My dog is suddenly aggressive and biting. Is euthanasia an option?

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.

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.

I'm so sorry about Thor. If training hasn't worked and he's still biting, especially without warning, he cannot be rehomed. I get where you are at with this. I had a Basset Hound I adored. He started getting crankier, and snapped at my kids a couple of times. Then one day, he bit my son in the face right next to his eye. If he had gotten his eye, my son could have been blind. As much as it hurt me to do it, I put him to sleep because my kids' safety was most important. I couldn't live with myself if he disfigured one of my kids. It's a hard hard decision, but in his case, putting him to sleep may be what is best for your family. I'm sorry.

First of all, I am so very sorry this happened. It's an awful place to be in. The short answer is that euthanasia is the only way to ensure your son is safe from being bit by Duke again. Big dogs can seriously hurt or kill children in a moment. Many dogs won't bite but Duke chose to. He probably had a good reason (pinched, anxiety, etc, etc), but the problem is he'll probably have a good reason again (because kids stay kids for a long long time). If you decide you want to keep him, I would very strongly recommend an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist (not a trainer or non-vet behaviorist) to talk about management and treatment for aggression. Your vet can help you find one. While you're deciding, do not allow Duke to be with any children, supervise or unsupervised. This is not a punishment, it's for both of their safety. Duke will always be a risk for your son now and you have to decide if you can accept that responsibility. It's a horrible decision to have to make, but you have to protect your child. Again, my sincere condolences.

I am sorry you are going through this with Jackson. I would recommend taking him to a vet for a good physical exam as the first step! IT is really important to make sure Jackson is not painful or have an underlying disease that might cause aggression. Your vet should be able to run some basic blood work and possible x-rays and help you determine the cause of the aggression. If he is medically healthy than a trainer is the best next step. That is because a trainer can come into your house and see what actions are leading towards aggression.

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!

Wow, this is very tough. Unprovoked aggression is very serious, especially since it was so bad that Ryder died. The big problem here is that you don't know what caused it, and that means this could happen again any time without warning. I'm very concerned about your baby, and what if he went after your newborn? Things like that have happened before, and you have to ask yourself do you trust him anymore? Would you trust him around your newborn? Could you live with yourself if he attacked your newborn? If you cannot answer yes to these questions, then honestly euthanizing is the best option. Trust me, I get how hard this is. I recently put my dog down for aggression against our kids. He was an anxious dog, and it was getting worse. He become protective over his bed, and one day when our back was turned, he bit our son in the face right next to his eye. A few millimeters over, and he would have gotten our son's eye. I could not trust him anymore, and had to put the safety of our kids first. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, he was only four. I get your despair, but you have to put your baby first. I hope this helps.