My dog is anxious and aggressive. Should I consider euthanasia?

Hi there, thanks for your question on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This is a big question, and I encourage you to schedule a consultation with your vet to discuss the situation and potential options more fully. However, from the brief description, I think euthanasia may be a valid option in this case. Hope this helps.

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!

This is a very valid question and your primary concern should be the safety of you and your family (and also any visitors/public). Indie's extreme behavior indicates that she is struggling with social interactions and her quality of life is also questionable given the high state of anxiety all of the time. Euthanasia would be a realistic option in this case, I would agree that rehoming would be difficult as she would require a highly experienced owner willing to deal with all her flaws and risk themselves getting bitten - I would not recommend this option unless you had a personal reference for the new adopter

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.

Poor Mina! I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem. It sounds like you've been doing some good things to try and help her with her reactivity and aggression issues - but unfortunately, sometimes this behavior can be very hard to get a handle on without professional help. At this point, since things are getting worse in spite of your training class, I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist. He/she can evaluate Mina in person and put together a more detailed treatment plan to address her issues. The behaviorist should be able to help you trouble-shoot why your training is not always working as well as you would like, and may also recommend medication as part of her overall plan. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

You are facing a difficult decision. You need to consider your family’s safety first. Also the more you isolate Days the less enjoyable her life is. She can’t be placed with another family and you have done a good job trying to have her settle in but it has not worked. Unfortunately I do think having her humanely euthanized is the correct decision in this circumstance. While every life is precious we need to make tough decisions to protect others. She could cause life threatening injuries to you, your dogs and family or someone else and you would be liable since you’re aware of this aggressive behavior. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you get answers to your veterinary questions.

Poor girl. Yes anxiety medication can be given and prescribed by your vet. There are no options for this over the counter. I would try Trazodone, which is an anti-anxiety medication that works quickly to calm pets for stressful events like this. Ask your vet if she can be given this, especially if they have seen her recently, prior to her being seen for humane euthanasia. I send all my best and I am sorry that your pet is reaching end of life terms, but it sounds like you are making the best decision for her considering her poor quality of life. Best wishes and take care.