Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
The minute I took the dog home and it started behaving like that, I would have brought it right back to the humane society. Sorry, but later dude. Why would someone want that in their home?
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I had this exact scenario a couple of years back but unfortunately didn't act on it right away.
The dog could only be described as a good dog prone to random psychotic episodes towards smaller dogs. And when I mean psychotic it went for it. The other dog could be submitting but it wanted the kill.
First attack was on a friends Golden Retriever pup on day 2 in the house. The pup was submitting and she was still going for the kill. Tore a hole in its ear with puncture wounds to the head. Literally had to pull it off and pin it to the ground. I gave her the benefit of the doubt as the attack happened outside her crate and put it down to her being territorial.
Final straw for me was when the third attack on a little overweight beagle with my son. Luckily I was yards away. Dog came up to say hello, bit of sniffing, tail wagging and boom, full scale attack. Same thing. Beagle rolls over to submit and she keeps going. Puncture wounds to the head. I got lucky all three times I didn't get a bill.
I took it back to the SPCA and got the
treatment and obviously you're not prepared to work with it guilt trip. As far as I was concerned this was something you couldn't train out of a dog, it was a hard wiring issue.
But WRGMG was that the dog was readvertised with zero mention of the problems. Good dog, likes kids (it was good with kids) and loves to play with other dogs. The dog was readopted for someone else to deal with. Respect and trust for them has completely gone. In fairness, the Humane Society here in Ottawa will say if their dogs aren't suitable for cats/kids/other dogs.
So, all I would say is this. If adopting from a shelter, be very aware and unlike me the first time, go with your gut and your head and not your heart. Some things can't be trained out of a dog. e.g. If you take the dog for a walk and it is straining at the leash consider beyond that is not leash trained and maybe it has a very high prey drive. If you can, take it to a enclosed dog park and see how it goes and take someone that knows a thing or two about dogs with you that is not emotionally invested. Looking back I missed a lot of signs that the dog could be a problem.
At the end of the day for me. a dog is a source of love, comfort and relaxation. Not something I stress out about every time I am out. I strongly believe that dogs are no different to humans that some on them for whatever reason are just hard wired the wrong way and no amount of rehab will fix them.