Judy you touched on what I wasn't sure I wanted to. I am sorry for this happening Mallory, but it will be a good lesson to remember. Crates are our friends and never underestimate a dog or puppy's ability to fight.

I'm sorry this has happened, I know how horrible it is to put a dog down. She was loved and you saved her from a horrible place.

Since the decision has already been made questions like "What were you doing to help her with the dog aggression" come to mind but are pretty much moot.

Michelle, Randy's post wasn't blank, unless you can't read. I suggest you don't start insult slinging, this forum is no place for it and I see no reason to call someone cowardly and mean for making a short, concise post.

Sorry to hear about your ordeal Mallory.

I had a Malamute/Wolf Hybrid that I had to put down for some of the same reasons. He was aggressive with kids/women/small animals and had made a move at my daughter when she was 2 years old. He needed enormous amounts of exercise to stay calm. If he wasn't run 15-20 miles every 2-3 days by the 3rd or 4th day he'd pull off some houdini move and escape, then create havoc.

I really liked that dog he was a sweetheart with me. But the extra baggage and the fact that my daughter was in his crosshairs made living with him untenable. We tried to give him to a fellow who had a farm and he went after the guys girlfriend and bit him when he intervened. Being a farmer he had no problem to take him for a walk and put him down with a firearm, though he called me first. I took the dog back as I couldn't bear knowing he would've been shot in the head and buried in a field.

I bought an outside kennel and tried to keep him in a crate in the house. He escaped from everything and destroyed the house. When we tried to keep him in the kennel he screamed and screamed all day so that the bylaw was showing up at our house and nieghbours would leave anomynous notes in the mailbox or on the car windshield saying the dog was barking all day or had escaped. I couldn't even go to work!!!

The crap continued even worse with his aggression. The final thing was he broke out of his crate again and started to rip down my mothers door to her room to get at her cat. My mom was gone to the store for an hour. She got home to him flipping out and when she tried to leash him he just turned around and snapped at her and continued tearing the door frame apart, she was scared and made it out the door and called me from a nieghbours house.

I knew I had to do it (pts) there was no getting away from it.

Looking back trying to get the dog to change or wishing he would suddenly stop being aggressive. That is really wishful thinking after you have dealt all your cards and tried every angle that you can. I tried and tried until it made me sick, all it did was keep putting people and other domestic animals around me at unneeded risk.

 Quote: Mallory Kwiatkowski

but you know... i guess i will always wonder what if she just suddenly stopped being aggressive, but i would never know because i had her put down?

Mallory you are a really kind person and have given that dog a chance which they wouldn't have had otherwise. But when you have that gut feeling in your heart that breaks your heart. That feeling is the 'truth' no matter how hard it is. Be brave and strong, you know that all of us here support you.

Mallory,
I am so very sorry that you have to go through this. Just know that you did the best you could.

Mal
I'm really glad you have the support of being on this board.....as you can see you're not the only one who has had to face this kind of decision. Try to take some comfort in the effort you put into that dog and realize that we are dealing with animals........that we've been messing with the genetics of for a lot of years. There is only so much we can do....and you went as far as you could to help Brooklyn. It speaks well of your heart when it can be broken..........sucks but its the price you pay for compassion. Kudos to you and my prayers are with you!

thanks you guys. It really does help to know other dog people have these problems.

she was just behind a baby gate because i have been keeping her in the kitchen like that for a while, and her brother in the living room with no problems. Believe me, she sees plenty of crate time. I was just taking bart from his crate to the door to let him out when she did this. Honestly, she has been good about staying on her side of the gate(sonny on the other hand is a gate climber, i was still there in the house, i wasn't leaving her unattended behind the gate(the kitchen and livingroom connect), so i didn't crate her for those few seconds.

i wasn't trying to be mean about the blank post-i have seen that quote in his(or someones) sig line, and thought it was a blank post with just the sig. Sometimes, i start to reply to a post, and change my mind, and have almost hit submit with a blank post, so i was just checking.


i talked to the vet to ask if it was a vet thing or an animal control thing(brooklyn) and of course got a "well, have you tried ob training" lecture.....i know it's their job, but still....

but because she bit me yesterday too, and it broke skin, she has to be quaranteened for 10 days. So i just have to turn her over to animal control, and tell them she bit me and it broke skin, they will handle the rest. not going to be a fun day.
but my cats will be happy, haha-they have all been harassed by her.

Oh my.. Mallory. This is terrible.

You have to put her down. Don't second guess yourself and don't think "what if". Unless you are thinking "what if... I keep her alive and she goes after another dog, kills my cat, or nails me in my face?" IIrc, she's a puppy, she will soon grow big and be even more difficult to manage.

You have a responsibility to yourself and to your other pets. Do NOT beat yourself up, keeping pets separated is practically impossible sometimes.

Keeping Brooklyn is really unrealistic. Giving her to someone else would be a liability, especially when there are 100's of stable, adoptable pets waiting for homes. I think you know this but when grief is kicking you in the face, you just can't see it.

Goodness, if she hasn't improved by now with all the hard work you've been putting in, I don't think she ever will. I think you can learn a lesson from Geoff, here, too.

You are doing the right thing and we are all behind you.

I'm so sorry you are having to do this, but I agree with the others, you are doing the right thing.

ahhh, so, i just got back from dropping her off.
Of course, she would have to be licking my face, and looking cute....darn those puppy eyes. But i did it. She pooped in the car on the way there, so that helped me not feel quite so bad, lol.

 Quote: Mallory Kwiatkowski

She pooped in the car on the way there, so that helped me not feel quite so bad, lol.

Sounds like she was scared. Makes me feel worse, actually.

Dont beat yourself up about it; at least the dog wont be in pain. I had to have a dog put down for some massive dominance aggression (we were living at a childrens home). I felt really bad about it thinking about "maybe I couldve done something...maybe..." but the truth is that the chances were too big, and the irresponsible thing in that case, would have been to keep the dog. I have pictures and wrote down stories about him that I remembered and that helped...