Hi everyone, i hope somebody can help us.  We have a 10 mth old shar pei who is increasingly aggressive. Yesterday she bit the delivery man and we just don't know what to do next. I think we have probably been in denial since we got her as she has has always been very protective, running at doors when anyone comes in barking and growling, growls constantly at people and passers by, the list is endless but we love her dearly, we have been in contact with a behaviourist who seems to think we should 'call it a day' as she could not gurantee that she would not bite anyone else, the reason for my post is, is there anywhere or anyone a society or rescue that would take her? I just cannot bare the thought of putting her to sleep, We took her to puppy school when she was younger, took advice from the vet, you nice people on this board etc and feel we have done everything we can and it simply comes down to the fact that we dont trust her, the whole family is distraught, and we dont know what to do next. Please can anyone help. I'm crying now as I write this and my kids are already upset as we have discussed the fact that it may have to happen. Any advice is much appreciated. She has many good points, when she wants to she can be lovable and affectionate, walks to heel, sits, stays fetch, down etc. We live in sheffiled.

What happens if she turns on one of your kids? Would it take for the dog to do that before you get rid or euthanize her? Think about it. If a behaviourist says ya should call it a day maybe you should call it a day. Either that or the dog wont be able to go out or go near other people without the fear of knowing she may attack..

I know Aimee, belive me I know, I'm just trying to justify it for myself and my boys, theyre teenagers and think i'm going to kill her which i am if I go through with it, I just want to know if there is anything else or anyone else that may help

Hi Vicky,

Wow!, I'm in your boat with you and it's a nightmare. Unless this has happened to you, no-one will ever understand. My Daisy is still teetering on the edge and she has been that close to the vet door, you wouldn't believe. I have read, reserched, experimented, followed advice, got in a recommended behaivourist, who said the same to me as you and have even been on the American Dobe site begging for support, but to no avail. Others just seem to want to blame you as the owner, regardless of genetics or of situation or cause. It is very difficult and my heart goes out to you. there are rescues out there and I have tried the Dobe ones. They are very good considering the work they take on and can help you along onto your destination. Trouble is as in Daisys case, the more folk tell you to PTS, the more determined you are not to. Daisy is an angel at home and anyone in the house can do anything with her. She is loving and affectionate, funny and a real heartbreaker, but out of the house...Blahhhh, you name it. She is only a babay and thats worrying as they tend to get worse, they say. Still she's here with us and the fight goes on. Read my posts and I hope it'll make you feel a bit better as you will see, you are not alone.

I'm so sorry for your problem, no wonder you are upset.

If the behaviourist was from a reputable organisation, what they have told you may well sadly be the case :(
If the behaviourist was not from a reputable organisation and were from somewhere else, it may be possible to get a second opinion just to go over everything and clarify it in your own mind. Some people do keep dogs who have severe problems, but they are totally dedicated to the dog and often don't have families, children etc to worru about.
I'd find it very very hard to seemingly give up on a much loved dog, but sometimes if a dog is behaving this way, it's not necessariliy having a happy life.

Best wishes
Lindsay
x

Have you tried a shar pei rescue?  Whilst they might not be able to take the dog away for you, they might know of an owner who is in a good situation, and has the experience/skills necessary, to take on your dog and work with her.  At least they could put the word out among adoptive owners, and see if someone turns up who would be willing to try.

I've already contacted the club of great britain to see if they can help, I'm waiting a response at the moment

thanks Lindsay the behavourist is very reputable and I trust her word, I still just caint bare the thought of putting her down, I would feel happier if she was re homed somehow but I dont think thats going to be possible, thanks for replying

Hi Vicky

In a way I was hoping you would say she wasn't reputable and so could then try one who was, who may have given a different opinion...
Were the bites inhibited, or did they break the skin and draw blood?

I guess it's best to not pass her on unless you can absolutely be sure the situation/environment etc will be "better" for her (not meant in a detrimental way to the environment you provide :)).

Lindsay
x

I would get back in touch with her breeder she maybe prepared to take her back other than that I'm afraid I would not be able to keep her if it was me .
I'm sure there will be some others along with thier views soon.
sorry cant be of help to you it must be very distressing but you would feel worse if she mamed someone.

I've just done a bit of a search to familiarise myself with her; she's still quite young isn't she? about 8 or 9 months?

Lindsay
x

yes she's 10mths, and as you will see from the search we had problems with her way back, we tried everything, posters on both front and back doors about ignoring her behaviour, blocked her view in the garden, because my boys have lots of friends she has been surrounded by people all ther life and we just caint understand why she wants to growl and snap at anyone who comes through the door as they have always showed her nothing but kindness

I really do feel for you :-) and sometimes we have to do things that we don't like to do....call as many rescue centres as you can, i'm sure that someone will help you. :-)
Good luck and keep us posted :-)
Take care
love kerry xxxx

Hi there,

I'm sooo sorry to hear about your predicament.  I echo Lindsay's thoughts on this one.  There are many behaviourists out there who are not suitably qualified to deal with a problem of this magnitude.  Did your last behaviourist belong to one of the reputable organisations that LIndsay talks about?  I would never try to give advice on something like this because I don't know the circumstances but perhaps you could contact the breeder to see what she/he says.  Shar Pei rescue is another good idea.  I really hope you can work this out.  It must be absolutely devastating but you really can't have a dog like that running around.  In the meantime you will have to manage the situation and ensure she has a muzzle on at all times when out and about and, it would seem when there is any chance that people may visit the house.

Good luck.

Kindest wishes.
Annie

Hi Vicki,

I too am very sorry to hear of the situation you are in. This must be a very severe case because I really cannot believe that any reputable behaviourist would say put the dog down without attempting to work with the dog.  Apologies if that has already taken place.  But if you have kids, then I can quite understand the risks involved. 

My sister in law has a Shar Pei, very much the same as you've described but is well mannered with the family and they have a 10 year old child.  Just doesn't like strangers and other dogs and yes she has bitten.  I keep threatening to take it for a week but......  :rolleyes:

But no behaviourist can guarantee that a dog won't bite again, but then no one can guarantee that any dog won't bite.  This is a young dog; it would a shame to have her PTS.  

Perhaps behavioural training with an experienced behaviourist who has handled severe aggression in dogs?  Or a class designed for problem dogs?  In the meantime, muzzling her would be a good idea. 

Good luck

I thank you all for your advice, we will talk to the vet again over the next couple of days, we will try the rest of the rescue centres and hope we can find a solution, your kind words are making our decision a little easier, nobody can understand unless they have gone through it themselves how devastating it is, all we wanted was a family pet to love and cherish, we had a lovely cross breed for over 15 years before Lola, it took us 3 years to get over her death and finally decided to take on another dog. I thank you all again and will keep you posted

Hi Vicky

it sounds terrible, can't imagine what it's like living with a dog like that, but it can't be much fun for any of you. Have you spoken to her breeder? I'm sure they will give you a lot of help, or take her back if possible. I'm sure they would be devastated if they found you had had her PTS without contacting them. Also hope you manage to get in touch with the breed club, sure they will be able to help, knowing the breed better than anyone. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

Hi Vicky,

I'm really sorry to hear of your predicament. I deal with many aggression problems and some can be heartbreaking. There are many, many reasons why dogs bite. If your dog ONLY bites and growls at strangers in the house, then this is completely different to biting children. What assessment did the behaviourist make? What was the diagnosis?

Yes it is true, you cannot cure dogs from biting and there will never be a guarantee, but once a proper assessment has been done, then you can certainly manage the situation and re-train the dog to show a mutually exclusive behaviour that is more rewarding than her current behaviour. Part of the assessment will involve triggers and severity of bite.

As a behaviourist, I give my clients options, one may be how to manage the current situation to keep everyone safe and the other may be to put the dog to sleep (in extreme cases). If the PTS option is given, and alternative is also given to give the client an option. However, safety management can be very hard work and you will always need to be on your hard and work on prevention until you can control the dog enough to control the problem.

A fast and safe solution is to have her on a muzzle when she has access to strangers.

Please see the Association on Pet Behaviour Counsellors (www.apbc.org.uk) for your nearest behaviourist and ensure that you give them your previous behaviourist details so that both professionals can talk about the case. The original behaviorist will be able to give an insight to the problem, and it is also the ethical thing to do. Please beware that anyone can call themselves behaviourists and they may be very nice, but not very knowledgeable, so you need to ensure that you go to a proper qualified behaviourist. I don't know the background of your current behaviourist, but if you are not happy about the option given to you, then I am sure your behaviourist will not mind someone else giving a second opinion.

In fact, in my (very) few cases where the preferred option was to PTS, I advised the client to ask for a second PROFESSIONAL opinion to ensure themselves that they were doing the right thing.

Wishing you all the best (I know these things are the hardest to deal with).

Best wishes,
Patty