Hello all,
I am not sure if this is the correct forum to post this in as I am new...But I have a 4 yr old spayed Giant Schnauzer that is in desperate need of rehoming. Full details and pictures can be found on http://www.falawoods.com (under "Dogs for Sale" then "Companion/pet dogs"), the webmaster was kind enough to allow us webspace to maximize the "right" kind of advertising for a dog such as this. Obviously I am not selling her...if the right home can be found she will be free of charge including ALL paperwork etc.

A brief overview on the situation: this dog was sold to me under false pretences (as an obedience prospect) and due to my inexperience with dog temperments I fell for it...realizing my mistake (that the dog is a nervebag) after I got her home. I've had her for two years now and have been able to manage her issues through training and VERY careful socialization. However, the issue is now at a head...I've moved in with my partner (this happened 8 or 9 months ago), and the dogs HATES him. She is very fearful and has been aggressive with him (has not bitten, but has growled, snarled, lunged). The dog is corrected when she's aggressive, and we've tried just about everything to have them bond...but are handicapped by my partner's job. He's a platoon commander in the military, set to deploy to Afghanistan by February at the latest. He just doesn't have the time this dog needs to build trust and bond. Due to the aggression she's already shown, and his inability to spend an adequete amount of time working with her, I have decided to try and place her in a more qualified home (before a bite or all out attack comes to pass). I realize full well that this may not be possible and that she may need to be euthanized...as a sidenote, her breeder is doing NOTHING to help with the rehoming process and has refused to take the dog back...very frustrating...I welcome suggestions of any kind...good or bad opinions...also, if any of you know of anyone with the right situation to take Cora on, and would direct them to the website, we would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks in advance for any posts.

I might sound callous but if you have a nervy dog with possible bite inhibition issues, I would euthanize her. To not do so is pretty much passing on the problems to someone else and in this day and age's litigious society, it might literally come back to bite you in the butt.

I was in a very similar situation to you. Got a bitch at two years as a performance prospect and discovered that I had gotten a dog aggressive headcase that had serious fear biting issues when I got her (and later learned was moderately dysplastic to boot!).

Since I am a soft touch and could not put her down (and I knew I could not place her), I kept her and perservered. She never became a performance dog due to her dog aggression issues but she did eventually get over her fear biting issues. She is going on 10 now and is a darn good couch and bed warmer and surprisingly a really good puppy raiser.

However, I do have in my will should I die before her that she is to go to one of two people and if either of those people cannot take her, she is to be euthanized as she just is not a dog with coping skills.

I know that is probably not what you wanted to hear and I truly hope that I am wrong and that you find an appropriate home for her. Good luck!

What about muzzling her when your partner is around? If you do it right, dog's don't see that as negative. Get Ed's dealing with dominant & aggressive dog video. You will learn a lot!

What does your boyfriend do when he is around her? Does he ignore her or try to talk and socialize with her? Is he afraid or nervous around her?

Is she like this to other people also?

I am with the first reply, "nervy" dogs need to be put down! It doesnt matter if it is papered, why would you want to breed a nervy dog and pass the genes along. I am sorry for such a harsh opinion but I dont believe this dog or any other that is "nervy" has a place in our society.

I agree Lance, however, can you really tell if a dog is "nervy" through posts like this?
Would you not want to give reliable information on how to have the dog evaluated first before jumping on the "PTS" bandwagon?

I agree Carol. However, I have problems with people who seek to place "fearful and aggressive" dogs in a pet home. If it is dicey in your home then you are asking to be sued by placing it in a pet home.

Yes, no one on this list can diagnose a dog without seeing it but if she has doubts about placing it, I am not going to recommend this dog to anyone I know looking for a companion animal. As I said in the initial post, I have a dog just like she describes, I did not put it to sleep but there are only 2 people that I know of that could handle her and give her a quality of life if I were to die. She could not and would not be placed in a pet home and no working person would want her.

I agree with you as well Ingrid, I would not place this dog as a companion animal either.
I was leaning more towards the "What can they do differently to try and get the dog to co-exist with her existing family?" angle.

I wonder what can be changed or worked on as far as the boyfriend.

That is what I meant, I should have clarified that to begin with. I do not agree with trying to place a dog like this, but I do believe in trying everything else within the family/pack structure before having to make a PTS decision.

I agree :-) Personally, if the boyfriend is going overseas, I would hold off and keep the dog and work with it. You never know, she might come around by the time the boyfriend is stateside again.

Placing a dog like this with a single woman is NOT an acceptable response to this dog's behavior. 1/2 the people in the world are men. Sheltering her from men will only make her more suspicious and dangerous.

The dog got her BH so obviously, she didn't have this aggression towards men problem BEFORE. So what happened? Stress can "turn-on" a dog's nerves. In some cases, it cannot be reversed. I euthanised a rescue dog for this. It was a horribly difficult decision, but I could not keep her, I could not place her in another home, and her quality of life was quite miserable.

Option 1: Euthanasia.

Option 2: Get Ed's Dealing With Dominant and Aggressive Dogs DVD. Get a dominant dog collar. Prepare yourself to give appropriate corrections. You are faced with a life or death behavior problem. Your corrections should be strong enough to convince the dog that this aggression is a life or death manner.

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The dog is corrected when she's aggressive

If that has been going on for 8 months, then those corrections are not hard enough to be effective.

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we've tried just about everything to have them bond

This is a mistake, IMO.

If the dog's firmly believe that this is something that can be managed. However, if you cannot or will not, the dog must be euthanized, IMO