Rehoming Problem?

Question

I have a 17 month old Jack Russell X Staffy, i've had him from the age of 8 months from the local Recue centre and when i first had him within 2 weeks he bit my 7 year old niece &had caused her uite a serious injury to her ear, now i know most people would of had him out down but with advice from the animal shelter and vets i decided not to because she had been annoying him quite bad for a week, well anyway back then i only worked part time and now i have had to work full time due to financial issues and my dog has become worse he has terribleehavior problems he is vicious towards me at times, like this morning i gave him a bone to keep him occupied while i was at work & i went to stroke him goodbye & he just went all stiff & growled & showed me his teeth, i thought he was going to pounce on me, i have put him up on freeads to re-home him but im having no luck because i've been honest about him, i really don't knbow what 2 do i don't want to take him back to a dogs shelter

Answer 1

Oh dear! I'm sorry to hear of your problem but you've been totally honest so i'll be honest with you, your dog will either have to be put to sleep or he stays with you and goes through months and months of behaviour training. No one is going to take him the way he is so i think, if you're up to it, he stays with you, you know him and he knows you. You may get calls from people wanting to take him off your hands but they will be dog fighters and within weeks he'll be ripped to bits in a cold dark fighting ring somewhere, possibly Ireland and before anyone jumps on my back, I KNOW what i'm talking about !!! I'm sure he's worth another go eh? The first thing you MUST do is to stop the meaty bone first thing in the morning! He's showing signs of dominance over his food and thats easily corrected, taking it away is the first step! Don't leave his dinner bowl down all day either, only put it down when YOU want it down then as soon as he's finished, take it away from him. What area are you in? There are loads of dog obedience classes all around the country so get ringing round to find your nearest and book for as soon as possible. Ring your local vet or RSPCA or PDSA or Blue Cross for the number of an animal behaviourist and book asap. Take that advert out and give him a chance, deep down i know you love him and whatever his problem is, he loves you. I hope to god everything goes well for you both, i'll be thinking of you x

Answer 2

Send this dog back to heaven & the sooner, the better. HOW are you going to feel when he mauls a person & destroys their life? Or, worse yet, kills a young child that cannot get away from him?

He is only going to become worse with you gone all day. You have had TWO BRIGHT RED FLAGS. The dog attacked your niece AND you. Just consider this, the poor animal loves you, what would he do to someone that he did not love? Think of it that way.

DO NOT rehome him. WHAT if a family with kids adopts him? That would be like you harming those children.

The rescues & shelters don't want to take this dog back. They will do anything to talk you into keeping him. They are good with, "try this, try that."

Don't keep this dog & end up regretting it the rest of your life. We all love our dogs, but this is a matter of life & death.

Answer 3

With this dog, and the issues you have had, I think you should give him back the the organization where you got him.

Do you have a contract with them?

Most rescues have contracts that request that dogs be returned to them or that they be contacted if you should decide to surrender the dog.

I would start there.

If you are very serious about KEEPING this dog, you will need to get into training with him. He needs work and this will require a very firm committment on your part to find a good trainer and follow the trainers instructions.

It's up to you. You have to decide if you want to do the work or give up.

If you give up, and surrender him to an organization other than the one where you got him, this dog probably doesn't stand much of a chance of being rehomed due to his history.

I'm not trying to be mean, just honest. Those are the choices.

I wish you and your dog the best of luck whatever your decision may be.

Answer 4

You can't blame a dog for this behaviour, if a child was tormenting you for a week but you were unable to give her any warnings or ask her not to then you would probably bite her too.
It doesn't matter how big the dog is, dogs and children should NEVER NEVER NEVER be left unnattended together, and children should be swiftly and firmly taught not to torment and pester animals.
If you are starting a full time job then you are not going to have time to give this animal the attention it needs and deserves.
Take it back to the shelter for them to rehome.
Do not have it euthanased - it has done nothing apart from be a dog.

Answer 5

If you annoy me sufficiently then I will bite you too. You niece needs to be removed from the dog.

Dogs frequently growl and bite when they think their food is about to be removed and they are particularly protective of bones.

This cross needs an experienced dog owner and a child free home. Can you find a shelter with a no destruct policy.

Answer 6

It is very sad indeed to see the amount of people who are suggesting your dog be destroyed. He can be trained but you appear to not have the time anymore for his basic needs let alone the time it takes to train him! We suggest that you write an open letter describing all the problems especially that he is not very tolerant of young children and that he has shown signs of being food aggressive. When you've written the letter take it plus the dog back to the shelter you got him from. If you got him from the RSPCA you'll find that you have to give him back to them - it states this in the paperwork that you got when you adopted him. You've already followed the advice the rescue shelter gave you, DON'T phone them again because they'll fob you off and convince you to keep trying despite the fact that you aren't in all day (this is one of their stipulations for taking one of their dogs). They will, probably, be not very happy that you've just turned up without phoning first but you have to be firm and insist that he isn't receiving the care and attention he needs anymore due to a change in your work committments. Insist that they take your open letter to ensure the right people get him next time. They have a responsibility to help you. If they refuse, point blank, to take him tell them that they leave you no other option but to report them to the Head Office of the RSPCA.....they will take him back if you have to threaten them with that! Keep a copy of the letter you write.

Answer 7

I think you may be duty bound to take him back to the rescue, as most include that in the contract you sign, but having said that, cant the rescue place help you? most do have access to a behaviourist, and will usualy not charge for this service, so try them first!, if they cant/wont help your vet will have names of reputable people they can reccomend,it sounds to me like its a dominance thing, its about the right age, you need to go back to basics with him, show him you are the pack leader, and your children are also above him in the pack, he is trying to assert himself and the more you give in now the harder it will be, any training classes near you? it sounds like you dont feel confident and the dog will pick up on that, Do you have a puppy crate? they are a usefull tool when you need to leave the dog alone with your kids, but dont use it to punish the dog, just to give you some breathing space,

Answer 8

Your problem is that your dog thinks it is the Alpha male in your family pack. That is, the pack leader.
As he is so vicious towards you I suggest getting professional help because he is likely to bite again.

You need to show dominance over him to show him that you are the pack leader, but it doesnt sound like he will submit.
You must not hit the dog at all as then he will associate you with pain and become more aggressive.
Try using a muzzle on him and train him when he wears it.
To show dominance over a dog you must get him on his back with your hand at his throat but NOT grasping, just lay your hand on his throat. This is what would happen in the wild when the pack leader is enforcing his dominance.

Again I would advise getting professional help. He may bite someone outside your family and then you could be prosecuted.
DO NOT leave your dog alone with any child. He is not safe.

Answer 9

I think its best you take him back to shelter and ask their advice....dog sounds like he got aggressive because u went nr him while he had food..its food agression and can be sorted by you showing him your leader of the pack. Leader eats 1st so pretend to eat from his bowl..you stand dont get down on all 4's and let him watch you THEN FEED HIM after a few days he should be food agressive nomore..and ppl may say eww or how is that going to work and give me neg but it really does work! its shows him its your food u just letting him have some

Answer 10

Correcting behaviors such as this is going to require a skilled dog trainer with years of experience and a good understanding of dog behavior. It's also going to be hard to rehome this dog if he has these issues.

Maybe if you could find a local rescue in the area that might have resources they would be willing to allow you to use to help with your dogs behavior?