Hey all,

I had to put my dog to sleep at the weekend <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

He bit someone on Saturday morning and the attack was completely unprovoked and he gave me no warning of what he was about to do.

The lady in question is now pressing charges against me despite me having apologised profusely, put my dog to sleep, and offerred to pay any damages etc. but this is not good enough it would seem.

I don't know what else I can do?

I feel sick to my stomoch as I had kick my dog very hard to stop the attack, then had to take him to the vet and watch him pass away. How horrible! This is punishment enough for someone who tried very hard to have a nice, well trianed dog, but just didn't understand the instability inherant in some dogs.

What a nice family pet he was! Very loving and affectionate to all of us, kids included, who he was very gentle with and never opened his mouth to any of the kids in our extended family.

I had just started him on tracking and he was doing very well. His obedience was very good and he had a good recall.

Problem was his wee brain wasn't wired right! There was something wrong with the way he saw this situation and there was nothing else I could have done other than put him to sleep. As soon as he went into defensive drive no amount of commands would have helped.

I hope someday I can forgive myself and that he'll forgive me for this awfull thing I've done, but it was either me or the police and I'd rather have been with my wee bhoy when he went than have him scared out of his wits with a stranger. In any case unpredicable behaviour can't happen, particularly with kids around and it could have been a whole lot worse if there had been a next time!

I'll be hanging around leerburg now and again as it's a hard habit to break, but I don't know when I'll be able to face getting another dog. Right now I just can't stop being upset and thinking about him.

Cheers

John

John,I am really sad for you <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
I hope the lady eventually calms-down and decides against legal action.

John,

I'm sorry for your loss.

I had a similar situation. It was a few years ago and still I think of it. I decided to not have the dog put down and ended up just paying medical bills for the 'victim.' A lot of hoops and uncertainties but...

Still, the dealing with the 'victim' was a trial in itself, and lasted several months. I think he thought he was going to be a rich man. He certainly made a meal of it. In the end it cost him more than me, I think.

I think I have a sense of what you are going through. Many of us on this board have had to put a good friend down, and more than once. It is a terrible thing in normal circumstances.

Treasure your memories of the little dog. Keep apart, to the degree you are able, the actions of the 'lady.'

John, there is no future in the past. If you beat yourself up you do a dis-service to the little dog. Deal with the lady directly or indirectly but don't let her get into your head. What more can you do? It took me awhile to figure out that as I asked for the 'victim's' forgiveness, I needed to forgive him, too. That sentence will make more sense as time passes.

And you need to forgive yourself and get on with it. You did the best you could. Don't let this situation keep you from having a dog. You have much to give to a wee dog.

This time too will pass.

Mike

John, that's terrible news, but by all your posts it was clearly evident this was going to happen <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> If I were you, I would never mention that you came to this site to learn and be a responsible owner, because if the other side were to read your posts here, the judge would be giving the woman your house. You have posts on here mentioning doing video work with the dog without him having the right temperament, your fence looks like a fence most people's dogs here would use as toothpicks, and your dog has bitten 2 other people already, with indications of the desire to bite even more. If possible, delete every post you made on this site because they are damning. Not to side with the woman, because I think you're a really nice guy who loved your dog, but if I were her I'd be going for blood too if your dog attacked me unprovoked.

Don't rush out and get another dog. Think back about everything you've experienced with your dog, figure out what went wrong, what you could have done different, and learn from it. Sure, some of it was temperament, but the majority of the responsibility for him, bad temp or not, lies on your shoulders because your the human in charge. Sorry to hear all this, and I hope everything works out for you on the legal end. Give the woman another week to cool off and then approach her again with your wife. This must be very scary for you.

God, these posts are so hard to read. John, I'm very sorry too. During any difficult time I've had in the past, sharing my story was part of the healing. As I shared my pain w/others, somehow, every once in a while, someone would say something profound/powerful that would ease some of the pain. Maybe they were angels, I don't know, but their words helped carry me through and to this day, I find comfort in them, applying them to different situations.

Your angel will come soon enough, but in the meantime, I can only share what has helped me in the past come through heartbreaking times: It was meant to be.

You said your dog was very loving to his family. I am sure that fact made it all that much harder to put him down. Perhaps the event on Saturday, and your putting him down in a loving, peaceful manner, occured to save him from something far worse. Therefore, as I see it, you have nothing for which to forgive yourself.

Ms. Erdman,

Every now and then I read a post that strikes me as insensitive, unwarranted, unsolicited, -- did I mention insensitive?

"I told you so" every now and then can go un-said.

Your advice about getting rid of emails and stuff is really not in John's best interest. Are you a lawyer?

You managed to get my blood up.

John, I'm so sorry for your loss of the dog you loved. My heart is broken for you. I hope you receive mercy in the following days so that you experience no more anguish.

Hi Mike, or Mr. Arnold if you would prefer. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be insensitive and I feel sorry for John, terrible for the woman who was attacked, and his dog.

I think what I said was in John's best interest, because if the woman gets an attorney, and John happened to mention this site to neighbors, and the attorney speaks to them and they mention it, he'll come here and find out that John's dog tried to bite someone twice in two days, they'll see posts where he admits his dog has barked at strangers without warrant, built drive in the dog with a temp. he admitted was questionable, and if you peruse his posts you'll see more posts that an attorney could use in his client's case. In his profile it shows his blog, which leads to a pic of his dog with a fence that is not built to hold back a powerful dog and more posts indicating children wandered in the yard thru the fence. I don't want to beat this so I'll stop there. Keep in mind if the woman takes this to trial, it won't be presided over by a group of working gsd enthusiasts. The less anyone knows about all that, the better in his interests it would be IMO.

I live in a neighborhood where dogs are a threat to innocent people. I find it enraging. I think John is very nice, and I feel sorry that he had to put his dog down. I didn't mean to be mean. I don't usually ever jump on people for their negligence. This is kind of serious though and I tried to word it as sensitively as I could.

John
All I can do is remember that when it came time to put down my boy (Koach), you were there to lend your support and prayers. It is now my turn to be there in support of you. The circumstances are certainly different, but the pain is the same.
"We can not prevent that which we cannot predict"
You did the best you could with your training as well as being diligent with your dog. When he made his attack you did what you had to do to protect the woman and get your dog back under control. Please don't beat yourself up over this, learn what you can from it and apply those lessons to your next dog.
Best regards
Terry

John,
I am sure that many of us know the pain that you must be going through. We have all lost our close friends and in many cases have had to make this very hard decision. Your being on this board and trying to learn what and how to handle your dog is a true sign that you were at least doing the best you could to handle a very tuff situation. It is a bad thing that some dogs are just not wired right for what ever reason. At the end of the day you made the right decision for both your dog and yourself. Having a large breed dog is always a challenge, wired right or not.
My heart goes out to you and your family, please know that your deep felt pain will ease over time and that you have the support of many who know the pain you must be suffering. Although you may be suffering, I am sure that your dog will be waiting for you and your family at the RainBow Bridge. We some times have a much harder time forgiving ourselves than our beloved dogs ever will. You made the right choice not only for you but also for your dog and that is what you must know. He will be waiting for you at the RainBow bridge with his tail wagging and eyes gleeming to see his master. He knows you did what you felt was right and I would like for you to keep this in mind.
You did the right thing even knowing it was the HARDEST thing to do.
Jay