I'm so enraged about this...

[SincereArtisan]

A couple came in with their two dogs to be evaluated for daycare last week.

 

Their little one, a pug mix, passed with flying colors. Their big male, a mastiff mix of some sort, seemed a little worked up and over-excited, he just wouldn't settle, so we suggested that he be taken for a walk and then come back and try again.

 

On the way back from the walk, they met a young, 4mo golden puppy who was just leaving after his first day of daycare. The owners let the puppy greet the mastiff, who immediately grabbed the pup by the ear and wouldn't let go. It took three people to get the dog off of that puppy. The puppy suffered no more than a bruised ear.

 

The owners of the mastiff called a couple hours after they'd gone home to inform us they'd had the mastiff mix put down.

 

I couldn't believe it!!! They'd had this dog since it was a PUPPY. They didn't consult a behaviorist, they didn't decide just to keep him home and away from other dogs, it could have simply been that he he was leash agressive. But they had the dog put down. Now it makes me sick seeing their little pug mix playing at daycare, and to think what they did to their other dog.....it makes me SO mad. It was so uncalled for.

[Brandon M]

oh my god... thats extremely horrible if the mastif was trying to kill the dog it would have been a lot worse and it's the owners fault anyway. truely sad Some people are just stupid... I hope the pug dog never gets in a scuffle.

[Lunar]

Wow.... now that is some serious overreaction. I know people are all worked up and being told to watch out for aggressive large breeds, etc... but dang.

[Kat's Dogs]

That is awful. I just don't understand some people..

 

Of course, something like this could have happened many times before and it was just too much - maybe it wasn't the first time.

But I am certainly not sticking up for what they did.

[RaisingRiver]

Obviously more going on with that dog then just that incident. Can you seriously just walk into the vet and say 'put my dog down' and they will do it? wow...

[Bill Fosher]

I agree -- there's got to be more going on here than meets the eye. I don't think there are many vets around that would put a dog down just based on what SA described. Perhaps this incident with the puppy was seen as evidence that a problem hadn't been resolved?

 

At the same time, of course, it does seem harsh. But I'm always very slow to judge anyone's decision to euthanize a dog. We don't know all the circumstances.

[bcnewe2]

I tend to agree with Bill.

They must care about their dog(s) or they wouldn't be putting them in doggy daycare. Most uncaring people don't spend money like that on their dogs.

The story that is related here doesn't make much since.

You have a giant breed that takes 3 people to pull off a young dog. Then the story goes on to say that all the pup suffered was a bruised ear. How does that make since? Not that I'm saying your your is story wrong, but there must be more to it. The vets I know wouldn't PTS a dog for that type infraction unless there was more going on.

I forget where are you located? Is it a town with big dog fear running rampant?

Very sad no matter what the rest of the story.

 

 

Kristen

[painted_ponies]

While most vets I know would certainly present alternatives to euthanasia if they felt it wasn't necessary, I don't know of any who would refuse an owner whose mind was made up. What would happen to the dog then? It would wind up at the animal shelter in a cage for the last weeks of its life.

 

I would think, though, that there's more to this story, just because owners who bring their dog to day care aren't usually the "kill it if it costs more than $50 to cure it" types.

[MrSnappy]

I think we frequently tell people who have dogs with issues that they should not pass their problem onto someone else if they can't deal with the dog. So this leaves one with two options - keep the dog, or euthanize the dog.

 

While I would contact a behaviourist if I were in their shoes, I think ... maybe again I would not. If I were faced with a powerful LARGE breed that had self control and dog aggression issues, maybe I wouldn't feel I was capable of managing such a dog. Maybe I'd feel that I was not able to give the dog the guidance and retraining needed to make him a safe animal. I don't know, so I therefore find it difficult to become enraged about a decision made by someone else about their own dog. I get a lot more enraged about people who leave puppies in garbage cans or to freeze to death outside than a dog daycare client who made a decision about a dog that attacks puppies.

 

I have euthanized probably a half dozen fosters in my time, that I felt were just not safe enough to be put out there in the world. Sure, maybe I or a few of my foster families could handle such a dog, but we weren't able or willing to take on another dog. So where does that leave the dog? I would much rather know the fate of a dog like this, than pass the buck, or put the dog out there and make him someone else's problem.

 

I have a dog aggressive dog and I chose to work with and manage him rather than euthanize him. I don't think it's an automatic death sentence. But if he weighed 150lbs and I was unable to control him, I might have thought differently. At least they didn't write a series of books about him and let him put them in a position of affluence and influence, before he ran out of stories to offer and then offed him.

 

RDM

[r b m]

I don't know about this one. It seems kind of quick to call a few hours later to tell you they put the dog down especially if they knew the puppy wasn't seriously injured. I also don't see a vet putting it down unless something like this had happened before. I don't know the dynamics of where you live but if there's a chance they'd never see you again with that dog, they could've lied to avoid any further action. I guess if you see the pug again, you'll know more. It doesn't take all kinds... we just have all kinds.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

We had some good friends who took on the care of several unadoptable dogs - they loved lab mixes and basically filled their home with ones that were too ugly, too shy, too big, or too rambunctious for the average joe to take on. Their lives revolved around those dogs.

 

One of the dogs was a really cool mastiff/rottie mix. He was about six months when they started fostering him. He came in with a bunch of dogs that came from a dog fighter's place that was shut down. He was a great dog, but very dominant and pushy. This couple told me one evening over dinner that they did see signs that there was a potential for danger there, but he was on a very short string. This was a female couple and the dog weighed about as much as the two of them put together!

 

Sadly, when he was about eighteen months old, and weighed about 200 pounds, he backed the one lady up into a corner and bit her hand and face several times, over basically nothing. They immediately took the dog to the vet.

 

Yes, by the way, you can typically call the vet and have them put a dog down - you can drop the dog off or make an appointment and stay. I stay - I feel it's a responsibility. I hope the people at the OP's daycare did the same.

[SincereArtisan]

From what the owners of the dog said, their mastiff mix had some dog agression issues that seemed to be getting "worse."

 

From what WE saw, he had a problem with dominant males, and being on a leash when he greets other dogs. He was fine in a room full of other dogs, until he encountered one of our more dominant males, and a lot of posturing was broken up. Thats when we told their owners to take him on a walk, because meeting a room filled with new dogs can get any dog worked up. Clipping the leash back on him drastically changed his attitude, and he growled as we pulled him away from the door. We actually have several leash-agressive dogs who come in--some on a daily basis--but they do fine in a room full of dogs and being off-leash.

 

That the puppy only suffered a bady bruised ear doesn't surprise me too greatly. The fights we've had break out involving a bigger dog 'shaking' a smaller one rarely ever result in open wounds. Granted, we're always extremely quick in breaking it up. But miraculously, these bigger dogs don't tend to leave the cuts and scratches that smaller dogs do when they scrap.

[Kyrasmom]

Another thing to consider is the quality of life of an animal who is truly beyond help. I see euthanasia as a last resort to every possible behavioral and medical option available. As owners, I think we have a duty to see it through as far as we can. We picked em, we deal with em.

 

But if there really is no alternative and the dog truly is dangerous, then he's also most likely miserable. That kind of stress is really hard on a dog. If you add being moved around or dumped in a shelter, it's most likely a lose lose for him. Sometimes letting go humanely and peacefully is the ultimate gift. And sometimes it's people just giving up too soon. It's so hard to judge.

 

I have a dog who others would probably put to sleep because of his behavioral issues, but I manage him and would never give up on him but that's my call. He's also not really dangerous to others...more to himself as he picks fights and generally loses. If we get hurt, it's usually by our own interference.

 

I don't like euthanasia as an easy fix and it's hard to know if that's what it was for these people....I suppose only they know.

 

Either way, it's sad.

[iluvlucy]

maybe we have too manycourt shows where people are suiing others for stupid s**t about dogs biting and fighting.

 

yes i personally go all the way to the end with any dog i pts. but sometimes it is necessary to do that. it still hurts. they ask so little of us.

 

my next door neighbor has a mastiff. sure hope it doesn't turn aggressive

[2 Devils]

I guess I can see why the folks may have put the dog down. If they say they have seen the dog getting more dog aggressive then who is to say that is not the case. You only saw the dog for that short period of time. They lived with the dog. There may have been more than this one incident that no one else knows about. With a dog that size it is better safe than sorry. Do I think they over-reacted, possibly but am I mad about it no.

 

I had a bc/mix that was attacked numerous times (she seemed to wear a sign that said attack me). The first attack was by a golden retriever. The GR took Charlotte's whole head in his mouth and was shaking her like a ragdoll. It took 3 of us to get the GR to release her. She had puncture holes in her head. We are lucky that that was the worst of it. She was attacked by a Lab in Petsmart one day. The lab came flying out of the training area and latched onto Charlotte. That time she came away with a ripped ear. The owner of the lab came over and flopped his dog down quickly and disciplined the dog. The owner obviously had been there before and for some reason Charlotte was just a target even though there were 15 dogs in the advanced basic class. Charlotte was attacked by a bc/mix. Again she came away with a torn ear.

 

Needless to say Charlotte became dog aggressive but I chose to manage it but you can't expect anyone else to do the same.

 

I have been on both sides of the fence. There were days I hated not being able to let Charlotte go places like petstores or any place else that may have unknown dogs. She did play flyball but we carried her in and out of the building so she wouldn't snap at dogs. And there were days I thought it would be so much easier to euthanize since I had 2 other dogs at the time one of which Charlotte picked fights with but again I chose to manage it. I never had to make the euthanizing decision for her aggression but I did euthanize her when she was 4 yrs because of cancer.

 

I wouldn't judge the people so fast. There really could be more to the story and maybe in the past they did try and get help. Sometimes dogs can't be fixed. Imagine if they would have kept the mastiff and it decided to turn on the pug. The pug could have ended up dead or seriously injured.