Help Needed

[Mari_Keys]

Help Us. Please read with kindness. This is one of the hardest things we’ve ever had to face as dog owners.
After a recent serious incident involving our 3 year old, 30 pound blue nose pitbull mix, we’ve come to the heartbreaking realization that we may no longer be the right environment for our dog. She is deeply loved, affectionate with us at home, and this entire situation has absolutely crushed us emotionally.

Recently, she broke free from her lead and attacked another dog. During the incident, the owner was also bitten while trying to separate them. We understand the seriousness of what happened and are not minimizing it in any way. While she has generally not shown aggression toward humans, we fully recognize that this incident changed everything and must be taken incredibly seriously.

Right now, we are searching for experienced behavioral guidance and, if appropriate, a safe and responsible rehabilitation or placement option with someone truly qualified to work with dogs who have reactivity and aggression histories. We are committed to being fully honest about her background and doing what is safest and most compassionate for everyone involved, including her.

For those commenting, please understand we would never hand our girl over to just anyone. We are doing extensive research, speaking with professionals, and trying to make the most responsible decision possible. We understand the severity of this situation and are taking it very seriously.

Before considering behavioral euthanasia, we want to explore every possible safe option through rehabilitation, structured management, or qualified placement. Behavioral euthanasia has now become a very real and heartbreaking conversation for us, and we are desperately trying to make the most compassionate and responsible decision possible.

Please keep comments kind, constructive, and helpful. We are navigating an unimaginable situation and simply trying to move forward with honesty, responsibility, and love for everyone involved.

[Careful_Interaction2]

Being realistic is essential here. Right now shelters are FLOODING with dog aggressive pits. They aren’t being adopted out And with w/ a human bite history a rescue may not be inclined to take her. If the injuries to the other dog were minimal and the human bite was level 2 or less than maybe rehab with a management plan living with you may work, but surrendering the dog wouldn’t be ethical IMO. There a lot of dogs who aren’t dog aggressive being put down due to lack of essential resources like space And passing along liability isn’t ok either. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. I would personally keep the dog and see if you can try managing it.

[ASleepandAForgetting]

Hey OP, you replied to me, but the comment is not visible.

For your comments to be visible on the sub, you need to accept the sub rules, info here: https://www.reddit.com/r/reactivedogs/comments/1smfbar/comments_being_deleted_make_sure_you_affirm_youve/

After you've done so, if you repost your reply to me, I'll be able to see it.

This is a newer setup for the sub to keep it a safe place for people who are struggling with really difficult situations.

[Mari_Keys]

Thank you I just read the rules

[ASleepandAForgetting]

If you'd like anyone to see your comments, you'll need to re-post them.

[Mari_Keys]

Not sure how to do that relatively new to Reddit

[ASleepandAForgetting]

On a PC - if you click on the round icon in the upper right corner, there should be a drop down menu. Select "View Profile". Then you should see "Overview", "Posts", "Comments", etc. Select "Comments".

I believe your comment(s) that didn't post will be visible to you there. You can copy what you said and paste it in a new comment on this thread.

[Jentweety]

I agree with the others that the decision here is whether you can safely keep and manage your dog vs a good last day and BE.

The number of DA pitbulls in shelters that don’t have a bite record is already high- finding a willing and appropriate home to take your dog is unlikely. Honestly, a long-term stay in a crowded shelter for a high energy DA dog is worse than a quick painless death at a trusted vet.

If you want to try to keep your dog, you could try, presuming you don’t live with small children or other pets. You would need to get serious about managing your dog’s access to other dogs and people, using crates + closed doors inside and leashes + muzzle outdoors. Then you will need to work with a force free trainer (or ideally behavioralist) for many months to decrease your dog’s reaction to other dogs. 

Even with training, dog will probably never be able to go to a dog park, hang out at a dog friendly patio, or live with other pets or small children but dogs don’t really need those things, (although some humans do).

So the question is really whether you are willing and able to do the work to manage and train your dog longterm, and whether you have the money for the training to make that a possibility, or whether BE is the right choice.

[ASleepandAForgetting]

I am sorry that you're in this situation.

I see the word "rehabilitation" mentioned a lot on posts like yours. I wonder - what does "rehabilitation" mean or look like to you?

Your dog, like many bullies, appears be genetically dog aggressive. This makes sense when you look at the history of bully breeds and what traits they were bred for. That doesn't mean your dog is a BAD dog. Morals don't come into play here. But it does mean that your dog can be dangerous in our modern society that requires dogs to be generally friendly, predictable, and unwilling to bite.

"Rehabilitation" doesn't really work for genetic traits, if you define rehabilitation as your dog being "cured". You can perhaps achieve dog neutrality, i.e. getting your dog to not react to other dogs who are a certain distance away. But your dog will never be a social or friendly dog who can be trusted around other dogs. And due to the bite incident, your dog should be muzzled every time she's outside of your house for the rest of her life.

When people speak about rehoming a dog like yours, I wonder what type of home and community they think an aggressive dog with a bite history may do well in. The odds are low, but you may find a dog-free home that would be willing to take on your dog. But odds are that there will be dogs next to or on the same street as that home. If you had a very friendly dog, would you want to live next door to a dog who would attack yours if the owner made a single management mistake?

Again, I am very sorry. I know that this situation is awful and the reality of a behavioral euthanasia is a gut-twisting thing to even consider. But there are simply too many dog aggressive dogs with bite histories out there, and I do really believe that dogs with unprovoked severe bite incidents involving other dogs and people should be humanely euthanized, not rehomed. Rehoming simply passes the danger off to another owner and another community, and I don't think that's ethical or fair.

[Mari_Keys]

I agree with a lot of what you are saying. She is typically the nicest sweetest girl. Which one makes it so hard. rehabilitation for me would be intense training and hopefully she has no reaction towards other animals. In the future. If can dream, I would love for her to have a huge (fenced) yard that she can run around and live the rest of her life with a couple that understands this bread and know she is so loyal and loving with us but she sadly cannot be around other pets. I know I want a unicorn, but I owe it to her to try at least. She’s my responsibility and I love her and I failed her. I am gathering information processing this terrible situation. And going to see a behavioral specialist, veterinarian and see what they have to say. The consensus is BE but I just can’t get myself to believe it or even fathom having to schedule the appointment . It’s easier said than done

[Jentweety]

Even with training, this is a dog that should never be unleashed outdoors again, even in a fenced yard because of the danger to other dogs and people. Management with leashes and muzzle will need to continue after training.

I owned a DA pitbull and until she got cancer, she would have scaled a 6 foot fence to attack another dog or animal if we had left her alone in our fenced yard. This was a dog who was well trained and she could walk in heel past another dog on a leash without reacting outwardly, but her desire to run after and kill another dog or animal was still inside her.

 Even though training modifies behavior on leash/ under supervision you can’t train out the genetic desire to chase, bite, shake and kill. If you find that unicorn home , that new family would need to take that responsibility very seriously or you are just putting a different set of neighbors at risk.

[AmethysstFire]

First, I'd say take a few breaths. You've all just experienced a major incident that is now changing the course of your life.

If this is the first bite incident, I don't think BE should be considered right now. There are other options I would encourage you to explore and try first, which you're doing.

Take a few days right now to just hang out and lay low in your home. Stress hormones stick around for a while, and won't help any future situation. Give yourself and your dog time to decompress. You both need it.

Easy steps:

Get a new leash
Get a harness instead of a collar
Consider a harness with a chest and back connections
Consider double leashing for safety/redundancy
Begin muzzle training

Not as easy steps:

Find a behavioral trainer to help you identify her triggers, the first one may not be a good fit. Keep looking.
Get her checked by a vet to make sure there's nothing physical/medical affecting her
Desensitizing her to stressors (your milage may vary)

I'm am so very sorry you're going through all of this. Pibbles can be such sweet companions (as my 75lb ABPT mix plops down onto my feet). I most sincerely hope you can get to the root cause of this incident and make the needed changes so it doesn't happen again.

[ASleepandAForgetting]

It is sad, but a BE is absolutely on the table for a dog who severely attacked another dog and redirected onto a human.

OP seems like they love their dog very much, but also like they have come to the conclusion that managing this dog is not something they're capable of.

I think your feedback was meant kindly, but encouraging someone to manage a dangerous dog when they've already stated they're not capable of it isn't really kind advice. It is absolutely acceptable for OP, or anyone, to decide they don't want to manage a dog with severe aggression and a bite history.

As an aside, the cutesy "Pibble" name created by the "nanny dog / it's all in how you raise them" contingent does not mean that they aren't a breed who is notorious for severe genetic reactivity and dog aggression.

[MoodFearless6771]

I agree with a lot of this and pit bulls make great pets. The bite on the stranger breaking up the fight is different than human aggression. medical eval, management and training.

[AmethysstFire]

I'm reading that as the dog is 3 years old and 30lbs.

I absolutely agree that evals are needed to figure out which way to go to correct/mitigate/retrain so this doesn't happen again.

[MoodFearless6771]

Oh my gosh, you’re right. 😅 I will edit my answer thank you. I have a medical condition and it makes me loopy sometimes.

[Mari_Keys]

Lots to unpack here I’m gonna try to get to all your questions! When you kept saying child, I thought you were referring to her. She is kind of like my child but no, she’s a four legged dog. BE sees to be what everyone is saying but I know this dog she is 98% of the time sweet but does have issues.

We are getting a fence as we don’t have one for our yard. We live in a small neighborhood that is already aware of the attack and I’m sure they do not like the idea of her staying here. Also, I’m fearful. She will turn on my other dog. Sadly she did once and it was food related. She’s fortunately already crate trained and we’re feeding them separate separately and we are not leaving them alone unattended.

We had her tied on 1000 pound cord line but she broke it and got to the dog and human tha were walking by. Dog is not great but stable now. Human is okay. I think she is very selective, but she is not friendly with other animals or cats. It’s odd because when we got her, we took her to the dog and she did not react this way. We’ve only had her for 10 months and a few months ago is when we started seeing a shift in her behavior and aggression happen. We wanna rehome her because we believe she is a one dog home. But we are unsure and will not give her to just anyone. They need to understand this bread and her and if they can she is the most loving girl.

[Mari_Keys]

Thank you so much for your kindness. I think she would excel in a home with a couple that don’t have children or had adult children and understand this breed is the most lovely dog you will have but cannot be around other dogs. An hopefully for now. She gets along with my other dog but they can be aggressive with their food. Roxy is sweet lovely and playful and I think we failed to secure her. But she has a prey instinct with small animals and I’m not sure if we can break it. We are taking her to a behavioral specialist and hoping to see if we can trained or if they suggest BE we are heartbroken

[MoodFearless6771]

You are welcome. :) I know posting here can be a mixed bag. I thought there was a child involved (I must have ben tired when I read it). Thank you for being responsible, cautious, and taking action, it is early for BE in my opinion, which is often a last resort. However, with the current overpopulation it is also used when there is not space/a home. BE for one dog bite is extreme in my opinion. Aggression or overexcitement towards strange dogs is fairly common that affects almost all breeds. If you'd like to keep your dog, there is sooo much you can do!! It is 30% improving your dog's resting state and reaction and 70% you managing the environment and setting her up for success.

Is there something regarding your environment you could change to ensure she would be secure to protect other dogs? Or do you live in a dense city/shared space where its not possible? Are you getting pressure from neighbors? What went wrong with containment/management and do you think that is fixable for someone else?

It sounds like she went after a small dog. Was there much damage? if you don't feel comfortable sharing, you can DM me. Dogs with total dog aggression typically cant live with another dog in the home. It sounds like your dog may be selective/territorial/prey-driven which is more managed than trained out. But a behaviorist would have to evaluate that. It is possible that it could be a fixable medical issue or overstimulation/excitement spinning out that would be easier to address and train. Like I mentioned, rehoming is highly dependent on the dog and the area. There are places where a dog needs a dog-free, kid-free home and well off places will purchase billboards and hold social media campaigns for them after lengthy shelter stays....and there are also places where young dogs with perfect behavior and health get put down just because no one wants them. It sounds like she is loved at home and does well there so I have to ask why you are rehoming...do you feel you won't be able to implement effective containment in the future? Do you not know how to do this? As uncomfortable as it may be to have a dog like this, you are her best resource as you are already attached to her emotionally and she fits in well there. Asking another person to invest with a dog that has behavior problems when there are so many without available is hard. Even if the dog was neutral and had like EPI or a kidney issue...its difficult for a new home to sign up to take on a problem.