Fearful Dog

I agree that obediance classes may help. I am a dog lover myself and would also recommend surrendering him to the Humane Society versus putting him down, or try to find another home for him.

However, it sounds like your dog is great with your kids and isn't around strangers much. If it were me, I would let it be and get him in some classes. He is just very protective, which is normal. My dog has to be muzzeled at the vet as well, but she is a great loving family dog. Good Luck, and if it doesn't work out...I know of may great dog "foster" homes!

H.

I may have missed it, but is he fixed? If not, I would suggest fixing him...
He is obviously protective of you and the family... That is something that can be really good, or bad. BUT I would say watch him for behavior changes with you and your family. IF he gets agressive with you and yours then think of getting rid of him. He's a teen dog and may just be trying to figure out the "hormones". :-)
Keep up with the training and as he matures he may pay more attention to you. YOU must continue to be the alpha dog though so when you speak, he knows to listen...

yes, we had the same problem. We had a german shepard. We got her as a puppy when we first got married. Same thing as you.....wonderful with us (even when whe had our first child), very gentle and loving with us, but ANYONE else, she would become ferocious and scary. We had numerous problems with that. We couldn't have anyone over without putting her in the basement. Visitors and neighbors were scared of her. Even the mail lady once wouldn't deliver our mail because she thought that gypsy would hop over the fence and eat her alive. She had nipped a couple of people as well. She did go to obedience training when she was a puppy, and she was obedient. But same as you though, once she gets in that "mode" she tunes us out completely. We watched the dog wisperer (he's wonderful BTW) on tv all the time, trying to find solutions and answers. We even got his book "caesars way" that seemed to help too. The biggest thing he said would help is to exersize your dog alot. Walk them at LEAST twice a day for 30 minutes. If you have to get on a bike and run them, that would help too. Even if you had a treadmill, he teaches you how to get them used to running on a treadmill. The point was to get them tired, because it's then that they will be submissive and then as they are tired, introduce a stranger to the house, then praise them for not going balistic.
What I found hard about that is that who has the time to do all this work???? I tried a few weeks. I even bought some roller skates and went skating with her. She was wonderful!! However, I took a small break for a couple of days because I was tired and BAM! she bit the neighbor for no reason. That was the end of it. We almost had her euthanised but found someone that was willing to take her.
It took ALOT of convincing. My husband would get angry with me and think that I was heartless for wanting to get rid of her. It's been 2 years without her, and we miss her but I'm glad we did it.
I guess my point is, try educating yourself with some books. Try a couple of different routes. And yes it can be changed. I think your vet is wrong when is comes to that. It CAN be changed but it takes work. But like many people facing this problem, we didn't have the time to make it work. It's sad.

Sorry this was so long. I feel for you though.

Hi Well I don't know if you have cable but try watching "The Dog Whisperer" with Cesar Millan he's on the national geographic channel Friday nights and during the week at 2pm, he also has a website:

www.cesarmillaninc.com

He really gives you a different perspective on dogs.

Also honestly if your vets only recommendation is to put the dog down I'd get another vet. There are always better options.

Lastly, your dog is still in the puppy stage so he needs constant training and exercise with walks that are 45 min. or longer, to help make him a good dog.

Please if you need to, PM me, I know it's hard to know what to do when the problem is peoples safety.

God Bless
K.

My brother-in-law runs a self business called Bark Busters. They train dogs in your home. The main thing that they do is establish dominanc over the dog so you and your husband are the Alpha. His business is in NJ but I know that they do have some around here. barkbusters.com
Good Luck, K.

I had a dog that was extremely loud and barking with children and other animals... it scared me and I took him to private obedience training through the humane society.. it didn't work enough, so I was heartbroken, but took him back to the humane society where I'd adopted him. There were other issues too.

I'd think if he is normally fine, then perhaps some training (individual) would be good to overcome the fears of other animals.

I'll also say.. one of our dogs.. who is a large black lab and very sweet but big.. jumped on a friend to greet her when we were at a park and hurt her ankle. She had us claim it on our home owner's insurance which we did. It's ok, but our insuranc went up and I doubt we'll be able to switch companies anytime soon. So maybe keep in mind that there can be financial issues with a dog that may have some agression or fear issues.

C.,
I love watching a show called the "Dog Whispher" and he would never put a dog down for something like that. We have a rescure pit bull and a pit bull/boxer mix and they are just the best dogs with training. I strongly suggest that you call around a bit to get find a trainer that can help you through this time. You may also think of finding a different vet. I am always worried about a vet that has a first suggestion of putting a dog down because they are afraid of them.

Just one persons thoughts on working through this hard times.

Good luck - R.

I think I would switch vets. I had a dog that always bit us and the vet during shots or exams but other than that he was fine and the vet never suggested having him put down. Dogs are supposed to protect us so it sounds like he is doing his job. I am sure you can find a vet that isn't afraid of him. I can't believe she suggested having your dog put to sleep that is just not right. Good Luck.
K.

Hi C.,

I recommend taking him to some sort or obdience class, before making a drastic decision. If he was not good with your children, then there's no reason I wouldn't put him down. Sounds like he is very tertorial. Hope this helps.

J.

If he hasn't had a problem at all around the kids, I wouldn't be worried. What he is like at home is the most important. Maybe, just for the routine things, you can see if a vet will do a home visit. There are still some of those out there. Then the dog won't be so scared because he's in his home environment where he knows what's going on.
Unless he's aggressive with the kids, I wouldn't put him down. I worked as a vet assistant before I had kids, and it's hard for some dogs to go into a situation like that. Try to work with his preferences. It never hurts to try!

Hi C.

I can understand both sides of this story. I have rescue dogs in my home and I also work with a lady that has a dog day care and boarding.

I would get a second opinion from another vet. I can understand the dog barking when someone comes or at other dogs. However there is a difference in the bark when it is something instead of someone that doesn't belong. Have you had this dog from a puppy? If not do you know how it was treated before you got him?

Any dog can become vicious, it is how the dog is raised, trained, and treated by the owners. A beagle can become just as vicious as a pit bull, etc. Yes, when the kids were little, we found a small dog on our property, he was house broke and everything. No one ever claimed him so we kept him. We moved to Michigan and had the 3rd child. One day he was crawling around a chair and the dog went and other way and growled at the little one. The dog was taken to the pound that day. So I can see your point as well as your husbands.

Hope you find a satisfying solution soon, that you both can live with.

P. W.

Hi,
Why can't the doc prescribe something for him to take before he comes there? I think that was quite presumptive of her to talk about putting him down. It's not her dog, nor was it something you asked. In rereading your question I do understand your concern,do you think he will hurt a child because of the vet or because of something u witnessed? I keep my dog away from my baby although they like each other. He thinks she's a dog, but I think, they think, we are all dogs! Get some training as the others suggested,and see how it goes.If you are still not comfortable you can always make another decsion about him.
L.