I'm going through a bit of a rough time right now and would honestly like to hear some opinions from people that hopefully also own pets, or unfortunately may have dealt with the same situation.
My Dog is my best friend, I've owned him pretty much since I started dating my Girlfriend 5 years ago. He was like our baby, we got him as a puppy, a little Mastiff/German Shepard mix.
He has been fantastic for all 5 years up until about 7 months ago, when we got our second dog, Titan, A Great Dane. The Great Dane gives our dog a hard time, he tries to play with him too much and stresses him out a bit.
My mastiff starts to get irritated easily lately. We didn't think much of it until I came home from work today, my father sat me down, and told me that the kids have a friend over. My dog, the second he saw the kid, went to "greet him". The kid is afraid of dogs. It's assumed that he smelled the kids fear, thought it was hostile, I have no idea. All I know is he bit the kids hand.
Not enough to cause serious damage, but enough to break the skin. My dad put the dogs away and they have been away all day today. The past 4 hours or so have just been discussion on 2 things.
Do we find intensive training for the dogs? Or do we put them down?
The Great Dane has always been aggressive and this conversation isn't the first time we've had it, but this is the first time something has actually happened because of it, and not even from the suspected dog.
My dad is ready for either option, and I just have no idea what the hell to do. My dad doesn't think they deserve the chance, and is reluctant to put the money down (about 5 grand) to get them the best training they could receive.
Does a Dog deserve a second chance? Can my Dog even be trained to revert his anxious behavior? He has never acted this way around me ever. But I'm not stupid enough to realize he couldn't cause harm to anyone given the chance.
My Dog is my best friend, I've owned him pretty much since I started dating my Girlfriend 5 years ago. He was like our baby, we got him as a puppy, a little Mastiff/German Shepard mix.
He has been fantastic for all 5 years up until about 7 months ago, when we got our second dog, Titan, A Great Dane. The Great Dane gives our dog a hard time, he tries to play with him too much and stresses him out a bit.
My mastiff starts to get irritated easily lately. We didn't think much of it until I came home from work today, my father sat me down, and told me that the kids have a friend over. My dog, the second he saw the kid, went to "greet him". The kid is afraid of dogs. It's assumed that he smelled the kids fear, thought it was hostile, I have no idea. All I know is he bit the kids hand.
Not enough to cause serious damage, but enough to break the skin. My dad put the dogs away and they have been away all day today. The past 4 hours or so have just been discussion on 2 things.
Do we find intensive training for the dogs? Or do we put them down?
The Great Dane has always been aggressive and this conversation isn't the first time we've had it, but this is the first time something has actually happened because of it, and not even from the suspected dog.
My dad is ready for either option, and I just have no idea what the hell to do. My dad doesn't think they deserve the chance, and is reluctant to put the money down (about 5 grand) to get them the best training they could receive.
Does a Dog deserve a second chance? Can my Dog even be trained to revert his anxious behavior? He has never acted this way around me ever. But I'm not stupid enough to realize he couldn't cause harm to anyone given the chance.