My dog is aggressive and biting. What's wrong? Should I put him down?

I'm sorry to hear that Zeus is having this problem! It's not necessarily bad to use a muzzle for safety if you need to, but this is just putting a band-aid on the problem - the underlying cause of his aggressive behavior really needs to be addressed. I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate Zeus in person and help you determine why this is happening - he/she will put together a detailed training plan to help improve his behavior and will also give you specific management recommendations to make sure that everyone stays safe. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I am sorry to hear you are going through this with Horus. If you have not tried behavioral training or anti-anxiety drugs, I would speak with a veterinarian before making the decision to put him down. I've had a couple of cases where the owners were at their wit's end and as a last ditch effort, I prescribed a combination of anti-anxiety medications and had them start behavioral training. After 3-6 months of this combination, I saw a drastic reduction in the aggression that the owners had reported. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

Oh dear, Zed is really quite aggressive! Aggression is very dangerous behavior to work with it, and it's best left to a professional. I would speak to your vet about a referral to a professional behavioral expert, who can work with him on his aggression. I never recommend having an owner train an aggressive dog themselves due to the danger. If Zed isn't neutered, I would have him neutered as soon as possible, as that may help decrease any aggressive behaviors that are hormonally related.

That is a difficult situation for you to be in at the moment. Regardless if they made a sudden move towards you, it's not ok for your dog to bite other people unless you are truly in danger. They likely want you to put him to sleep because he is aggressive. I would say based on your description of the situation that he is an aggressive dog, and I would recommend getting him into see a professional behavior expert as soon as possible. Aggression is something that needs to be controlled, and because it is a dangerous behavior in dogs, it's best left to the professionals. I would speak to your vet first thing tomorrow about a referral to a professional behavioral expert.

Wow, it does sound like Macie is very aggressive! I'm quite concerned that she has bitten a child in the face, pulled you down when you were pregnant, and you've had the police called on you three times. You have two options: One, you get her into see a professional behavioral expert right away for training. Do not attempt to work with this problem yourself, as aggression is a very dangerous behavior to train. Keep in mind, however, the behavioral expert may deem her too dangerous to work with, or the training may not work. Two, put Macie to sleep. If you don't want to see if training will help, I would have her put to sleep. She is a danger to other animals and humans, and I would be very concerned she could serious injure you or someone else. I would recommend making a decision about what to do very soon before she can hurt someone else. I'm sorry you are in this position :-(

I'm so sorry that you're in this position! Behavior problems like this can be heartbreaking for everyone involved, and you're correct that the unpredictable nature of the aggression makes Jack much more dangerous to manage. I do believe that euthanasia can be a reasonable option in cases like these, even though this decision may be very difficult. If you want a professional opinion to help you make a decision, I would recommend consulting with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate Jack in person. He/she can give you a much better idea of the risks involved in working with him and trying to manage him safely, as well as an opinion on the prognosis for significant improvement. Your vet should be able to help you find the nearest veterinary specialist in this field, generally at a referral center or teaching hospital, if this is something that you decide you want to do.

No, euthanasia is not the only option for Reo. I would recommend speaking to your vet about enrolling him in with a professional behavioral expert. Sometimes aggression can be trained, and I would give him that chance first before putting him to sleep. I would also recommend neutering him, as that can reduce some aggressive behaviors as well.