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Need some guidance, my heart is breaking!!!!

OdinBB

Well-Known Member
Today has been horrible!!!This morning my kids and I were getting ready for school/work and my daughter and I were getting a load of laundry together to wash. Odin came into the bedroom where my daughter and I were and he started looking at her like he didn't know who she was. He locked on her and his body tensed, I said "Odin what are you doing, at that moment, I went for his collar and he lunged at her at the same time and started growling and trying to bite her. For a good 5-10 seconds he was really trying to hurt her, I was grabbing him and pushing him back and getting in his face yelling his name (trying to snap him out of it). I finally got through to him and he calmed a bit, I told my girl to leave and put him in the kennel. My heart is breaking 'cause now I have to get rid of my fur baby. This is not him, I don't know what happened, I am calling his breeder today. I don't want to do anything drastic, but my husband wants him out of the house tonight.
 

tmricciuto

Well-Known Member
How old is Odin? Have you talked to the vet yet? I've read other posts where older dogs get some type of dementia, could he be having issues with his eye sight or hearing that has him off his game?
 

Hector

Well-Known Member
That is horrible! Have a vet do a full blood panel and check for hypothyroid. It could also be from something wrong in the brain like a tumor or something. Strict management and supervision until you come to a decision as to what to do.
 

teodora

Well-Known Member
you can't just get rid of him like that... Get him to the vet, check for pain/health/brain tumors, ask your daughter if ANYTHING, anything at all happened previously - keep a muzzle on him in the meantime for safety, get a professional to see him... He's your dog, he's part of the family, since he's been good before it can be a sign he's just asking for help. I can totally understand your anger but try everything in your power to help him before you decide to get rid of him.
 

OdinBB

Well-Known Member
you can't just get rid of him like that... Get him to the vet, check for pain/health/brain tumors, ask your daughter if ANYTHING, anything at all happened previously - keep a muzzle on him in the meantime for safety, get a professional to see him... He's your dog, he's part of the family, since he's been good before it can be a sign he's just asking for help. I can totally understand your anger but try everything in your power to help him before you decide to get rid of him.
Yes Odin is apart of our family and he has always been treated that way and no nothing happened preveous to this to trigger it, it happened at 630 this morning and I was right there. He has previously bit her, it was over a bone a while back, he was chewing on a bone and she came down beside him and he snapped back at her. He didn't break the skin at all, just red and a little bruised. This time he lunged at her and ripped her ear and ended up needing 4 stitches. So when it comes down to my children's safety, I am 100% choosing my children's safety and well being. During the time he has to be kenneled with the humane society I will be working diligently trying to find rescues, homes, or even reach out to the breeder I purchased him from to see if she would take him. I can honestly say I will not feel comfortable with him around my children again and will not subject them to danger because the way he lunged at her, if I wasn't there I know I would be saying goodbye to two of my babies and not just one. I can't and I won't risk it. If anyone knows of a rescue or a person who would take him in please let me know because I want nothing more then to provide a stable home for him but unfortunatly it can't be our home anymore.
 

OdinBB

Well-Known Member
And I am not angry at Odin, I am angry with myself and truly sad and heart broken. I keep thinking could I have done better, maybe if I provided him with more training and not been so affectionate with him it may have changed this whole situation. So yes I'm angry but not at my Odin, at myself and I just can't stop crying, this is just horrible.
 

teodora

Well-Known Member
I totally understand that you won't put your kids at risk, i wouldn't put mine neither and I didn't put my newborn at risk when my terrier lunged for her and ended up biting me... I've been there, and that dog has been rehomed to a home with no kids and he's doing fine. So I can totally understand your position: you didn't mention previously that he DID bite her. You said he lunged and TRIED to bite her. However, what I suggested was to TRY to identify the problem before you get rid of him. The damn terrier I had could not stand babies: that was his only problem. You don't know Odin's problem yet. First, you either put a family at risk, because you have a reactive dog and you don't know his triggers. By rehoming him like this you make your problem someone else's problem. Secondly, you put Odin at risk of being destroyed because you set him up to fail. He's a big and potentially aggressive dog. How many changes do you think he'll be given?If there's anyone who know this dog and can investigate the issue now, while still new, that someone is you. Anger doesn't solve anything.
 

Ginurse

Well-Known Member
Today has been horrible!!!This morning my kids and I were getting ready for school/work and my daughter and I were getting a load of laundry together to wash. Odin came into the bedroom where my daughter and I were and he started looking at her like he didn't know who she was. He locked on her and his body tensed, I said "Odin what are you doing, at that moment, I went for his collar and he lunged at her at the same time and started growling and trying to bite her. For a good 5-10 seconds he was really trying to hurt her, I was grabbing him and pushing him back and getting in his face yelling his name (trying to snap him out of it). I finally got through to him and he calmed a bit, I told my girl to leave and put him in the kennel. My heart is breaking 'cause now I have to get rid of my fur baby. This is not him, I don't know what happened, I am calling his breeder today. I don't want to do anything drastic, but my husband wants him out of the house tonight.
What a heart breaking post. Goodness, I don't really know what to say other than your kids come first. I don't know what your options are right now other than calling in a trainer, or re-homing. Some dogs just aren't right for homes with kids. I am not one to give up easily, but lunging towards your kid gave me pause and raised my heart rate. I am so sorry you are going through this right now. Your pup may not be one that is good in a home with kids. :-(
 

season

Well-Known Member
And I am not angry at Odin, I am angry with myself and truly sad and heart broken. I keep thinking could I have done better, maybe if I provided him with more training and not been so affectionate with him it may have changed this whole situation. So yes I'm angry but not at my Odin, at myself and I just can't stop crying, this is just horrible.

Sorry to hear about what happened and I'm proud of u for owning it as something that could have been avoided with proper leadership and guidance. After the first bite there should have been some help for your dog. As I'm sympathetic for your daughter I'm also feeling bad for your dog. He didn't get what he needed. This is a lesson to so many. Affection without rules, boundaries and limitations is a recipe for disaster.


"Today is victory over yourself of yesterday."
- Miyamoto Musashi
 

OdinBB

Well-Known Member
Sorry to hear about what happened and I'm proud of u for owning it as something that could have been avoided with proper leadership and guidance. After the first bite there should have been some help for your dog. As I'm sympathetic for your daughter I'm also feeling bad for your dog. He didn't get what he needed. This is a lesson to so many. Affection without rules, boundaries and limitations is a recipe for disaster. "Today is victory over yourself of yesterday."- Miyamoto Musashi
We did have boundaries in place and we did call a trainer and had a trainer for a while, now I see it wasn't enough. We also had our children involved in the training, we had him sit for everything, he had to earn everything. It wasn't that lax in our home, has a very dominant personality but he didn't try to dominate us, besides the boundary testing he did but seen it wouldn't be allowed and that subsided quickly. I don't know what happened and I do feel I played a huge role in it and it just straight up sucks.
 

season

Well-Known Member
I feel you. Don't beat yourself up. Sometimes the hardest things to see are right in front of us and around us every day. I use the stick of dynamite analogy. It needs a fuse. It needs to be lit. It doesn't just blow up. I would love to hear a success story out of this where you, the family and the dog can all figure it out but you need to do what's best. I just hope the dog gets another chance at living a fulfilling, balanced life.


"Today is victory over yourself of yesterday."
- Miyamoto Musashi
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
Yikes. I agree - That sucks.
At this point, it's all water under the bridge. I don't see you (or your kids) ever trusting Odin in your house, and he needs to be somewhere safe as well... safe from doing harm to himself or others.
I really, really hope you hear back from the breeder - but it they aren't 100% into taking him back, I would find him a rescue group. They will be able to get him in a foster home and do a proper assessment. I would NOT leave him at the shelter. With a bite history, he'd be on death row.
You can still do right by him - find him a home that understands him and can help him. If not his breeder, than a reputable rescue organization.
Where are you located? Maybe we can find you some resources to help.
 

OdinBB

Well-Known Member
I've contacted a couple rescues, hopefully they contact me back. I am in Bellevue Nebraska, not too many close, there is one in Illinois that I contacted and I have a friend that is putting the word out there too. I don't want him at the shelter any longer then he has to be, I know he is so stressed out and wondering where we are. MAN I HATE this. I so want to go get him and give him another chance, my daughter even said too but I know I just couldn't trust him. I didn't like when she was going by his kennel after it happened. I think he would do good in a home without children or without young children anyways. He is such a good dog and so full of love, I just don't know what happened, he just acted like he didn't know who she was and that was scarry. I only have 10 days to find something, so any help doing so is much appreciated.
 

Hiraeth

Well-Known Member
I want to start by saying that this may be some very unpopular advice, and it may be hard for OP to read. Everything that follows is my opinion only, so please read it as such.

If the dog has already bitten a child twice, and one time the resulting wounds required stitches and the dog had to be held back from doing more damage, I don't think it should be placed with either a rescue group or in a shelter. Sadly, the dog should never be trusted with or around children again. It's too much of a risk. And neither a shelter nor a rescue group can 100% ensure that he won't be placed with someone who will ignore those risks. Which could result in the death of a child, if the dog is rehomed with someone who doesn't heed those warnings and is irresponsible.

I also think you will have exceeding difficulty finding a rescue group who will take a giant breed who has a history of biting children. Unless you lie to them about the severity of the bites, which would be irresponsible and beyond negligent. Any shelter will most likely euthanize him.

Unless the breeder will take him back, doesn't have kids and is responsible enough to keep him confined, I don't see a lot of options for you outside of humanely euthanizing him. If you don't feel safe with him around your children, then he's not safe for anyone's children. His aggressive behavior towards children has a escalated, and I believe it is irresponsible to place a dog who has bitten a child without provocation in any home, regardless if the home has children or not. Especially considering the nature of the attack, how he went after your daughter as if he didn't recognize her. That is unstable and unpredictable behavior.

What if Odin were to escape from his yard? Get loose on a walk? What if he attacked a child without an adult around to stop him? There are too many risks involved with a dog who has bitten a child to the point of the child needing stitches, in my opinion.

I don't say these words lightly. My late GSD/Dane mix, Loki, was child aggressive, and put a child in the hospital before I added him to my home. Granted, he was being hit with a stick and retaliated, but the boy needed over 40 stitches in his face and neck. Loki was dangerous, and required constant supervision, training and a lot of my time and effort. He was never safe around children, and several times I had close calls during which I was lucky he didn't attack someone's child. He was the most difficult and demanding dog I have ever dealt with, and if faced with rehoming him, I would have put him to sleep. No one else should have to deal with those types of issues and dangers, and most people are not experienced in the type of management a giant, unpredictable, child-aggressive dog requires.

Before the flame war starts, I say these things not because I wish to be cruel or insensitive, but because I think it's kinder to humanely euthanize an unstable and aggressive dog than to bounce the dog from shelter to foster to who knows where. The revolving door of environments and new owners usually only serves to aggravate an already unstable dog and is not generally a good rehabilitative environment for HA dogs, in particular.

I'm sorry you're in this situation and that you're faced with some hard choices, OP. I hope you can bring yourself to do the right thing, and that is, whatever you feel in your heart is the right thing to do, not what *I* think the right thing is. You are the one who has to live with your decision and its possible repercussions, so I hope you can find peace in your choices. I wish you luck throughout this process and I hope your daughter recovers quickly from her injury.
 

BAMCB

Well-Known Member
What a horrible incident to witness! I could not imagine having to to pull a dog off my child, let alone the family dog:( two suggestions. My sister has a dog who bit her kids multiple times and then her daughter's BF. She finally realized she had a big problem/liability. She sent the dog to intense training outside the home for two weeks. The trainer tested her, pushed her and trained her quite hard. Four years later and not one bite. Along with a well behaved dog. My sister new that if the trainer deemed her as aggressive and not a good candidate for rehabilitation the dog would be euthanized.
Second would be a rescue who has lots of experience with aggressive dogs. I agree that it will be a horrible fate if any false info is given and the dog will go from home to home only making matters worse. Can I ask who you contacted in Illinois?

Edited to add that my sister also went through much training at the facility on how to handle and train the dog properly. Very important step IMO!
 

karennj

Well-Known Member
I hate to agree with Hiraeth but I do. After just this past week hearing of another child being killed by a neighborhood dog, I think I would never forgive myself if a dog I re-homed ended up hurting someone. Even in a home without children there is always the risk because children are everywhere. The snapping when eating a bone I can handle, but lunging for a family child completely unprovoked and having to be held back is scary. I do think before you do anything he needs a full vet check up. I mean anything and everything. He is at least owed that. 2 is the age when these things will start to pop up. If he is child aggressive this is when I would expect it to come to a head. Most rescues will not take a dog with a bite history but there are some out there.
 

teodora

Well-Known Member
imo, this dog didn't have proper training. Find someone who'll give him a fair chance by training him - and then see if he needs to be euthanized or not. Not all dogs that show aggressiveness are broken beyond repair - you don't know if yours is. A shelter would not give him any chance. As I said, I rehomed a small terrier - he NEVER EVER showed aggression again in the new family (approx 9 years...). The new baby home was simply too much for him too handle.