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Dogomania

Dogs that bite


Seijun

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I know this has already been "sorta" discussed in another topic, but I wanted to address it on its own: What is your opinion on dogs that bite? What I mean is, if you had a dog that attacked or bit you or another person, what would your policy be? Do you think a dog should be PTS immediately for biting a human, regardless of the reason why it bit? Are there exceptions, instances where you think a bite or attack is acceptable? Do you believe in trying to train them out of it first? Would you only give a dog X-number of chances before you euthanized it for biting or attacking? (This list of questions could go on forever). I'm not looking for a debate; just give me what you think on the subject--what is your policy on dangerous dogs?

My opinion: I believe that no dog [i]deserves[/i] to be PTS for biting or attacking, no matter who it was or what the circumstances were. It is my opinion that you should only euthanize a dog for biting/attacking if you fear for your own safety and/or the safety of others, you are unable to deal with/handle the issues that the dog has, and/or the dog is so dangerous that it must be kept locked away, no longer capable of living a free and fulfilled life.

~Seij

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I think every dog and situation is different and has to be evaluated on its own merits. Medical complications should be ruled out first. Mitigating circumstances should be evaluated - such as if the dog percieved a threat. In the end you have to evaluate whether the dog can be reliably rehabbed. If you can make it safe great. If you can't, the only responsible thing to do for you and others is to put it down.

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As I said in another post, I believe people are too quick to say "put the dog to sleep" once it bites. We are dealing with DOGS, not people! Dogs communicate with each other by biting sometimes. Now, I'm not saying it's acceptable for a dog to bite a human...it's not, BUT, I believe all other options need to be exhausted first (i.e., first and foremost, seeking a qualified behaviorist, ruling out medical problems, then possibly re-homing a dog with someone more qualified to deal with these issues) before coming to the conclusion to put the dog to sleep. I also believe that some dogs cannot be rehabilitated and therefore, it's in the best interest for everyone, including the dog for it to be humanely euthanized. I suggest everyone on this forum read the book, "Culture Clash".

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Every situation is different and must be evaluated accordingly. It all depends on when, why, who, how bad the bite was, and if they are small children in the home. I believe most dogs deserve a second chance, but that depends on the severity of the bite. If it is just a nip or quick bite that only leaves a small mark and doesn't draw blood I would say try again. But on the other hand if the dog bit a child unprovoked and brought blood or the bite required stitches I can't say what I would do. I think it is worth trying a behaviorist, but I could not allow the dog around the child for quite a while.

Each situation is different and each persons situation is different. It would be easier to keep a dog around and work on it if there were no kids involved. It's a tough decision and everyone must make it according to what is best for there family and the dog.

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I also think putting a dog to sleep depends on the situation. Here's my take. I feel like a broken record now and many of you are probally rolling your eyes right about now. Here goes. About a year and a half ago my oldest son was playing with my youngest dog Asim. They were being very rough and X went to kiss Asim at the same time Asim came to him with his mouth open and X's chin was split open. I was on the sofa and I heard X say "Asim that was a sloppy kiss" X then wiped his chin of what he thought was drool but then looked at his hand and saw it was blood. Asim ran to the nearest corner with his head to the floor and won't move for the rest of the night. I took X to the ER room and he received stiches. That was an accident. Next story. I was having bitch wars between my girls. X was caught in the middle. He thought he was going to be the hero and break up the fight by pulling at thier cokers. Wrong move on X's part. He got bit in the heat of the fight. Again taken to the ER room and recieved stiches. Twice this happened due to the bitch wars. Neither one of my dogs bit my son on purpose. I looked at the situation and saw that there was a reason behind each bite. Asim's bite accident. The bites from the fight accident reason, never ever ever try to break up a dog fight. I told my son repeatedly not to move and stay put but he went to their colars anyways. I asked for help and guidance I recieved it. My dogs are still here. BUT if my dogs were to just walk up to either one of my children and bite them for no reason, unprovoked, I will without any questions or doubt put to sleep my dogs. I did on every incident listed above report my dogs and thier to bites animal control so they would also have record of these bites even if they were accidents. I did work with my girls, don't get me wrong did the thought PTS one of my dogs come across my mind yes but I again with guidance I have learned what is acceptable,manageable and trainable behavior. I have learned to leave with 2 bitches that hate oneanother. Is it easy no but did I save a dogs life YES and I wouldn't have it any other way.

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I guess I'm more intolerant than most of you.

I have to say that if Buck ever bit me intentionally (accidents don't count) and there were not some serious mitigating circumstances, I would have him put to sleep very quickly.

I can't say exactly what those mitigating circumstances would be, but they would have to be more serious than if he was in pain or something like that.

There are too many homeless dogs to be putting up with one who bites on purpose.

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mitigating circumstances make all the difference. X got bit because he put himself in the middle of a bitch war, the wrong thing for a child to do.
Mine go at it, same scenario, but once stomp on the floor and a loud KNOCK IT OFF! NOW!! sets them straight. X was not the Alpha, and I was one who said dont put Asim down, work with them to realize who runs the show.

we as people have a bad habit of treating our dogs like people in furry coats. X's mom realized it once it was pointed out, and her dogs are now very well controlled and not fighting.

it all comes down to what the owner of the dog is willing to do to make sure this doesnt happen. we sometimes expect people to do things they simply dont know how to do...honestly, how many people here realized the workings of pack rules before coming here? and how many have benefited by it by being here?

one poster tonight said she loved me, I had solved her barking problem. the suggestion I gave her was nothing more than what a mom wolf/dog would do to a pup that wouldnt be quiet. in the wild, quiet is everything.

we have to realize that our dogs never reach the maturity of wolves. they remain puppylike their whole lives. thats how they must be treated.

there are exceptions, like poor Pepper, but his beginnings were horrid and he could not be trained. most arent like that.

so in my opinion it all depends on circumstances, and the severity of the bite. If my child was mauled, the dog would be put down, to benefit my child and the psychological problems that could erupt. a nip? no. I would have that dog doing flips over furniture to pay for it. thats me. my take.

8)

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I think it depends on the situation.

1 of the members here that doesn't post alot but does frequent lurking that I know personaly from kindergarden was roughhousing her dog when she was about 8 and the dog got her in the face accedently and her parents took her to the ER. They almost put the dog down but realized she was just rough playing to hard and got excited and where able to to turn the dog around with a personal trainer. 7 yrs later this dog is the sweeted dog and u'd bever know she ever bit anyone. But she was rescued from a puppy mill(parents got her from a flee market when they found out the owner was going to drowned her and her littermates the next day) so maybe that had something to do with it but it's fixed now and they know better to adopt instead of bye from puppymills now.

When I was little I got nipped lots bye Max xuz i petted him in sore areas cuz I didn't know he had arthritis.

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I guess I'm another one of those hard asses. It depends on the situation and breed. If I had a pit bull that bit me, the dog would be put down, no matter how hard it was. Being a breed bred never to bite, a bite is unacceptable.

Now you have to ask, whats the situation? In some cases I'll excuse a bite, an old dog being prodded by an unsupervised child, I blame the parents. A dog who thinks its alpha? I may look past it, depending on the severity of the bite. An alpha correcting a 'subordinate', will probably not draw blood. In that case the dog needs some serious demoting.

But ANY dog that attacks unprovoked, or any dog that draws blood, I will never tolerate. I'm sorry but a biting dog has no place in my home.

But even if the dog was giving out signals to back off, and the human ignored or missed them, why was the dog giving these signals? My dogs may not like me taking their bones away, but if I want too you I will.

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Depends on the situation, like most others said. Puppy bit my husband pretty hard just because he went to grab her collar. But this incident was a big part of our realization that she was going senile. We found the drug Anipryl, tried it and luckily it warked amazingly well. Now if there had been small children in our household Puppy would have been PTS. We would not have gambled while waiting to see if the drug would work.

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i also think it depends on the situation, AND whether or not it can be managed by those actually living in the home, and obviously what kind of damage is being caused here.
Puppy-nipping is normal and can be dealt with through training.
"Correction" bites, if so determined by a professional behaviourist or veterinarian (ie the dog bites a kid who was messing with its tail or something) can be dealt with through serious alpha boot camp.
A dog who bites an intruder or someone who is physically threatening me or my family gets a gold star and a steak. (In Ohio the owner is NOT liable in this situation). Mind you, my dogs are NOT TRAINED to do this, but I have no doubt that they would in a certain circumstance, Sasha especially due to her guardian dog heritage.
A dog who attacks and mauls because he is not getting his way is potentially dangerous, but should only be put to sleep as a last resort.
Just my $.02...

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