New pup

[The Annoyed Man]

Words fail me. What a nightmare.

[mamabearCali]

So sorry. That is a nightmare.

[SewTexas]

oh no. I'm so sorry.

[Excaliber]

Well, had a sad turn of events with Buford this evening. He had been exhibiting some slight possessive agression around the water and food bowls towards the other animals. (2 cats, my boxer, and my wifes shitzhu). As much as I didn't want to, I had to put Buford down. My 6 year old son was in the kitchen to put dishes in the sink, and his cat was on the counter. Will picked his cat up and Buford and the cat started fighting. Will was bit in the scuffle. I was in the living room and heard the commotion and then heard my son screaming "daddy" over and over. My son is phsically fine, no punctures, just a scratch and possibly bruising. I went into the kitchen and grabbed Buford by the collar and took him into the backyard. When I let go of his collar, he turned and lunged at me. I was able to kick him away. I have bite marks on my shoe. As he lunged a second time, I shot him. I hit him just above his right eye with a speer gold dot .357 mag from my Taurus 651. I called Howe PD and reported the gunshot; an officer came out and made sure Will was fine and took pictures of the scene.

RIP Buford, sorry it didn't work out.

I'm stunned.

It's an awfully good thing you had your gun on you just around the house because.....you just never know.

You did the right thing.

What a horrible ending to what should have been the beginning of a new happy life for the dog, which was probably in the pound due to similar prior behavior.

[nyj]

That's definitely a turn of events...

We adopted a basset hound mix, and she had some of the same traits when we first got her. Shelter life can do that to a dog, and the hound breed does not help it. Without trying to blame you, that situation could have been prevented. A new dog in the house needs to know very soon off who is in charge. I corrected the problem with ours the first time she tried to bite my other dog over a treat. Never had the issue again.

[bubba84]

That's definitely a turn of events...

We adopted a basset hound mix, and she had some of the same traits when we first got her. Shelter life can do that to a dog, and the hound breed does not help it. Without trying to blame you, that situation could have been prevented. A new dog in the house needs to know very soon off who is in charge. I corrected the problem with ours the first time she tried to bite my other dog over a treat. Never had the issue again.

I was working on the aggression with him and the other animals. I grew up on a farm and spent many years around different kinds of animals. When he was brought home we did a leashed/controlled introduction to the other animals outside the house. The possesive aggression didnt start right away. When it did, it was corrected immediately. He was given stern commands and sent away from the food/water. Ive beat myself up over this all day and tried to think what I couldve done differently to prevent this. I went into the adoption knowing about a hound's moody, stubborn temperment. I dont believe he intentionally bit my son, which I was I didnt discipline him. I did scold him as I lead him by his collar to the back yard. I do not know what caused him to turn on me. I am not a small guy at 6'3 and 350lbs. I also have a fairly extensive background in martial arts/self defense/law enforcement. I was wearing steel toe work shoes when I kicked him back the first time. I gave him just about everything I had in the first kick and it didnt fase him. I was not gonna risk round two with a 100lb set of teeth.

and as far as keeping my gun on me around the house, I grew up and worked in law enforcment, and they dont schedule home invasions, is the chance of it happening small, yes, but am I taking the chance, no.

[n5wd]

Doesn't sound like you missed doing anything with Buford. Not knowing what his previous owner was like, he might have thought something bad was going to happen to him, again for him to react that way with you. Just glad that no one was seriously hurt... Man, son or other critter.

[SewTexas]

about 18months ago, maybe 2 years now, I had the opportunity to adopt a corgi from the Austin shelter. I was told he'd "nipped" the old lady who had previously owned him, she had taken a fall and they didn't know when she would be back home, and even then wouldn't be able to tend an active dog. I figured a nip, ok, we could deal with that. For a month, maybe a bit more, he was a good corgi dog. Then, out of no-where he attacked, not just bit, attacked my husband. We put him at the vet for quarantine, while my husband healed, and I did a mess of research on training. He came home, stayed on a leash or a crate, 3 weeks later, had earned short periods of petting time, and seconds after Robert had been on the floor with him, the dog attacked him again. It took myself and my teenage son to get him into his crate, then I had to calm our female. And clean up my husband. The dog was put to sleep. I fully believe the daughter of the previous owner lied when she turned in the dog. We have teenagers, and younger, in and out of the house all the time, what if one of them triggered whatever it was in his brain that was messed up. corgis don't do that. our female now can't stand males, won't tolerate them in our house.

all of that to say, it's quite possible he was at the shelter for that very reason

[03Lightningrocks]

[karder]

What a heartbreaking story. Sometimes it can be hard bringing an adult dog into the home. Who knows what kind of abuse/neglect he experienced before coming into your home. I do a lot of work with our local humane society, and there are some dogs and cats who have had a really rough life experience that has scared them emotionally and it can be very hard to fully heal them. Dogs are like people in that some are tougher mentally than others. I have seen some terribly abused animals that are more loving than you could imagine, but others loose their trust and it is hard to regain and it can take a long time.

I am really sad that Buford's story ended this way. With a young child in your home, he probably could not have stayed with you regardless. I have taken in some very emotionally damaged dogs in years past and have the bite scars to prove it, but that is not a risk I would take if I had a child.

[anygunanywhere]

I know your pain.

We inherited a 7 year old male Bichon a few years back when a friend of the family died from a long battle with cancer. She gave the dog to my wife. Dog was from California. We knew the dog had a few issues but kept a real close eye on it. It tolerated kids to a degree but was uneasy. Two of our grandchildren were raised with dogs and treated him respectfully.

However, children will be children.

The dog was on one of the dining room chairs next to my wife when my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter came up behind the dog and grabbed his rear quarters. He spun around and bit her in the face. He drew blood just under her right eye. I was on him quickly and confined him to the utility room.

The next day he was put down.

She is fine, no scar. So far no other issues. She no longer asks about him.

No more dogs, especially second hand dogs. I have had to deal with putting down too many good dogs I have owned since puppies as well as dealing with not so good dogs.

Anygunanywhere

[03Lightningrocks]

When my offspring were kids they wanted a dog. We made the trip to the animal shelter. I turn around and my daughter is petting an adult Dalmatian through the cage. He was laying on the concrete looking at her with his most practiced "pick me" face. We all took turns petting him and decided to ask about him. We went to the front and were told he was a biter and was scheduled to be put down. After arguing that this can't be the dog he is talking about, the care taker gets up and walks back with us. This Dalmatian hops to his feet and makes a face that shows his teeth. Thing is, he is wagging his tale so hard his body is moving with it. The caretaker says, see, he is snarling at us right now, he is dangerous. The dog was not snarling! He was smiling! I had never seen anything like it. I asked if the previous owners reported him biting. He told us no and that it is not unusual for people to leave that detail out. I made that guy let us in the cage with him. We had that dog for the next 7 years until he ran off one day, never to be seen again. The only thing he ever did that indicated abuse was he hated going through the door. He acted like we were going to slam the door on him. He was one of the sweetest dogs we ever owned and he was only a day from being put down over making weird face when he would get happy.

[OldCurlyWolf]

When my offspring were kids they wanted a dog. We made the trip to the animal shelter. I turn around and my daughter is petting an adult Dalmatian through the cage. He was laying on the concrete looking at her with his most practiced "pick me" face. We all took turns petting him and decided to ask about him. We went to the front and were told he was a biter and was scheduled to be put down. After arguing that this can't be the dog he is talking about, the care taker gets up and walks back with us. This Dalmatian hops to his feet and makes a face that shows his teeth. Thing is, he is wagging his tale so hard his body is moving with it. The caretaker says, see, he is snarling at us right now, he is dangerous. The dog was not snarling! He was smiling! I had never seen anything like it. I asked if the previous owners reported him biting. He told us no and that it is not unusual for people to leave that detail out. I made that guy let us in the cage with him. We had that dog for the next 7 years until he ran off one day, never to be seen again. The only thing he ever did that indicated abuse was he hated going through the door. He acted like we were going to slam the door on him. He was one of the sweetest dogs we ever owned and he was only a day from being put down over making weird face when he would get happy.

I am happy that you found him.

If the dog knew what was about to happen he would have been even happier than he was.

[03Lightningrocks]

When my offspring were kids they wanted a dog. We made the trip to the animal shelter. I turn around and my daughter is petting an adult Dalmatian through the cage. He was laying on the concrete looking at her with his most practiced "pick me" face. We all took turns petting him and decided to ask about him. We went to the front and were told he was a biter and was scheduled to be put down. After arguing that this can't be the dog he is talking about, the care taker gets up and walks back with us. This Dalmatian hops to his feet and makes a face that shows his teeth. Thing is, he is wagging his tale so hard his body is moving with it. The caretaker says, see, he is snarling at us right now, he is dangerous. The dog was not snarling! He was smiling! I had never seen anything like it. I asked if the previous owners reported him biting. He told us no and that it is not unusual for people to leave that detail out. I made that guy let us in the cage with him. We had that dog for the next 7 years until he ran off one day, never to be seen again. The only thing he ever did that indicated abuse was he hated going through the door. He acted like we were going to slam the door on him. He was one of the sweetest dogs we ever owned and he was only a day from being put down over making weird face when he would get happy.

I am happy that you found him.

If the dog knew what was about to happen he would have been even happier than he was.

I will never forget him saying the dog was scheduled to be put down. My daughter was around 13 or 14 and started getting teared up when she heard it. I wanted to sock that guy. I get mad when you make my little girl cry...LOL. The care taker didn't know it yet but the instant he said the dog was being put down, the dog was leaving with us. The only question was whether or not the care taker was going home that night...

[cb1000rider]

Wow, I have gone thru the thought process of defending myself against dogs in the neighborhood but never thought of having to defend against a dog in my home.
I had wondered earlier in this thread how a dog like that ended up at the pound. I think we know the answer now.

When the local rescue group that I work with pulls dogs, they go through a behavior analysis. It's not fool proof, but it's designed to try and weed out dogs with food-aggression, possessiveness, and other issues. Some dogs don't get pulled. Dog behavior can change outside of the pound, especially in pack settings. I worked with one dog that shouldn't have been pulled, he was aggressive when corrected and I got his leash strung up around a tree before he could get to me after I corrected him. I turned him back into rescue and indicated that I thought he would be dangerous for men to handle. It was strange watching a woman handle him and he was fine. Rescue dogs can be hard to predict.

I understand why that dog got shot. I can also say that I've been bitten by my personal dog that I've raised since a pup when I grabbed him while in "fight mode". We call it "seeing red" - the dog is 100% reactionary and will bite without discrimination. Your kid was in that mix, so you didn't have a choice on getting involved.

Sorry that happened to you... I'm always sorry to hear about a pet put down, regardless of circumstance. I hope it doesn't turn you off on rescue animals.