziness or foolish expectations or lack of commitment, or because the dog got too big (wtf?), or because the owners had a baby and couldn't handle the dog anymore (double wtf?), or whatever bullshit reason that really means the person was too stupid to have gotten the dog in the first place, but you are not one of those people. The dog bit you. Seriously, is this the kind of stress to which you want to subject your family?
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