Last week my pit/sharpei Trillian got into a serious knock down drag out brawl with my lab/pit mix Brooklyn. They were just eating and my wife bumped into the doghouse and Brooklyn looked up real sudden like and Trillian was on her like white on rice. After 10 minutes of my wife tearing them apart and calling the cops for help and all that, she got them apart. Brooklyn was cut up a bit and needed stitches on 1 front and 1 back leg. I raced home and patched up Brooklyn and stuck Trillian in the shed while I sorted it all out and got Brooklyn bandaged. I got mad props from the vet on my wound dressing skillz BTW.

I had told the family that if I had to take Brooklyn in for treatment a 2nd time because of Trillian being aggressive that Trillian would be put down. This was that time.

I really love Trillian. She's my little baby and never aggressive to people. Always tries to please but she's destructive (chews up everything) and she's aggressive as hell to other animals. I miss her. Brooklyn does too.

I have to go see her for the last time today. How do you tell a great dog that you're sorry but you have to kill her because she's got a pair of unfortunate personality issues?

Trillian (brindle looking one) and Brooklyn (black one). Being best friends.


Trillian being my friend.


I'm gunna miss you girl.

 

Thats hard man, sorry you have to make a decision like that. What about trying to find a new home for the dog instead of putting it down? Someone may take it even with the issues. My Grandfather had two huge Rottweilers that were big as bears. They went after each other to kill, all the time. Took 2x4s to break them up sometimes.

 

I second this. Maybe try to find someone that will take her. Although that would be a pretty difficult thing to do being as how she's an aggressive dog.

I am kind of in the same position you are. I have a Blue Heeler/Rottweiler mix and he is one of the most aggressive dogs I've ever seen. 100lbs of muscle. He's only good around people that he already knows. Evenstill, he is very food/toy possessive. I am the only person that can move his food bowl or take a toy from him when he has possession of them without being bitten. He has severely bitten my father several times and he ended up having to get 5 stitches once. He has gone through obedience school and passed, surprisingly enough, but I don't think those particular issues were really worked on in obedience school. My dad adores Beefcake, so he keeps him around. He is a good dog, he's just a HUGE liability.

My point being (I take forever to get there), is that if you seem to think that her aggressiveness is bad enough to warrant her being put down, that you are most likely making the right decision. I think sadly, some animals have personality issues that cannot be helped unless the right price is paid or Caesar Milan happens to be your best friend.

I am sorry you're having to go through this, mostly because I completely understand where you are coming from.

 

That is rough there r3d, never easy having to play Dr Kevorkian when it comes to your own pet. But a neighbor acrossed the way said yesterday that he had to get rid of his dogs too because they were becoming to aggressive towards one another as well.

 

Damn, I knew that the people of the world were fucked up and now the animals are turning on each other, the end is near!

Sorry for your lost R3d.

 

Thats sucks man, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

I really hate to see this. I never had to put one down for this, but I know what it's like to have to put put your friend of years down. We have had some that would get hitting by cars that wouldn't make it, and we've had some that just got to old and you could just see the suffering in their eyes. A good dog is better than most people. They show you their joy when you get home, and seem to stay right at your side when your feeling down.

 

i don't like pit bulls that much. other than that, i really don't have much to say, because i myself lost a purebred Akita because he had bone cancer, so i know how you feel right now. i've been through it as well.



on a lighter note:

Akita > Pit Bull.

 

sorry to hear that man. I just had to put my dog down a few weeks ago. it aint easy.

 

Ok, dude, im coming back to this and i gotta ask, are you out of your mind??
2 dog fights and you are putting your dog down?

you know why i put my dog down?> she had ******* cancer, couldnt eat, and was dying, her nose was deformed, splitting, and bleeding. she had a lymph node on her neck the size of a grapfruit. and it KILLED me to put her down, but i did because she was starting to suffer. There is no way in Hell i would put a dog down because of a couple dog fights, and YES i have had LOTS of experience with that.

several years back i had a roommate with an Akita Puppy, she got in a fight with my husky when she was young and my husky whooped her *** bad. The akita kept growing and had a hardon for my husky ever since, they got into several nasty fights where vets were involved, once my roomate accidentally let them together and they got into it, he tried to seperate them and tossed my husky off the akita, and the huky ran into my other roomates belgian mallanois which snapped at my husky who was already into fight to death mode and beat the ever loving **** out of the mallanois, all three dogs had to go to the vet, then a few months later the roomate with the akita moved out, then the guy with the mallanois moved out. Ever since it was just my husky BU and my dog Jager i recently put down.

but none the less we had 4 dogs, Bu and the akita always fought, she started having trouble with allie (the mallanois) but we kept them apart, we had a routine, yeah i was glad when he moved out though.

the Husky is dog aggro, i understand this but she is a fantastic loving dog. I just dont let her around other dogs, and if she does get near other dogs i watch her very closely and if i see her moving to the red i remove her from the scene.

how many shelters have you contacted? how many people have you asked to take your dog? have you put an ad up? have you though about seeing a specialist? a trainer? maybe they can help you figure out why your dog goes into the red. it aint genetic, it is enviornmental. dogs CAN change. call the ******* dog whisperer if you have to, lol

if you have tried all of this, Keep trying!

Sorry you are in this situation, but i think you need to find another way to resolve this. If keeping her is not possible, find a place for her, she deserves to live. dont give up on her, you will ALWAYS hate yourself for putting her down because as soon as you do you will start thinking you could have done more, and you would be right

 

r3d, Hang on before you make a harsh decision on this. For what it's worth I e-mailed a link to this thread to the dog whisperer himself. Probably won't get a response but you never know. He may have some alternatives to putting down a healthy dog.

Maybe you can keep them separated or something. It's obvious both of them are being in the dominent role. Which neither of them should be.

Not gonna pass judgement on that.. But you guys should take over the role of pack leader.. But with 2 agressive dogs no matter what breed, it's hard to do without unlimited time to spend on them..

It will be intersting to see if I get response form Cearsar. His website is full of content, and a lot of it seems to be about the allmighty dollar..

As far as shelters go.. Unless they are no kill shelters, agressive dog is doomed..

I'll post agin if I do or do not here from the Ceasar...

 

Seriously, were these even necessary comments? No one cares if you like pits or not and no one cares what breed of dog you think is better than a it. He came here to explain his situation and for support, not to get your opinion of dog breeds.

 

sorry to hear man. its never easy or fun.

 

+1 - I thought this was really out of character too... some people need to think before they start typing away on the keyboard!

 

The fact of the matter is it's too late for all the armchair quarterbacking.

I rescued her from a situation that was bad for her. She was clearly beaten before I got her and poorly trained as a hunting dog which didn't help her aggressive instincts. She's very random and jumpy and powerful. My legal responsibility is to have her put down so she can't hurt anyone or anything if I happen to lose captivity of her. Putting her into another home is beyond irresponsible. If she hurts them or damages property it's going to come back on me.

We took her in to the shelter the day of the incident. She has to sit in quarantine for a week and a half. I get to see her before they put her down on Saturday.

There is not a single thing that I can do now to save her life. The death warrant is filed. All I can do is try to show her some love and keep her from being scared during her last moments.

I've had to put down more than a dozen dogs in my life. Buried a lot of friends and some family. Never had a reaction like I'm having to this. Hell I've never really shed a tear over anyone/anything else dying. This one is a bunch different. Laden with guilt and depression (comes on in powerful waves). I can see in Brooklyn's eyes that she knows. She spends a lot of time with me lately listening to me tell her I'm sorry or taking her friend away.

Try to have a little heart guys... I don't do this lightly and I feel bad enough as it is.

rebelyell: Actually, they're submissive to me and the wife and kids... we've all established ourselves as above the pooches so dominance has been established. The dogs still have to maintain some pecking order among themselves though and with 2 very powerful dogs it's not always going to happen without a fatality or at least too much damage to allow. They're both quite stubborn and willful pooches. They obey commands well enough but they still show their personalities.

 

Well, if what's done is done, then I'm truly sorry for your loss. But, I have to agree with Jack The Ripper and if you really didn't want to hear someone else disagree with you, you wouldn't have posted but, you did.

So, being a fellow owner of a large, powerful, rescued dog that was clearly abused previously and has aggression issues with other animals, I don't feel you HAD to put the animal down. I felt that I HAD to put down both of my german shepherds which I had for over fifteen years each. They could no longer walk, were in pain, and going into organ failure with a large tumor in one case. It was the hardest thing I ever had to make myself do and I still have regrets about both cases.

I completely understand your desire to prevent any harm to your dogs. Very admirable. I also get how much of a task it would be to find a new home for the aggressive one and any liability issues if something were to happen. My dog came from an inner-city shelter that was completely packed with pit bulls. No one would say it but they knew most of them wouldn't make it. If the two absolutely had to be separated, why not find a new home for the dog without such issues. I know it seems a bit backwards but, you would have a better chance of finding this dog a home and be personally responsible for seeing that nothing happened with the other. I was flat out told by the head trainer at program that my dog had been thrown out of (for a nip on the cheek, due to a complete stranger's ignorant choice to pick him up from behind) that they knew he could be a great dog but, they had almost given up hope for finding him a home due to his size and issues.

I had to fill out an application declaring my intent to give a lifetime home for my dog and to protect him from harm among other things. Unfortunately, while my wife was walking him, he chased my neighbors cat, that we were unaware of, out of our yard and caught it just across the property line ending it's 18 year old outdoor life. As far as I'm concerned, they got their money's worth out of that cat and if they really valued it at all, they would have let us know about it roaming around or put it in the house. But, as far as the law is written, my dog isn't "just doing what a dog does" according to the animal control officer that the neighbor called and the judge that heard the case and was still forced to rule against us because of the exact writing of the law. Instead, he is now registered as dangerous and if any other incident happens, the state will attempt to put him down. There is no way on this earth that I will let that happen as long as I'm still breathing.

My dog is fine on a leash out in public when other animals are nearby, but I know I can't have another animal in close quarters with him and that's a price I have to pay. In the beginning, he also easily got scared and would bite if his legs were handled or someone attempted to pick him up.

When a 110 lb. malamute gives you a warning snap, it hurts for weeks. He's gotten me twice, drawing blood once. Put half floppy ears on a timber wolf and that's the damage my dog could do if he really wanted to. Both were misunderstandings just after we took him in, but I can now play as rough as I want with him and he will absolutely not attempt to bite me. Believe it or not, I treated him like I've seen children being disciplined on Supernanny along with tips from his former trainer to discipline him and have had much success unless you consider his feelings towards furry things like squirrels, deer, and a 1500 lb bull he was intent on attacking. To me, he is my child and I will do my best to treat him as such. If the issue was that dog attacking your child, I say absolutely put it down. But, what would you do if they weren't dogs, but children instead? Remember, they are animals and that is a derogatory term for humans. They weren't meant to act like us.

But back to the original point, maybe having both dogs of that history being so close while feeding caused it. Perhaps, muzzling one at other times you know to cause problems would have helped. Of course, you are the only one here that knows those possible problems and maybe there was no way to prevent it. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, blah, blah, blah. If someone really doesn't want to run out of gas, they have a fresh can sitting in the bed of the truck or they always fill up at a 1/4 tank. I am trying to have a heart about it, that's what causes my disagreement. It still tears me up about my other dogs and I don't want to think about my current one getting a tumor like my last shepherd did so I now feed him stupid expensive food that has no cancer causing crap in it.

I know stuff happens regardless of your best efforts, and I don't know all the facts like you do, but, I don't see those efforts here and I'm sorry the animals are suffering as well as you and your family. I'm not trying to pass judgement at all, and maybe you were at your wits end with trying to stop it. If so, I apologize and as Black Sunshine said, if YOU felt how you did...that's what matters. You and I are from two different places and backgrounds and what myself and anyone else may think isn't important. I know the coming days are going to suck major league for you, especially knowing the day she is going down and having to watch it, and I wish you and yours the best in dealing with it.

 

You are in your right r3d, If anything you gave a great effort to save a red zone dog.

Not many people who own dogs can give 100% to keeping the pecking order straight.

Dog Whisperer is kinda disillusional because he can afford to spend more time with his pack to keep them straight. We don't have that luxuary of being there most of the time..

No judgment from me on your decision. I only have 1 dog right now and she's just a beagle. So I can't say you this, or you that. I gave up on large breeds since my dobie.. Plus I also got rid of a huge rotty, because, well, he was huge and fcking mean. I really didn't even trust him myself.

We all do what we gotta do to maintain some peace of mind.. You did what you could do. Most people wouldn't even bother with a rescue case.. GL Bro..