Torn on BE for my reactive puppy

[helpneededbub]

Hi all - my partner and I have had our Doberman mix puppy since she was 8 weeks and from day 1, something wasn’t quite right. She never liked being pet, growled at us when we’d touch her, try to pick her up (a must for unvaccinated puppies) or go near her stuff. The aggression has also been pretty indiscriminate - strangers, other dogs, even towards us - and the triggers have never been super predictable/include a huge variety of stimuli. She also trigger stacks soooo fast and can go over threshold in a matter of seconds.

She’s now ~5 months old and FWIW, some things have improved: when it’s on her terms, she can be affectionate at times (we still don’t approach her though). We’ve worked with a trainer to make her feel more comfortable with basic handling needs (e.g. putting on her leash)/resource guarding, and we’ve connected with a behaviorist and have her on antidepressants and anti anxiety meds. But by in large, she’s either the same or has regressed. This has included a couple of incidents where she has lunged at me or my partner (thankfully, she has mostly missed so far save for small cuts). This included an instance of trying to get her out of the car once post-vet (she hates the vet) where she was so aggressive we ended up just standing beside our car for an hour waiting for her to get out herself.

We live in a city environment and unfortunately, aren’t able to work remotely in our current roles. We believe she would have a better/happier chance at life in a rural living situation that invites fewer triggers on a day to day (based on a brief weekend we spent outside the city with her) but we’re also conscious that she feels like a liability to rehome bc she’s aggressive towards strangers AND owners, and would really require someone who is as hyper aware about managing her as we are.

Our immediate circle doesn’t present any clear options for rehoming which leaves us with 1) continuing to gut this out and hope this changes, 2) rehoming via shelters (which we’ve been strongly advised not to do by her behaviorist) or 3) BE.

In the moments where she is acting normally, she is the most wonderful, kindhearted dog. She is goofy and playful and all the amazing things you hear about Dobermans and puppies generally. The idea of putting down a dog, especially one so young shatters me, but equally, she’s been given a very guarded prognosis for improvement given most behavior issues start when their hormones kick in (and she isn’t even at that age).

She hasn’t had a level 4 bite yet but like, does someone need to end up seriously hurt before we make that choice? Welcome any thoughts on what to do… we don’t want to to give up on her, but we also don’t feel safe with her or safe with the idea of giving her to another person.

 

[corydm27]

@helpneededbub I am sorry you’re in this position, but I would tend to listen to the vet. I think rehoming just passes the problem off to someone else and is so stressful for the dog it worsens their behavior. It is highly unusual for a puppy that young to be displaying aggression that severe. She will become a big dog and like you say, you shouldn’t wait until someone needs stitches to know this situation is bad. If neither you nor the vet sees any indication of improvement, it probably won’t magically resolve with adulthood.

This situation sucks all around and I agree that severe behavioral issues at such a young age is likely genetic and not based on environment and experiences.

 

[bella_lee]

@helpneededbub This is so hard, but if you’re working with a fully qualified veterinary behaviorist I would trust their opinion over Reddit. Puppies are assholes that bite and growl (my perfectly normal pup just went apeshit over me trying to brush her). But if a behaviorist is this concerned about her I’m assuming there is context for this behavior that is way outside the realm of normal puppy frustration intolerance, overstimulation, and poor bite inhibition. If it were me I imagine I’d have trouble not knowing who she becomes as she matures and her hormones level out. But you are the ones who’s skin is literally at stake here and you’ve already consulted the experts. If and when you hit the point of knowing you’ve given it all you reasonably can, behavioral euthanasia is a humane option—and one I’d definitely choose over giving her back to the shelter.

 

[readyforwhatcomes]

@bella_lee RT. It sounds like you have professionals advising BE. Some puppies are just wired wrong

I actually work on a farm. They farmer has kids. We have guests frequently. I don’t know how to politely say this - but a farmer would have put this dog down like they would an aggressive bull. Farmers know when an animal has an undesirable trait and should be put down.

 

[john55107]

@readyforwhatcomes I can't imagine anyone living in a rural environment would adopt this dog either. I see that a lot "oh maybe someone living or in the country will adopt this reactive dog". Just because they live in a rural area doesn't mean the dog won't be living with people and still have to get on a leash, go to the vet etc. Seems the dog would have even more freedom to potentially harm other people and animals. I don't know, just something I think about when I see it on a lie of posts. I'm no expert.

 

[ferrick]

@john55107 It also makes a difference the kind of behavioral reactivity. If it's a LGD that suddenly had to move to a condo and now has issues that someone is trying to rehome, a rural person will take it in a heartbeat to give it a chance. But a Dobie at 5 months? Rural people don't want Dobies in the first place usually unfortunately..

 

[john55107]

@ferrick That's a great point. In specific situations, it could be a good solution. Probably not for the majority of reactive dogs, certainly not this one.

 

[readyforwhatcomes]

@john55107 People don’t understand that rural people with livestock tend to treat their pet cats and dogs similarly to how livestock is treated. It goes back to the concept that a lot of people don’t know where their food comes from. When a cow has a broken leg - most farmers don’t pay to fix it. The cow is put down. That also applies to an overly aggressive cow. An aggressive cow can kill other animals and people and damage property. So aggressive cows are put down. This same thing applies to farm dogs. If a farm dog keeps killing chickens - the dog gets put down. If the farm dog keeps biting humans unprovoked due to reactivity and aggression - that dog is put down faster than a Doberman in a condo who’s owner wants to spend $3k on training.