Anyone here ever put her/his dog to sleep bc of unmanageable aggressiveness?

Question

or ever thought of this as "the only way out"?

Answer 1

Have you taken your dog to obedience classes? There is a saying, "There's no such thing as a bad dog, just a bad owner."

Answer 2

As a VERY LAST RESORT! yes i can understand doing this, i mean we don't even let unstable, aggressive people run the streets now do we...But try every thing you can first...is it aggressive you people or other animals (if it is other animals, find it a home where it can be the only pet) If it is towards you try to figure out why and treat/train the cause...If is a specific person, well maybe it has a reason for it and just keep the dog away from that person, put it in a crate when he/she is around...Is it food aggression, sometimes this just happens and well, just stay clear of it when it is eating, if you can't train it other wise, this is a learned behavior and sometimes just hard to break. I will say if it is a bad enough aggression, that you worry about any ones safety and you know that behavior cannot be change(have tried everything else) then yes it may have to be put down-sad but better then someone being badly hurt or dead.

Answer 3

I am really shocked at the number of people that feel this way. Are you talking about your own dog? How old is he? What breed? How are you defining "unmanageable"? Is it a dog that might have been bred for fighting or mistrained for "protection"? Or, as mentioned before, is there a possible heath problem that needs to be addressed?

There are rescue organizations out there that will take a dog that you can't handle and work with him. There is a reason for a dog to behave that way! PLEASE consider all of these things before having your animal put down. DO NOT give an aggressive dog away to anyone other than a legitimate organization that can handle him, and BE COMPLETELY honest about his behavior when you do.

I really feel that euthanizing a dog should be a VERY last resort, and that includes rescue.

Answer 4

I knew someone who had an unmanageably aggressive dog, and what they did was to lock him up in a cage, and it went insane. I thought at the time that is was probably best they just put the dog out of it's misery, but despite everything, the family was still very attached to the dog and couldn't bring themselves to euthanize it.

If obedience training doesn't work, perhaps there is no further recourse but euthanasia. It would be far worse if the dog were to get totally out of control, for it may bring harm to other people. There have been too many cases of unmanageable family dogs who end up mauling the family toddler & etc.

Answer 5

Well, not personally, but I have seen it happen at the vet clinic I work for. I have also seen ones that probably should be.

The first at my clinic was a rescued German Shepherd. She could be sweet one minute, then tear into you the next. There was no way she'd ever be safe to adopt out, and putting people in danger trying to "save a dog's life" is just irresponsible.

The second was a coworker's rescued Great Dane. He would just all of a sudden decide he wanted to attack people. He finally tried to attack her relative and made the decision that he was not safe anymore.

Also, a guy came to board his dogs, a Rottweiler and a Boxer. Boxer is totally sweet, Rottweiler lunged, unprovoked at a CHILD walking past him in the lobby...

And then on the other end of the spectrum, a person came in one day with their 10y/o Pit Bull. Perfectly fine, healthy, sweet dog. She wanted to put him to sleep because she was pregnant and didn't want him. We took him, and are adopting him out. He's here(been here a couple months now) and we play with him every day, and he has never shown an ounce of meanness towards humans or animals...and he was intact when he was brought here(not anymore). You gotta wonder what goes on in people's heads.

And yes, properly raising and training a dog can stop 99% of these problems, BUT some breeds(Danes, Rotts, Shepherds and a few others) are susceptible to a "rage syndrome" where they can just snap and attack. I believe it is a brain disorder and cannot be fixed...these animals are just dangerous.

Answer 6

I used to be against euthanizing healthy animals at all costs - dead against. But maybe dogs that are truly 'unmanageably aggressive' are not 'healthy'.

I've met very few dogs who truly cannot be trained, but they do exist. They were mostly owned by people who were fully aware how to properly train, socialise and handle dogs and yet had had no luck with a particular animal. The last one was a bassett hound, owned by someone who had previously owned bassetts from puppyhood - this dog was extraordinarily angry and had to be muzzled at all times. It wasn't a happy life for him or anyone. The owner was in tears because she had tried so hard to find a rescue place to take him (she had a young child and so could not keep the dog).

I took it upon myself to find a shelter that would take this dog, because I had faith there was a home for him somewhere. I tried all the main places, but no one wanted to know. They weren't being mean, they just didn't have room for a dog that would most likely never be rehomable, and they certainly didn't have the resources or time to rehabilitate such a problem case. I began to see their point. In the end, I found a lady who ran bassett rescue who said she might be able to take him on (but she didn't yet know how aggressive the dog was) so I put her in touch with the owner. I never actually discovered what became of this case, I just know the dog wasn't put to sleep by us so presumably he lives to this day. But it was certainly a lesson to me in the realities of rehabilitating a dog with aggression problems.

If a dog truly does have 'aggression issues' I can see why euthanasia might be the best option. These dogs don't seem happy at all, and I think it may be the kinder thing to do rather than keep them muzzled their whole life and foist them around to different people, or risk having to have them put to sleep anyway once they've really hurt someone. I've never seen an animal put to sleep for aggression where the owner wasn't utterly heartbroken, so I certainly sympathise with these people and pray I never find myself in their position.

Chalice

Answer 7

As responsable pet owners, sometimes you have to take tough desicions. And putting a dog to sleep can be amongst the very hardest. Still, I think there are cases where it's absolutely the right thing to do. If a dog's agression isn't allowing it to live a happy dog life, I think keeping it alive at all costs can be cruel. But be sure to try every other alternative first, including a new home for the pooch if possible.

Answer 8

No, I have never had to do that since I have never owned an unmanageable or aggressive dog. The only time I have had to euthanize a dog is due to the dogs suffering from an illness that was incurable.

Answer 9

yes - if the dog's aggression is bad enough to be called "unmanageable" then the humane thing to do is to put it to sleep. Its best for the dog & the safetly of people. Say the dog gets out one day and happens to attack a little kid....
1.) the little kid would be badly hurt or worse
2.) the owners of the dog would be head first in a big, fat, EXPENSIVE law suit and would have to put the dog to sleep anyways. AND they would have to pay thousands if not millions.
It is just wrong to keep a dog like that alive. Even though you may love it dearly - you have to do what is best....

Answer 10

I used to do some rescue work for my vet. He would ask me to re-train a dog and rehome it. On a couple of occasions, the dogs could not be re-trained and had to be pts. They were a danger to the public, and could not be placed in pet homes. I took them back to the vet, and stayed with them while he put them to sleep. It broke my heart, but it had to be done. But these were dogs that had been abused, so their behaviour was understandable. Having dealt with pet owners and "aggressive" dogs a lot, I've found that the owners are, on the whole, to blame. They don't understand dogs, yet buy them and don't train them properly. I would *never* (as someone on here has said) take a dog to a rescue for them to try and rehome. All that is going to happen is that they will find the dog cannot possibly be rehomed, and the dog is pts with strangers.....the least you can do for a dog is be with it on its final journey, with tears in your eyes, and genuine grief in your heart.

Answer 11

no not really but i know where you are coming from. i found a little puppy once before where i did not know what mix, where it came from or what it was like. i brought it home and was allowed to keep it. i had dogs all my life so i didn't think she would be a challenge but by her 2nd birthday she was totally unmanageable!! she went to obedience school with no success and she would growl at everyone even me who fed, walked and did everything with her.
the time came where she bit my then 5 year old little sister for no reason and bit me the same day as well. i couldn't kill her so i brought her to a shelter in the hope she would find someone who could control her, unfortunately she failed her temperament test and was marked as too dangerous to re-home.
i was very very upset so i totally understand what you are thinking. i hope you can find a solution for you and your dog.
all the best of luck!!