euthanized for very bad behavior...:(

I had to have my most recent dog euthanized because he was rather old and was having some problems with very bad behavior. I think he was starting to become senile or something. He was about 10 years old. I have two small children and all they would have to do is go near him and he would snap at them. I tried just keeping my kids away for the longest time so that we could keep him around, but then he trampled over my youngest (about a year) and looked like he was going to start attacking her. That is when I realized he was just too dangerous for anyone to own. She was literally doing nothing to him. Does anyone know of any explanations for a dog to have this type of behavior when they used to be great around children?

 

Well, when you get old and feel grumpy, you will know the reason why.

I really feel so sad that a loyal companion who had put up with your idiosyncrasies for ten whole years is murdered just because he became old and not his usual jolly self. How would you feel when you get old and grumpy and your children decide that it would be more convenient to put you to sleep permanently instead of putting up with your changing moods?

 

Sad to know about it but I could understand its for the good of your children and people around. I have not experienced having a dog that grows old with change of behavior so hard to say it was age related.

 

Dogs do not show their pains so you have to consider that he may be experiencing them that we aren't aware of. There was this particular Dr. Pol episode where there was a very mean senior schnauzer. They soon realized that the reason the dog was very grumpy all the time ( and of course, limping) was because her matted hair was cutting through her flesh.

You also have to consider that something may have happened in the past that you were not aware of. What triggers the behavior? Are their sounds? scents? or specific people involved? Does he only snap at kids or adults as well? You could have been dealing with an aggressive dog. Or you could have just been dealing with an anxious nervous dog. Some physical hints to consider are a fixated stare, back hair standing, a growl and even alert looking ears.

By the way, staring, patting the head and even standing over a dog can be considered a form of dominance.

I'm sorry about your dog.

 

I don't mean to fight here, but how would you feel if your 1 year old child was trampled by a dog that was at least three times their size and then the dog was preparing to attack. If I did not stop the dog, my child could have been injured or even killed in a second. I'm sorry, but I love my children more than I could love any pet. And we actually didn't have the dog for 10 years. We bought him when a year and a half before we had to euthanize him.
I didn't really have much of a choice, it was him or my children. Do I want a dog that is mean (not just to the kids, but to me as well, I couldn't even take him for a walk because he's snap if I got too close to him) or do I want my children? Also, it's not like I could just bring him to a shelter so that he could find a better home. They probably would have thought of him as not suitable for a home and euthanized him. Yes, I do feel sorry that a dog had to go, but I'm pretty sure I would feel worse if my child got seriously injured because I did not take action as a parent to protect them. In my eyes, that sounds a lot like neglect, which a lot of parents could be imprisoned for, while euthanizing a dog is not. Anyone else agree that this was the right decision?