dog biting

Ok first I am gonna kindly ask that you don’t bash or flame me. This is such a sad situation for my family. I am gonna start from the beginning and also try and make it short. When Dh and I got our 1st apt, we wanted to adopt a dog. So we went to the shelter and adopted a 1 yr old min pin/mix. We learned from the shelter he was mistreated and was kept in a cage for up to 20 hours a day.
So we thought maybe some proper training it would help. We took him to pet smart and it didn’t go so well, we were given a full refund and told not to come back its not gonna work. Well at that time a neighbor had started working with us and him. Things were going ok, except he would still cry, nip, bark when we would leave him alone. We never left him in a cage bc we felt. Over the next few years we had a few minor incidents where he would nip or get nasty if we touched his food or we would leave. At that point we had a trainer come in and he told us he was untrainable. Fast forward some I get pregnant and dh, myself, parents and in-laws its not a good idea to keep our puppy bc we cannot trust him with the baby with nipping history. My mom offered to take hin This was like 4 years ago. He was doing great but the last few years he has got worse and worse. In the last year, he has bitten me and my dh. He bite my aunt and broke skin, bite my nephews toe, and this week he bite my mom and she had to go to the hospital. So my question is where do we go from here. We contacted our vet and he suggested we put him to sleep . He said he is almost 12, that we have given a better chance then anyone else would have given him, and that if were to give him to a shelter, that he is considered not adoptable. The idea of putting him to sleep or giving him to a shelter makes me sick.

Re: dog biting

I don't have any suggestions. But I know it must be hard to be going through this. Sending you hugs and I hope it works out in some way.

Re: dog biting

That is a tough situation. I wish I had some good advice for you but I don't. Sorry you are dealing with this

Re: dog biting

Such a hard situation. I feel your pain because I also had an older dog that was a biter although his aggression was only towards DH so we kept him. He never bit me or DD or anyone else but DH. If he had I honestly don't know what I would have done.

In your situation I may try another trainer. Perhaps someone more specialized in aggressive dogs. Honestly if that doesn't work I don't think you have another choice but to put him to sleep unless you are able to find a rescue to take him knowing his history. His chances of getting adopted considering his age and behavior in a shelter are slim to none and they will honestly probably put him down anyway. If he's going to be put to sleep IMO the most humane way is to have the family he has known be there with him.

Re: dog biting

Have you tried a dog behaviorist? They will often combine behavioral training and medication ( if aggression is a result of anxiety).