I need to hear from people who have been in a similar situation, please.
My dog has been with me since she was 8 weeks. She has always had close to no bite inhibition. I have worked hard on this, and while it is getting better, it’s still not good. She is a cute, loving, lovable, kind and very social dog. She is also stressed, anxious, and has had pains in her body possibly since birth. Vet has not been able to fully pinpoint where the pain comes from, but she is on pain medication, and has been for 2 months, yet it’s not enough. She has also been on fluoxetine for a month and a half. Even with these two medications, she is still stressed and goes over threshold so fast. Everything stresses her out, and she tries to just keep going, and keep wagging her tail, and keep wanted cuddles and everything, but she has visible stress wrinkles on her face every single day, and always has.
The behavioural issues are likely tied to her stress. She has done severe arousal biting on walks (attacking me), so we take much, much shorter walks now, and more frequently. It has gotten better. She hasn’t attacked in about a month, but we are also still only going on these mini walks - literally 5-10 minutes.
The other type of biting is more difficult. It’s random, often when she is being handled, and I try to be so calm and gentle with her. If she doesn’t want something, she snaps and bites, like, very quickly whips her head around and bites, and then proceeds to wag her tail. It can also be while just lying on the sofa being stroked on her belly, out of nowhere, she will bite my arm. This is multiple times a day. Needless to say, trimming nails, brushing her, putting on her harness, putting on the leash, accidentally pushing her, touching her when she doesn’t feel like it, not giving her a treat fast enough - all leads to her biting me. She looks confused, too. Just bite, tail wag, seemingly happy, bite again. And it’s hard biting.
So, here is what they say.
Vet: my dog’s physical issues are difficult to pinpoint. She does have HD, and has shown signs of pains in her back which she received treatment for. Beyond that, she says it can be endless testing before anything is found out, and there is clearly a pain even though she is getting pain medication. She also said that the biting is concerning, dangerous even, and that if it were her, she would not keep the dog, and also would not rehome (I asked her honestly).
Veterinary behaviouralist: the biting is a learnt behaviour and my dog doesn’t know how to move through the world. Many things are confusing to her, and it can seem arbitrary. She is triggered by so many little things, which is one issue. The second issue is how she deals with those triggers (snapping, biting hard). I asked her, too, and she said she would heavily consider BE if it were her dog. She said that some dogs are just wired wrong, and that it likely will not change after she is fully developed/mature. And, she said, another concerning thing is how she seemingly flips a switch and goes from being the sweetest dog to biting my arm (she does it with anyone who tries to handle her or touches her for too long), and that it would be different if she was just always a grumpy dog, but she is not. And, she said, a dog who acts like my dog, is likely not a happy dog.
I am a complete mess. Logically, it all makes sense. But she is just a puppy, my baby. I have no idea what to do here. Everything in me screams “This is wrong! She is not yet fully developed!” My main concern is… is she an unhappy dog? Because of her stress with everything, I am trying so hard to give her calm surroundings, but it also means she is not getting her long walks, experiences, fun - all the things that usually make a dog happy. I want my dog to be happy. If she is not, then, is it cruel to keep her alive?
If you have read all of this, thank you so much.
Edit: forgot to add, she is a GSD Labrador mix.
My dog has been with me since she was 8 weeks. She has always had close to no bite inhibition. I have worked hard on this, and while it is getting better, it’s still not good. She is a cute, loving, lovable, kind and very social dog. She is also stressed, anxious, and has had pains in her body possibly since birth. Vet has not been able to fully pinpoint where the pain comes from, but she is on pain medication, and has been for 2 months, yet it’s not enough. She has also been on fluoxetine for a month and a half. Even with these two medications, she is still stressed and goes over threshold so fast. Everything stresses her out, and she tries to just keep going, and keep wagging her tail, and keep wanted cuddles and everything, but she has visible stress wrinkles on her face every single day, and always has.
The behavioural issues are likely tied to her stress. She has done severe arousal biting on walks (attacking me), so we take much, much shorter walks now, and more frequently. It has gotten better. She hasn’t attacked in about a month, but we are also still only going on these mini walks - literally 5-10 minutes.
The other type of biting is more difficult. It’s random, often when she is being handled, and I try to be so calm and gentle with her. If she doesn’t want something, she snaps and bites, like, very quickly whips her head around and bites, and then proceeds to wag her tail. It can also be while just lying on the sofa being stroked on her belly, out of nowhere, she will bite my arm. This is multiple times a day. Needless to say, trimming nails, brushing her, putting on her harness, putting on the leash, accidentally pushing her, touching her when she doesn’t feel like it, not giving her a treat fast enough - all leads to her biting me. She looks confused, too. Just bite, tail wag, seemingly happy, bite again. And it’s hard biting.
So, here is what they say.
Vet: my dog’s physical issues are difficult to pinpoint. She does have HD, and has shown signs of pains in her back which she received treatment for. Beyond that, she says it can be endless testing before anything is found out, and there is clearly a pain even though she is getting pain medication. She also said that the biting is concerning, dangerous even, and that if it were her, she would not keep the dog, and also would not rehome (I asked her honestly).
Veterinary behaviouralist: the biting is a learnt behaviour and my dog doesn’t know how to move through the world. Many things are confusing to her, and it can seem arbitrary. She is triggered by so many little things, which is one issue. The second issue is how she deals with those triggers (snapping, biting hard). I asked her, too, and she said she would heavily consider BE if it were her dog. She said that some dogs are just wired wrong, and that it likely will not change after she is fully developed/mature. And, she said, another concerning thing is how she seemingly flips a switch and goes from being the sweetest dog to biting my arm (she does it with anyone who tries to handle her or touches her for too long), and that it would be different if she was just always a grumpy dog, but she is not. And, she said, a dog who acts like my dog, is likely not a happy dog.
I am a complete mess. Logically, it all makes sense. But she is just a puppy, my baby. I have no idea what to do here. Everything in me screams “This is wrong! She is not yet fully developed!” My main concern is… is she an unhappy dog? Because of her stress with everything, I am trying so hard to give her calm surroundings, but it also means she is not getting her long walks, experiences, fun - all the things that usually make a dog happy. I want my dog to be happy. If she is not, then, is it cruel to keep her alive?
If you have read all of this, thank you so much.
Edit: forgot to add, she is a GSD Labrador mix.