Our dog has bitten 4 people. We are thinking of putting him dow. What should we do?

I've enjoyed your web site immensely. It's an education. If I ever think about getting another dog, I'm going to read every book you recommend and then wait a year to make sure it's not temporary insanity. Perhaps you have a moment to answer a question.



We have a 4 1/2 yr old male Lab/chow from the pound. We let a lot of people handle him when he was a puppy. Nonetheless, he is an ill-bred, fearful dog. He bites people and we think it's time to put him down. We've called two vets about doing that and they have suggested training him or giving him to a rescue group. They assume that we are careless dog owners who want to kill our dog at the first sign of trouble or inconvenience. We have been told that we don't "understand" dominant dogs and that with a little training we
can keep from killing our beloved family pet. I think they are soft in the head. We love this dog and he loves us but he's biting everyone else. The vets have made me second guess myself. I need a little clear thinking.



To safeguard our houseguests, we penned him and kept him on a line but he chewed through the plastic-coated wire rope, climbed the fence (electric), and escaped. He has bitten four people when we were not with him (caregivers, emergency vet tech., etc.). In hopes of controlling his access to other humans we brought him inside. He recently bit an overnight houseguest while I was out of the room.



Other behavior: attacks the door; freaks out during storms; cries if walks are even ten minutes late; bends the bars on the dog crate; works self into frenzy in a muzzle; whines/barks/cries when confined to laundry room (10'x6' room with water, a window, and another dog for company). It is not possible for us to always be with him or take three hours a day to train him. We don't have the money to put up a stockade fence and an electric fence doesn't keep him in. We love our dog, but our lives can not be dominated by him--our toddler does that well enough.



What do you think?



--Ana



ps--we also own Sam's brother, Norm. Norm is confident and good natured.
Trustworthy. No biting. No escaping. Ever. Go figure.