My 22 month old stafforshire terrier (gypsy) killed my non agressive corgi (ollie) this week. I have been told my two dog trainers and a couple pitbull breeders to euthanize Gypsy. Once a dog kills another will they do it again?? There has never been any spats between these two dogs. In the last couple of months Gypsy has become very vocal with her growling at me and my other two dogs but no real biting and only nipping at play time. Gypsy had been to kindergarden and 1st grade dog obedience as a young dog and was star student--she does however have anxiety issues that deleloped last year and she was put on xanax. I socialized her as a young dog and spayed her at a young age as well. I thought I did everthing right. Ollie was a part of my life for 13 yrs and was a very independent dog that was never ever any trouble. Is euthanizing the answer now? Thank you so much for any help you can offer me. I just worry that she could attack my other dog, myself or a child.

Linda,

I'm so sorry your corgi died. It's hard to lose them under the best of circumstances.

My best advice to you since this situation has gotten out of hand is to take a hard look at how you live with your dogs. Your Am Staff imo should not be given the opportunity to kill another dog or nip anyone. This means that she should be separated from your other dogs ALL THE TIME and not be allowed near your kid.
I would also encourage you to seek help from a qualified trainer for aggression to learn how to handler her better AND take a look at the dominant and aggressive dog dvd on this site. This is a dangerous situation for you, your pets, and your kid, so if this is simply not what you signed up for with this dog then yes, I would seek a sanctuary for aggressive/dangerous dogs or euthanize her. If you have doubts about your ability to handle or set up your life to live with her safely then I would put her down rather than risk my other pets or my kid.

I can't speak to the Xanax. Most of the time mood altering drugs really aren't needed and can make problems worse.

Best of luck,

Melissa

Edited by Melissa Thom (04/16/2010 09:01 AM)
Edit reason: spelling

Thank you so much for your response. When I got Gypsy at 5 weeks old I was not at all looking for a dog that would attack. I knew I had my old guy and my other dog is a special needs dog-blind. So I had to get a puppy and train her. Like I said-I did all the obedience classes-spay-socialize but somewhere something went wrong. When she was on the xanax she was able to over ride the meds and still be just as anxious/hyper. She would run and run in her kennel until her feet bled and she was also eating the wire in her kennel-not actually eating but pulling it apart which was ruining her teeth. The vet and dog trainers said she needed to be put in with the other dogs so it would calm her. She had been in with them alot before this happened. I do not trust her at all now that I know what she a capable of. When I get a family pet it has always been a forever comittment that is also why I am having such a hard time with this. I dont feel comfortable giving her to a rescue because I am afraid that she may get into the wrong hands or what if the rescue isnt honest about what she has done. I have no experience with an agressive dog like this. Thanks again for your advice.

How much exercise is she getting?

This sounds to me like a dog that has so much pent up energy that she is releasing it in the form of aggression. You also say that she was able to override the Xanax and remain hyper. A hyper dog is an under-exercised dog IMO.

If you are committed to this dog and keeping her a part of your family, then I would start with the groundwork program outlined on this site. Get a crate and use it, keep this dog seperate from your other dogs and kids until you can get a handle on her. Start her on a rigerous exercise routeen and see how she is when she is tired.

Try biking her, 2 ball, marker training (101 things to do with a box) etc...

Also, I am not a vet, but please take her off the Xanax. It is obviously not helping and IMO is just adding to the issue.

She has been off the xanax since about november because it isnt helping. Gypsy gets tons and tons of exercise actually. As soon as I get home from work the dogs let out and have acres and acres to run and play which they do non stop-or her anyway. Honestly the dog is never tired! Now, when she gets in the house late at night with me she immediately falls asleep. She has been laying in my spot on the couch the past several months and when I ask her to move she growls at me then when I try to move her she gives me the deep throat growl and alot of times tries to nip! I have had alot of things to think about the past couple of days and I dont know why I didnt see things like her hogging the couch and growling at me a problem. She has to be in my other dogs faces ALL THE TIME too and its just ridiculous. My dad has been around dogs his entire life and he said he has never seen such a anxious dog. I just blamed it on her being young. Obviously I have no business owning a bully breed dog. Again, I read countless books, reading on the internet and talking to people before I got her. I would feel absolutely horrible having to keep her seperated all the time-that is no life for a dog when she has been raised with play mates. I guess my biggest question is...once they kill what are the odds that they will attack again??? Thank you so much.

 Quote: linda williams

I guess my biggest question is...once they kill what are the odds that they will attack again??? Thank you so much.

This has nothing to do with her having a "taste" for anything now, it has everything to do with how you handle her and control the environment going forward. From what you describe, it sounds like killing the corgi was simply the tragic result of many months of inadequate handling and lack of pack structure for a strong willed, live wire of a dog. I don't mean to sound harsh, it sounds like you did a lot of things right in raising this dog, and obviously had the best intentions, but some dogs require a bit more finesse... the fact that you're putting the pieces together and seeing the signals now (albeit too late for your corgi) is actually a good sign, if you have any interest in keeping Gypsy. I second the suggestion to A. begin separation asap, and B. seek professional training/behaviorist help now - if nothing else, an experienced trainer can help you read a lot of signals that you weren't previously able to see.

~Natalya

I'm so sorry for your loss and situation.

One of my friends recently lost her 12y pit at the hands of the other 2 dogs (a boston and a lab) while she was gone.

I'm having some out of the blue inner pack issues, which brought me to this forum. Thankfully I was given warning signs. For right now I have everyone separated by gates, baby gates, crates and anything else I can think of until I figure out what is best for all involved.

Re-homing (carefully) and euthanasia are options. I have consulted behavorists outside this forum and get varying opinions, none which come with guarantees. (not that I'm saying it should or even could, just implying that every day, every situation changes the reaction and interaction). Once others reply, hopefully you will be able to look honestly at your specific situation and make the decision that is best for yours.

This I know for sure...mine will never, ever be trusted to be free together as they once were. This will be a huge personal commitment for me, especially in relation to time.

PS I understand your feelings about keeping them separated and not being allowed to play with their playmates, etc. I am going through the same situation -- guilty feelings. It hasn't been easy on any of us, humans or dogs.

Thank you so much Aimee. You said it right about what a huge time committment it will be by having all dogs seperate. Having a dog in my family has always been a life long committment as well as financial and time consuming. I know that going into getting any pet BUT when there are circumstances like mine that affect so many lives and will take even more committments I just dont know that I can do that. I dont want my other dog living in constant fear of her like her already is-knowing what she did to his best pal must have traumatized him-especially since he is blind and could hear and smell all of it. I would love to save Gypsy and rahabilitate her but another thing is I know nothing about her past. I got her from a rescue at 5 weeks old. Her litter mates and parents were in a house fire-dad got put down because he wouldnt be adoptable-mom and litter mates were adopted out. The animal trainer/behavioralist that I talked to said when you dont know there breeding when it comes to the its it tough and can be a long road and maybe they cant be turned around. She explained to me there is actually a condition that pits can aquire as they get older and that goes along with the anxiety/agressive behavior. The entire situation is just horrible and I guess no one but myself will know what the right thing to do for my pet family and myself. I greatly appreciate all the opinions from everyone. I have been very fortunate in my dog ownership and never had to deal with something like this.

I really think it is awesome that you are putting this much thought into keeping this dog. Some people would have written her off and euth'd her already.

So if you would like to try keeping her these are the things that you would need to do:

Dogs don't need buddies. And for her, she might really appreciate one-on-one time with you. I ALWAYS keep my pups seperated from the adults until they are 2, and if I got to 2 and there was aggression towards the other pack members, then I would continue the separation. (I do walk all my dogs together, but they are so focused on the exercise they don't "play". I do throw balls/frisbees with them together also, but I don't ever leave them unattended to entertain each other) So keeping her seperate may improve your bond and her behavior.

Mental stimulation is just as important as physical exercise. So it is AWESOME she gets so much physical exercise, but her brain needs to be tired too. You can get some great brain draining ideas from the people on this forum. If you start a new thread, you can get some great ideas.

Even if you were to work with her to make her more adoptable (always disclose previous history to potential adopters) she sounds like she would make a great agility or OBD dog for someone looking for a higher energy/drive dog.