07-2-2011 at 3:04 AM

I think aggressive dogs just need socialization but kept away from children younger than 10. I was bitten my my german sheperd when i was 10 and my mom got rid of her that day. Luckily she only got my hand and didn't draw blood either. If someone has an aggressive dog they should be causious but still not putting it in a cage and ignoring it,that does not help,some dogs are aggressive from animal crualty but others are that way because they don't like a specific person.

07-1-2011 at 1:54 AM

well of course every dog has a chance, and there is always a possibility that every aggressive dog can be rehibilitated. it's important that it doesn't end up in ignorant or irresponsible hands. if it did, it would be an unpleasent life for both dog and owner and the dog would be blamed, not the owners ignorance. but some dogs are so aggressive and needs so much precations it doesn't seem like it would ever have a happy life or be able to relax. if a dog is stuck in a situation where it'll never be able to just relax and it's always an ishue, than it seems to me like it's suffering.

06-29-2011 at 7:20 PM

As a dog trainer, my heart tells me to give the dog every chance it can get to be rehabilitated, even if not by myself. If a dog comes to me with serious human aggression problems, I'd refer them to someone with a history of rehabilitating said dogs. I don't promise miracles, and neither does anyone else I know in the field, but we do our best for the dog, even so far as to do "human training" and teaching the owner how to properly respond to the dog's behavior.<br /> <br /> And then, you get cases where it's obvious something's wrong that just can't be fixed. A dog who is fine one moment and, without any provocation whatsoever, snaps. No warning signs, nothing. Dog's happy one moment, rolling around, begging for attention, and then just turns and bites you.<br /> These dogs, I realize there is little hope for. Either they have learned to hide the warning behaviors because of being reprimanded for the warnings, or there is something medically wrong, such as a tumor, it is very, very hard to get these dogs back on track. If the tumor is inoperable, or the dog's gone so long that it's a danger to even it's owner, then I'd say, sadly, put the poor soul down.<br /> <br /> No, it's not their fault. They can't control how they've been treated. They can't control the chemistry inside their body. But for goodness' sake, think of what's kindest to the animal. If it's going to have to live it's whole life with a muzzle on, chained up in someone's back yard because it has too many problems being around people, that's just not fair. In the case of tumors or brain edema, the poor animal's probably in severe pain, making it react to everything at an escalated level, making it bite and do things it normally wouldn't do. No, it's not the dog's fault, but it's in severe pain that can't be fixed. The best scenario for that animal has become euthanasia.

06-29-2011 at 6:52 PM

I agree Crevan, I didn't post it in my posts but I was referring to dogs who have bitten and have been removed from their owners. (So that safe home would be gone) <br /> <br /> But I do not think the dog would need a trainer, trainers train, the dog would need a behavior consultant. :) <br />

06-29-2011 at 3:50 PM

A dog needs training if it is aggressive; or it simply needs to stay within the family home.<br /> <br /> Just because a dog bites doesn't mean it can't live a happy life as long as it's nice to its people. If the dog only bites strangers, for example, then just don't take the dog out where it will be in a crowded area/have the potential to attack someone. Keep it under control and make sure you know every signal it's giving off.<br /> <br /> If someone wants to take an aggressive dog out of their home, then it needs to be trained properly, or needs to wear a muzzle, simple as that. I mean, if you -know- your dog is aggressive you should be taking every precaution necessary because you -can- lose that dog if it bites someone. <br /> <br /> It's sad and I don't think it's fair that you should have to lose your dog for other people's mistakes - and here's where I make another point. A lot of dog bite incidents occur because the person who got bit was doing something they shouldn't have been doing (at least in cases of good owners having the dogs). I think there needs to be more education out there about how to act around strange dogs; no touching, petting, taunting, etc. without the owner's permission. (and no taunting at all by any means)<br /> <br /> Now if a dog is just plain out of control, as in it acts like a wild animal or something, then euthanasia may be the best thing. If the dog is stressed all the time and panics whenever it has to be around people/other dogs/anything and acts out about those situations, then it may be more fair to euthanize.<br /> <br /> However, I am not one to give up on a dog - I believe they deserve a second chance and that second chance should be with a trainer who specializes in aggression and knows what they are doing.

06-29-2011 at 5:27 AM

"A dog bred for fighting who knows nothing other than killing should be euthanized."<br /> <br /> If the circumstances proved that no one could help I would agree. However, many of the Michael Vick dogs, American Pit Bull Terriers bred specifically for dog fighting to exhibit dog aggression, and depending on whether or not he was in the "professional" area of dog fighting, gameness. Many of the dogs have been fought. The majority (only 2 had to be euthanized out of over 30 something) have been "rehabilitated" and some are even therapy dogs.<br /> Here's one of Michael Vick's fighting dogs.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad178/i_heart_dakota/001469884.jpg">Picture</a><br /> <br /> Aggression isn't black and white, aggression can also be towards something specific. And a human aggressive dog from a dog fighting line is uncommon and out of characteristic.<br /> <br /> Do I think a extremely intense dog aggressive dog should be euthanized? Absolutely not as long as there is a responsible home available. Dog aggression is characteristic of several breeds.<br /> <br />

06-29-2011 at 4:55 AM

Yes it definately depends on the sitiation and level aggression and if the cause of the aggression is just lack of socialization and whether or not it was a One time thing or if it was the owners fault not keeping a muzzle on a biting dog during public situations

06-29-2011 at 12:21 AM

In my opinion, it really depends.<br /> <br /> A dog bred for fighting who knows nothing other than killing should be euthanized. You would only be making it's life hard and miserable - plus putting many others at risk - if you chose to train and socialize the dog.<br /> <br /> On the other hand - A dog who has simply not been socialized well can change. And yes, these dogs should be trained - they can still learn, especially young dogs.<br /> I believe that before a dog is simply euthanized because there was an incident, they should have a chance to learn not be be aggressive.<br /> <br /> There is a difference between aggression and self-defense, too. Just because a dog got in a fight doesn't mean it was their fault.<br /> <br /> Just my thoughts on the matter. :)

06-28-2011 at 11:04 PM

I believe it depends on the situation.<br /> Was it provoked? Is there are reputable organization willing to take the dog if taken from their owner?<br /> <br /> When a dog bites, the case goes into the hands of law. They cannot just release the dog to someone in the public who claims to be able to.<br /> And there aren't many organizations who can do it, there are a lot of organizations and people who claim to be rehabilitating the dogs when in reality they're just shutting them down and teaching them learned helplessness.<br /> <br /> It would also depend on the severity of the aggression, where it's based from, stimulus that cause the reaction.<br /> <br /> But overall a human aggressive dog would go through a lot of stress being handled by other humans, and the vast majority of people don't know how to handle it.<br /> <br /> In a lot of situations it would be easier on the dog to be euthanized. I don't think it would be fair to put an human aggressive dogs in the hands of the forceful trainers who just teach it learned helplessness and shut it down, and it would be fairer to just end it.<br /> <br /> There are good people out there who can change the dog's reaction towards the stimulus through counter conditioning and other humane methods, if they want to take on the dog I would be okay. But they're few and far in between.

06-28-2011 at 4:09 PM

Personally, I believe a dog should only be put down if it is a serious danger (ex. mauling, etc.) and all reasonable training options have been exhausted. For example, we used to own a retriever mix that was previously "owner" of his house. We adopted him and while he was a potential disaster-in-the-making because of his dominant behavior, my dad took the time to train him to be tractable and submissive even around me, who was 5 at the time. On the flip side, we have a chihuahua who always had an aggressive streak since we adopted him, and over the years, he has only become more unpredictable, dominant, and aggressive in his old age. We have pretty much tried everything short of hiring a dog trainer for the behaviors (note that we are already fairly good at training dogs with aggression-type behaviors). He probably would have been put down if it wasn't for the fact that he can't really do much damage due to his breed and dull teeth. It helps that he gets and causes the least stress when he is mostly ignored and physically blocked from starting confrontations.

06-28-2011 at 10:58 AM

Id say its a little of both... Some dogs would have a miserable life because of their aggressiom, stuck in a stupid cage in the backyard constantly unable to play... Some dogs are so aggressive it wouldnt be fair to make them have such a stressful life. But om the other hand I dont want to give up hope on them because what if Every dog Can be helped? I guess it depends on where you draw the line on when a dog cant be helped and what dogs would be just sentenced to a stressful life. Like I dont want to give up om any dog and it breaks my heart that some have to b pit to sleep but I just dont want to put so much stress on an animal if its clear that no one can slash doesnt want to give the dog the special care it needs

06-26-2011 at 11:27 PM

One major thing people over look is socializing their dogs to the vet's office.... IDK how many dogs just totally FLIP OUT when we just barely touch them.

06-26-2011 at 10:10 PM

So many stories, so many different thoughts about what should have happened ...<br /> <br /> In the story of the dog who was poked and grabbed through the chain link fence, I want to ask: (1) How did the kids get hold of it through the fence? (2) Why didn't the dog just go farther away from them when they were bothering it? [A well socialized dog will often do that, but it often takes time for them to learn that behavior.] (3) How did the dog nip anyone through a fence? If the kids' hands were inside the fence, I'd say it was pretty much their own fault. Dogs tend to be barrier-protective and even a very good dog might well nip under those circumstances. The kids need to be trained in this case, and unless the dog had taken off someone's hand, I do not understand why it was put down.<br /> <br /> In the case of the face bite, apparently because there was popcorn present, the dog seems to have had no training or it would not have been lunging for popcorn. It was also reported to have bitten before. I would say this is not a safe dog. Dogs that are not child safe, or that are prone to bite if handled in particular ways, should logically be kept separated from children or other people who either do not know about their special requirements or are not responsible enough to remember to be careful. The dog and its behavior are the responsibility of the owner, not of the visitor to their home who is hurt by the dog. My best guess is that this dog desperately needs obedience training, which I doubt it will get in a home that has allowed it to behave in this way. It looks like, unless the dog is removed and retrained, it may eventually do something that will get it euthanized - not because it deserves to be killed, but because that's what happens in our society when dogs habitually bite.<br /> <br /> And from my own experience, two more stories with different decision points:<br /> <br /> (1) A previously pleasant dog in my neighborhood started to get mean as he got older. His owner thought he was just getting old and cranky and did what he could to make sure the dog wasn't bothered and everyone was kept safe, but the dog's behavior became steadily worse. Eventually it was discovered that he had developed an inoperable brain tumor. He had become quite dangerous by that time and the only real option was to put him down, which the owner sadly did.<br /> <br /> (2) There's a dog that someone brings to the local dog park that is unpredictable. It appears to be friendly, wags up to people and asks for petting, but if someone looks it directly in the eye, it sometimes snarls and bites them suddenly. While I approve the owner's desire to rehabilitate the dog, which was treated rather terribly for three years before he got hold of it, he does not have the right to endanger other people and animals by letting the dog run loose in the dog park without warning. People tend to assume that dogs they meet in the dog park are well socialized and safe, they naturally want to pet such a beautiful dog, and they are completely unprepared for this behavior. Now, if the owner were to come in, explain the situation to everyone, and ask if others were willing to have the dog run in the park while they were there (and especially if he were wiling to leave again if they said no) that would be another matter altogether. He does not have the right to decide to decide to risk others with this dog. He is also risking the dog's life. If the dog seriously injures someone, it will be put down because that is the law here. But because he loves the dog, he doesn't see this very clearly. I hope it will end as he hopes - that the dog will learn to trust and enjoy life. I fear that it could go the other way.<br /> <br /> As I see it, each case is different. Most dogs can be supported and trained into better behavior. Some dogs cannot, for various reasons. In almost every case however, reponsible owners will keep the dog from becoming someone else's problem. Sadly, there are far too few responsible owners.

06-26-2011 at 8:56 PM

I think it just needs to be further trained and corrected. If there is a really sweet dog who bites someone out of annoyance, it shouldn't be thought of as a dangerous dog right away. If my neighbor's dog barely nipped my finger and I didn't even draw blood, how can it be considered dangerous? I could have probably provoked it unknowingly, and all it was doing was trying to defend itself. I think the main reason dogs bite is because they're fearful and they haven't been through a certain situation without consequences. I even have a video to prove this. The dog is trained in the video, but it was only doing its job.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://animal.discovery.com/videos/untamed-uncut-animal-bites/">Accidental Dog Bite</a><br /> <br /> <b>Click on number 3</b>

06-26-2011 at 8:50 PM

Training. If I child provokes a dog to bite, then both the child and dog should be punished. The dog, unless it MAULS the child, should not be put to sleep, but trained and taught NOT to do it ever again. Putting a dog down merely for nipping is not acceptable, in my opinion. Unless it has rabies or something.<br /> <br /> All I'll say about it. (:<br /> <br /> Edit: And, I don't believe the same thing if a dog is just plain uncontrollable. Some dogs tend to just not be right, after years of neglect or abuse, or very bad breeding. If a dog is uncontrollable, and unfixable, even by the dog whisperer, then by all means, the dog is likely better off being put down then being put in another bad situation.