Dog dilemna
 

We have a rescue that we’ve had for about 9 years and is probably 11-13 yo. She’s a sweet dog 99% of the time. She’s got some leash aggression towards other dogs so we steer clear. She occassionally decides that she doesn’t like a particular person. One of those folks is an old guy in our neighborhood. She nipped him tonight. It was the tip of her snoot, so I think it was just her front teeth and they pinched him on his thigh just above his knee. I apologized and asked if he was OK several times, but he started raving and went inside, so we left. He came back out when we were way down the block and was yelling after us about killing the dog. I’m pretty sure he had been drinking.

My wife is completely freaked out now, both about the old man and about the dog. She’s going to be terrified to take the dog out to do its business which since we live in an apt is a necessity. We can get a muzzle, but I think she’ll still be freaked out about having to be outside with the dog and being seen by the old man. I can’t come home to take the dog out every day. I’m taking her to doggie daycare tomorrow, but we can’t afford to do that every day.

I love the dog, but I love my wife, and her mental health is more important. I feel like there are two options, to rehome the dog (shelter or adoption which will be tough for an older dog) or to have her put down which is horrible. Are there any other options that I’m not seeing?

The old man needs to be put down.
Problem solved.

^^^
Yeah...sadly.
You don't want to be talking to Judge Judy.

+1

Dogs see souls that man is Satan on earth, avoid at all costs.


Keep the dog on a tighter leash. Problem solved.

In most cases like this, the dog is responding to some cue and a little work with dog and owners by a skilled trainer can help you solve it. Very rare that this behavior cannot be resolved if both adults are on board for some doggie touch-up training. A biter needs fixin'.

Good luck and I hope you can resolve this quickly.

Either of your options is what I would do. I know someone that the same has happened to and her life has changed because of it. She can't walk the dog near people, afraid to have guests in her house, has to have the dog in a crate all the time. Not worth it and not fair to the dog.

Putting the wife down is probably out of the Question?????

Seriously - A shorter leash seems the least drastic measure....

Well your dog bit someone, so your first step is to get a handle on that.

Is it going to be possible to re-approach the old man and talk him down, or is that just not gonna happen?

Kill the old man.

I like the shorter leash suggestion too. When outside, I would constantly have the dog "in check", right at my left side, and just maintain total control. I'd HAVE to pursue this path, try to get your wife "on board" mentally, and basically forget about the old bastid, except to avoid him....doing an abrupt 180 if seen. Tough one Steve....best of luck man, but I'd just have to try that before doing what you're considering...but that's just me.

Don't put the dog down. Just be cautious and hope the situation fades away.

Talk to a dog trainer.

A bit far away ;) but my niece deals with problem dogs. She includes them in her pack for beach and bush walks. A big Tibetan mastiff is the boss, the Alsatain is the brains, the list goes on - about five dogs. If the visitor dog shows any agression he gets a whopping. In a short period of time he learns he is not the boss, big, smart, a fighter, and if he thinks he is; something really bad is going to happen to him.

Thanks all. The missus seems a little better today. I'm going to pick up a muzzle, which will help her feel more secure.

The dog usually loves everyone, and the old guy is a dog guy. I'm not sure what happened, but I agree, it's odd that she bit him. She's met hundreds of folks. The only folks that we know that we need to avoid with her are lawn guys. I think it's the weedeaters, leaf blowers and lawn mowers that she doesn't like, but this guy had none of those and was just standing there.

Dogs can read body language in ways that we can't. I have no idea why your dog reacted to that man in that way, since I wasn't there to observe it but your dog may have picked up on something you didn't.. The bottom line, your wife needs to walk the dog as she normally would. If you're worried about the old man, walk the dog in the other direction. It's a big world and there's enough room in it for the crazy old man and your dog without them ever coming into contact with each other. If the old man gets drunk and yells at you again, just have the cops talk to him.

If YOU are alpha, they will follow your behavior. If they are having dominance behaviors that you don't condone, you are not alpha and you need to get to be alpha.

A dog should be part of 'your pack'. I give mine space to go off till I tell them I know and its ok. Protection is part of the point of having a pack, IMHO. There have been a few times walking at night that my three standard poodles (70# each) I have saved my bacon from questionables while walking them.

Caesar Milan!

tough call. i had to give an adopted dog back when we discovered she HATED kids..then the lady next door opened a day care.

oh-o..dog went away. the risk was to GIANT.

now? i am way better with dog training. i dont have the perfect animal..some leash aggression, but we are homing in on a solution.

The old man didn't bite the dog.
There is no excuse for a dog biting a person.

As mentioned above dog should be on shorter leash. You need to have more control of it. The old man is right and everybody has a right to walk safely on the street.

Get control of the dog or else put it down. Your wife's mental state is more important than your dog. If I was the old man I would have reported you to Animal Control but don't know if you have an organized dog control program. Plus you could be sued by the old man.

Good luck if you keep the dog. Same thing will happen again unless you change something.:(

Dog language is strange. It can be opposite of human:

I used to be over-giving to my ex gf's dog.
I gave it time and treats and trying to bond with it.
But the more I did good things, the more he tried to bite me. I was punished for being nice.
(same with his female human owner...it turned out later)

In the dog's mind I was acting like a weak beta in the pack, and I needed to be put in place behind him.
When I ignored him and treated him like crap he became normal again.

That messed with my value system for a while.
Good=Bad and Bad=Good.