Scared About the Future

[mvillarreal]

Hi, everyone. My anxiety and depression are a little higher than usual right now because this weekend, my dog bit my parents. He has always had issues with aggression and probably had some trauma as a puppy, but he was doing so much better since we got in touch with an aggression specialist and almost went a year without biting anyone. At this point, we're not sure what we're doing wrong or why he's acting out. I tried contacting a ranch that takes aggressive dogs, but the wait time is about 2-3 years right now. All I know is that I will never forgive myself if we end up euthanizing him, but we also don't want anyone to get hurt. The thought of my dog dying is devastating to me, and I can't get over the thought that this will end up happening eventually. I'm keeping him on the waitlist, but that raises the question, how many times will he bite in 2-3 years?

[marsdream]

Your question is hard because you love your pet. You love your family too, so you are in a tough spot. Have you taken your dog to the vet or a pet hospital for a pet checkup? You dog could be ill and could get aggressive. Also, don't take your pet to the hospital or vet alone, have someone that can offer support to you, as long as you have control over your pet. With most aggressive animals they are put down, so check with your dog's vet to see if they could run tests to rule out illnesses. Remember, it's not your fault, but if your dog has had issues since he was a puppy, then maybe medically you should have him/her checked out.

[mvillarreal in reply to marsdream]

No, he's not sick. It's trauma-related because he was abandoned as a puppy, and it's usually specific triggers (though not always). We now have him on a waiting list (which is like a 2-3 year wait time right now) to go to a facility that takes aggressive dogs without killing them. I'm sad that we may have to give him up, but at least he won't have to die that way. Even so, we still have to keep him for another 2-3 years, and I'm scared he'll bite my dad in that amount of time. That's weird too because he used to bite all of us, but once we learned what his triggers were, he's only bitten my dad. And even if we can make it through these next 2-3 years, I'm still sad that we'll probably have to give him up just because we love him so much. If nothing bad happens in the next 2-3 years, I guess that's a sign that we can keep him, but I'm not counting on that.

[Blessed36]

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