A stray papillon (really cute, looks like a long haired chihuahua if you’re not familiar with the breed) comes to my house, plays with my wienerhund for a few hours, they get along great, he won’t let me or the wife get near him (becomes defensive, growling, snapping) won’t accept food from us.
He ends up biting me as I’m trying to subdue him (seemed a good idea at the time) breaks the skin, we call animal control, he’s in lockup now.
He’s there for 10 days, then he gets the gas chamber if the owner doesn’t find him there (we’ve put up signs, looked around asked around etc.)
Despite the aggression, I was really endeared to the little guy, and can’t bear the thought of him being put down if he can be rehabilitated.
I have the capacity to put the little guy in confinement at home and take care of him until he comes around or I give up and have him put down myself.
Should I take the little guy in? Am I missing anything here?
My guess would be that this wouldn’t happen…I would think that once you adopt him, you would be unable to give him up, because you would be too attached.
No offense to you, since you probably meant this better than it came out, but if this is your feeling (“I’ll take care of him until he comes around or I give up and have him put down myself”), I’d say don’t take him in. You’re on notice that he’s aggressive and a biter. If you’re on notice of this behavior and take him in anyway, I personally think you’re ethically and morally obligated to take care of the dog regardless of your success at rehabilitating him unless he poses an imminent danger to you or your family. In other words, I think that putting him down if you’re unsuccessful at rehabilitating him should NOT be an option because you knew he was problematic to begin with.
I don’t know where you’re located, but perhaps getting him placed into a no-kill shelter or protected under a no-kill program (PAWS in Chicago is a good example) might be the way to go. My understanding is that these organizations are mostly interested in dogs that they think have a high chance of getting placed into homes, i.e. those that don’t exhibit behaviors that are problematic to families (such as aggression and biting). So if the problem is not you, but the dog itself (for whatever reason), they may not be interested in helping.
There are tons of web sites on retraining difficult dogs with behavior problems. So some googling and research before you commit yourself. It takes time, commitment, consistency and much patience to “rehab” a biter. It can be done and I suspect the little guy needs love.
Note: The aggressive behavior may wane as the dog becomes more comfortable with its surroundings etc. However, you still have to work on behavior modification, so an understanding of how dogs think – in pack behavior terms – will help you tremendously.
Disclaimer: If you have small children, then disregard my advice. I wouldn’t attempt to take on a problem pup if I had little kids too. You could put them in danger and may not have the time necessary to really work with him.
Too Little Too Late: I would have contacted a rescue organization before I took him to the shelter, where death is imminent. Perhaps you could go “adopt” him from the shelter… then turn him over to a rescue group. Google is your friend, although I highly recommend www.petfinder.com. (That’s where I adopted my problem pup from!)
Do you have any experience training human-aggressive dogs? If not, I’d say no, adopt a dog with a better temperament; millions of them are euthanized every year. If yes, then maybe adopt this one, if you have the time and patience to devote to it. But I’ll second Dogzilla comment that if you have kids in the house then absolutely do not consider taking in this dog.
Consider contacting Papillon breed rescue and letting them know about this dog - they may have someone willing to take him in.
Are you sure that the shelter would even give him back to you in the first place? When someone brings us (i.e., the animal shelter I work for) an animal, if it’s aggressive, they’re not getting the animal back. If we gave them the animal back and it bit someone, we could be held liable for knowingly adopting out an aggressive animal.
I don’t think this is a morally-charged question. There are about five million cats and dog killed at animal shelters every year in the US due to pet overpopulation; many of them are friendly and wonderful animals. If you’ve formed an emotional attachment to this one and you have the skills and patience and facility to train him, go for it. But it’s a hard row to hoe, and there are literally millions of other dogs out there at animal shelters looking for homes, dogs who will easily adapt to your home.
Think on it, and good luck!
Daniel
PS I’ll second the recommendation of Petfinder.com: they’re a fantastic site for adopters and shelters alike. Best of all, if you adopt an animal through Petfinder, you can get two free months of insurance for your new companion through ShelterCare. They rock!
I’m sorry, but I’d say no, unless you have expertise in handling difficult animals, and it sounds like you don’t. “Cute” is not a good reason by itself to adopt an animal.
Right now we have a temporary guest in our back yard, a lovely collie that’s been running loose in the neighborhood for at least a couple of weeks. “You should keep him!” a friend of my mom’s told her. Um, no, he IS adorable, and very friendly and playful, but we already have two large dogs, and the dominant one of the pair can get quite jealous. He handles one subordinate fine, but he’s not happy with a third. So Buddy has a vet appointment tomorrow, to get checked out and neutered (assuming he has no other medical problems, though heartworm is endemic in this area) and there’s already a potential adopter lined up. If we didn’t already have dogs, we probably would keep him.
My mom works with a local Golden Retriever rescue – she does some paperwork and home visits, we don’t foster. I’m sure they end up with too many dogs because “he’s so cute!” Please don’t take this dog unless you’re sure you want him. I’d find a rescue and adopt a dog from them if you’re set on a Papillon.
And Papillons ARE damn cute. I’m sorry about the problems you’ve had with this one.
IMO, it’s really up to your expertise in dealing with aggressive dogs. Do you have the time to teach this dog to behave? Can you afford a lawsuit if he doesn’t learn? Will your other dog pick up some bad habits?
I second the Papillon rescue. Inform them of the situation and get their advice.
If you really want a companion for your dog, then I’d look around for one that loves the rest of the family as well. There is no shortage of suitable dogs in the shelters.
It’s noble to want to rescue a dog from the shelter that doesn’t seem adoptable, but not always logical.
Umm, that’s a bit problematic, as the dog has to be dead in order to be tested for rabies. Of course, that would render the whole adoption question moot.
Seriously, though, I wouldn’t suggest adopting this dog. The bite itself may have been the product of fear and/or panic due to the struggle, but the growling snapping before that weren’t. Those were indicators of his temperament. If you want a dog that you can’t approach without the risk of bloodshed, by all means adopt the little guy. Maybe you can get him out of it.
Your odds, though, aren’t good at all, and you’ll probably be saddled with him for years and years to come. Most vets won’t euthanize for behavior problems, so don’t adopt him thinking you can have him put down if it doesn’t work out.
Besides, if you adopt him and he bites someone else, you’re open for a big ole lawsuit.
I’m going to visit him today to see if he’s more comfortable having been in a stable surrounding for a while and having been fed, etc.
If he’s showing some signs of change, great, maybe I’ll adopt him. If he’s not at all, I’ll try again in a few days and see.
Now I know to look into no kill shelters and such, thanks for that advice, maybe if he doesn’t change in the next few days I can find him a place like that and just absorb the expense so I can live with myself.
I do know quite a bit about behavior and conditioning, I know the basics of dog pack behavior. I have no children, I can keep him from biting people pretty easily. I believe I could help him if he’s not too hard a case.
Thanks for all the help, keep em coming if I’ve missed anything else.
You can try if you want, but there are occasional dogs that are just not retrainable. And there are lots of others out there who don’t have these problems and need a home. Rescues generally will not take a dog with aggression problems, though I don’t see why a no-kill shelter wouldn’t. But if you told the shelter where you took him that he’d bitten you, I’d be very surprised if they’d let you take him; a lot of shelters have policies dictating that aggressive dogs be put down.
Our temporary guest has won over an adopter and will probably be going home with him from the vet, assuming he doesn’t have to go through heartworm treatment. It really is too bad we can’t keep him. He’s a charming dog, and sure does know how to win over humans.
I’m not saying “KILL THE DOG!” Just be aware that the odds are loaded WAY against you guys. Good luck!
I kinda of hate to harp on this, but I’m going to. Taking him to a no-kill shelter will just be taking a spot away from an adoptable animal. That’s part of the problem I have with no-kill shelters (at least those that turn animals away). They’re really just letting other shelters do the killing.
I hope he’s able to be retrained. I just have real problems with keeping human aggressive dogs alive when so many dogs that aren’t are killed.
Actually, some no-kill shelters won’t take aggressive animals. These places are realistic to realize that those animals often aren’t adoptable and are more likely to be a long-term resource drain.
You all have a point – I figured even if he wasn’t adoptable, such a shelter would take him to keep him from being put down. The problem is that there are occasionally dogs that should be. Animal people are not necessarily realistic or practical at times, and don’t flame me anybody, I’m a big an animal sucker as anybody.
I wouldn’t adopt this dog; as a matter of fact, at the first sign of real aggression, I would have started figuring out what to do with him. Just because he’s little doesn’t make it all right.
Poor dog. Again, good luck; he might be teachable. I can only hope so.
St Germain:
you rule for linking the papillon rescue website. I’ve got a local representative on the case. If he can be rehabilitated, I feel like they have the resources to do so, and the wisdom to know what’s best. Thanks again.
I do volunteer work in dog rescue, and there is a certain amount of triage that goes on. There just aren’t enough resources to save every dog, especially those with major behavior problems. Most reputable rescues and shelters will not adopt out aggressive dogs, there are too many liability issues involved. Also, for all the effort and expense that is involved in rehabilitating a dog like this, several dogs without aggression issues could have been saved.
Unless you are an expert in dog training and socialization, I would not recommend you take this dog in. I train dogs for obedience competition, and I would not knowingly bring an aggressive dog into my home when I know there are tons of perfectly nice dogs out there needing to be saved.
Also, you really might not be doing this dog such a favor by keeping him alive. This dog’s aggression sounds fear based, and he probably lives in a constant state of fear due to improper socialization as a pup, abuse, neglect, or any combination of those. Sometimes the kindest thing we can do for these dogs is to release them from their demons. Just my $0.02.
Here’s what I would do (I have two rescued dogs myself): I would not take him if I had young children. If that was not an issue, I would only take him if I had the time and patience to properly train him and hopefully get him out of his shell. I would also crate him if you do bring him home and give him that security while introducing him to your home and family in small increments. If you didn’t think any of this would work, you can also contact a breed specific rescue since he’s a purebreed and see if they will take him and foster him until an appropriate home can be found. Best of luck.
