Dog Owners Facing Difficult Decisions

“I actually have 3 dogs and two puppies I'm giving for adoption, but one of the puppies has several behavior issues that I don't know from where they came from. He was born at home in a litter of two of my dogs (small breed). Problems: Tries to steal food whenever he sees the opportunity (even from the trash can), acts like a dog with abus3 background, acts scared when you try to pet him and screams even if you just look at him. His sister doesn't have any of these problems. Possible”

“Been a rough couple of months financially and we weren't able to get our dogs Apoquel prescription refilled for two months now. Her itching and chewing has gotten bad. We're finally able to get some medicine ordered for her but I am curious as to alternatives because the first vet we took her to basically said it was going to be $100 a month for Apoquel for the rest of her life and that's pretty much our only option. I've done a bit of research on cheaper alternative medications”

“Hi, everyone. I’m looking for some advice because my wife and I are in a really difficult spot. We have a ten-year-old Lab-Pit mix named Axel. We’ve had him since he was maybe9 to 11 months old, and he’s always been a big part of our family. A couple of years ago, he started occasionally snapping at our cat if the cat got too close when he had something. More recently, we got a puppy, and today Axel snapped at him while they were going for a ball and cut the top of his head. It wasn’t severe, bu”

“so i got a pit lab mix from the shelter. I got him when he was around 2 months, as a puppy he did the normal puppy things, chew, play, destroy. when he’s out in public he loves all the attention and will be completely fine and happy around other people. recently he’s had a lot of aggression toward my bf. he has bite him several times, where some are completely random bite attacks. one time my dog and my bf were on the couch, they were chilling where my bf was petting and able to touch him. out o”

“I have a pitbull mix who is now around 13 years old. I’ve had for almost 6 years at this point, I had gotten her from a family member that could no longer take care of her and didn’t want her to wind up in a shelter. For the 6 years of having her in had many ups and downs with her health. When she came to me she had a torn acl and had two masses removed that had tested positive for cancer. Shes had many health problems since then and I’ve dropped thousands of dollars to keep her as happy and hea”

“my boy is an 11 year old border collie, lab, spaniel and pit mix. 100lbs. He has either arthritis or a torn ligament in his knee, maybe both. He will let me help him in the car but is afraid to get out. We live in an apartment with stairs up to the walkway and more stairs into the unit. He’s on carprofen and gabapentin for presumed arthritis but I haven’t been able to get him into a clinic for X-rays because of the car aversion. A week ago he fell down twice, he struggles to lay down and he stru”

“So a family member of mine has a boxer mix who has become pretty aggressive. I’m not sure of a lot of the background, but she got the dog from a neighbor and I have a theory that he may have been being trained to be a fight dog. I dog say for her a few months back and the dog bit me 3x (only broke the skin once). After the first day, he got used to me and he was okay. But it still freaked me out enough that I won’t dog sit anymore. Apparently, he’s only gotten more and more protective of the hou”

“My wife and I moved in with a family member back in December and she has her own dog and we have 3 dogs. One of our dogs and his dog were super best friends, being together all the time and playing. More recently in the last few weeks one of our older dogs (9 female) has been growling at the family member’s dog and for some reason it has led to him taking it out on our dog that is normally his friend. This has happened more and more. Recently there were two times in which we couldn’t separate th”

“I’m looking for some outside perspectives because my husband and I are facing an incredibly difficult decision about our young male dog. He is just over a year old and is a small breed. We also have an older female dog (same breed), who we have had for 10 years without any behavioral or aggression issues at all, so we are not first-time dog owners. Our younger dog can be sweet, affectionate and playful. He loves being petted and playing with us and our children (2 and 6 years old), and the vast”

“Hi Redditors I’ve been reading posts and have seen how helpful and supportive this community seems to be I am faced with a really shitty decision and I know that the decision is mine but I would really appreciate some advice and feedback from people that understand I have a large (85lb) mixed breed dog and he is so sweet all the time to his family -I’m the owner I got him 8.5 yr ago when I was single. He’s loved boyfriends and friends and my parents and sister and aunt and uncle , etc. He has st”

“I have a 2 year old and an almost 4 month old. When my baby was a few weeks old, my 12 lb, 6 yeae old chihuahua bit my 2 yeae old on the hand. I was in the NB stage full force and knew my husband wasn't going to take the dog to the vet for evaluation so I set the idea aside and we completly seperated them all. Flash forward to last week I took my dog to the vet (the vet knows my dog) and she recommended behavioral eutnasia. For context, my dog has had aggression and biting problems from the”

“I have 2 dogs (both male Yorkshires, one is 6yo and the other 1yo) and live with two other people. Sometimes, the younger one wants to play and runs around with a toy trying to get someone's attention, but if the other dog tries to play with him, he'll just ignore him. If a person gives him any attention, and I mean ANY attention, while the other dog is trying to interact with him, he will lock eyes with them and only play with them, as if the other dog wasn't even there. If no one p”

“I got attacked again today. I don't know how many times it's been now, at least 15. Needed stitches twice and got bit in the leg today. My wife won't put him down or re home him. I won't leave her, so I'm just waiting and waiting until he dies of old age. He's 10 so maybe I won't have too long to go. It all fucking sucks. I hate who I've become. I used to love all animals, and now I hate all dogs, and can't have any other pets because the dog will kill them. (”

“Here’s the situation: My older dog Reiji is almost 12, and my younger dog Rio is almost 5. Reiji had an enucleation (eye removal surgery) almost 2 years ago now and prior to this the boys played all the time. They would run around the house and play with toys together. When Reiji came home, Rio was confused and wanted to play, but we had to tell him no for the first two weeks, and we stayed cautious for a couple more. Now, Rio still won't play. We've tried inviting him to, pulling out to”

“What should I do? Pregnant with a baby and have a dog with a serious bite/attack history I have a 6-year-old pit bull, and I’m looking for honest advice from people who have experience with dogs like this. He is very territorial and has a serious history of aggression. He has attacked 3 animals and 2 people. The most recent incident was particularly bad: a young girl was coming to our house for Christmas, he got out of his “place,” attacked her in the face/mouth, and she ended up needing surgery”

“We have had our dog for about 5 years. She was a rescue with an unknown history. She was always amazing with her family pets and us but always reactive with any other animals outside of the family. She has now started to react randonly towards our other dog and has now attacked him multiple times. We are making the hard choice to do this because at this point she just cannot be trusted to be around our other animals. She has always been so extremely sweet and loving towards my other dog and us b”

“Sorry for the long post, but I want to give as much context as I can. My Australian Shepard has never been very aggressive towards our cats. When we’re home with her, she will chase the cats if they run from her, probably thinking it’s a game. But whenever we’ve been around her, there’s never been true aggression from her towards them. The only aggression we’ve noticed that has occurred when my husband and I have been home, has been when we both have left the house momentarily and we didn’t brin”

“Hi! I have a 12M 28lb poodle/chihuahua mix and my partner had a 5F 60lb pittmix. My dog does get territorial over food and toys, always been the case. His dog has had past aggression issues w others dogs randomly but hasn’t really picked a fight with my dog unless he starts it. This weekend we went on a trip and they got into two fights. One over a toy and another one bc his dog tried to take a treat from mines. Skin was never broken and it was easy to break them apart. My BFs dog says he’s seen”

“Unfortunately, I am facing the decision to potentially euthanize two of my dogs within the month. Well, one of my healthier dogs is bonded to my 12 year old dog. She looks for her if she isnt home. She is protective over her. She gets jealous if anyone plays with her. She isnt that way with any other dog in the home. We had gotten a younger dog over a year ago, and theyve become two peas in a pod. But, my 12 year old dog is still her number one. I am worried that she will always be looking for h”

“My partner and I are facing some really tough decisions with one of our dogs, Cappy. He is smart, happy, young & healthy, and extremely sweet and gentle with cats and people. He loves the dogs he lives with/ is already friends with and is usually great with them. But he is anxious & aggressive when meeting new dogs, and can be slightly anxious when children approach. Of course he's never hurt a kid otherwise this post wouldn't be necessary, but we know anxiety can turn to aggress”

“I'm not sure this is the best place, but I thought I'd ask. My mom and I have two littermates, Dolly (smaller) and Patsy. They have always gotten along, but we recently moved in together, and things started getting rough. It began with some food aggression when we first moved in together, but we started to feed them in their cages, and it solved everything. Things went extremely well for three months, until recently. They started getting aggressive and trying to attack each other through”

“‼️Trigger warning ‼️ this post contains the topic of behavioral euthanasia. My 7 year old pit bull/hound mix attacked me today after checking his mouth while playing. I have always done this and his teeth were never a trigger before. We were playing with a toy and i saw some blood so i checked his teeth and after i checked he kind of postured aggressively and i could tell in his eyes that his mood completely shifted. I was able to get up then he attacked and got my hand pretty good. I got him of”

“I recently moved to a new house that we chose specifically for the fenced in yard to allow my dogs to play. We have two, one is a lazy 80lbs female pitbull mix that loves to sunbathe, the other is a 15 lbs male year-old corgi mix that barks like crazy at other dogs, but has never fought/done anything besides bark. On one property line there is a chain link fence (neighbor’s property) and a line of well established cedar privacy bush (my property). That neighbor has two German shepherds. Unfortun”

“I’m looking for honest opinions because I’m facing an incredibly difficult decision about my older pit bull (11-12 years old). About 4 years ago we took her in as a favor for a friend who rescued her from an abusive and neglectful life. Before she came to us she was locked into a crate most of the time, got into a fight with every single dog she came into contact with and was malnurished. After months of wondering if we should keep her, she finally adjusted to our home and into our lives. She bo”

“Hi everyone, I have two dogs, a mini poodle, and a greyhound. The both of them have never really gotten along, but also never really fought, or hurt each other. Last night, while I was feeding them, my poodle got into my kitchen (where the greyhound eats) and started eating out of the greyhounds bowl. My greyhound immediately went and started attacking her, but didn’t harm her, and I don’t even think she was trying to harm her, as I saw it, she was trying to correct her, but me and my family got”

“hey all, ive been irregularly dog sitting my neighbors two dogs for over a year, and i think ive found the reason they both seem unhappy. my thought is they just arent compatible together. their behavior together has always been odd: the younger dog pushing the older around while the older doesnt set boundries, the older dog seeming distressed, younger dog initiating play the older dog ignores (which turns into both dogs trying to lick to others genitals and hump them) the older dog seems so str”

“My 11 year old pit has NEVER had an issue before. Makes other dogs look bad when it comes to being friendly and listening. He’s been such a blessing after having our now 9.5 month daughter. Until today. Unprovoked in the moment snapped at her. Caught her in the side of the face. Superficial. But still. I say unprovoked, but since she’s become mobile she has been all over him. And he’s been great about. The past couple days yes, he’s seemed a bit annoyed with her. But he always comes back and put”

“Hello all— seeking advice. My husband and I adopted a 5 year old husky border collie mix a few months ago. He’s been extremely chill— he really just likes sniffing and walking outside, occasionally playing with a toy for about 10 minutes, a bully stick, and then he likes to just sit and watch us/snuggle/ask for scratches. We introduced him to my parents’ dog— we introduced them in neutral territory on leash a few times before we brought him over to my parents house and it went really well. All t”

“I met Coffee at my local humane society over three years ago. He's typical of the dogs that we have trouble placing; Large (85+ lbs), dark colored (Black and tan, with minimal white markings), and mature (He's at least four years old). His history is hazy. Reportedly, he turned up as a stray on a local farm as a youngster. The family who owned the farm tried to keep him, before becoming overwhelmed and surrendered him to the humane society. He has a crooked jaw. I've always wondered”

“I’ve never had two dogs before and my older dog has been an easy angel from day 1 ( truly no thanks to anything I did!) So apologies if this is an obvious question. We have a 5 year old rescue, who we’ve had since she was young. She generally loves to play with all dogs, and especially loves relatively rough play with bigger dogs, despite being a medium / small girl. We recently got a 1.5 year old bully rescue who is a bit bigger and very dense and doesn’t understand how strong she is. Overall,”

“a little over 2 years ago we adopted a 2 year old pitbull mix from the shelter. we know he was seized by ac from his previous home, but not why. we already had a beagle pitbull mix at home, and still do. they get along fine. our beagle mix is an angel and never has had any behavior issues. our new dog has always attached to me, which is i didn’t see a problem with. he has since also bonded quite a bit with my dad, and he doesn’t have any issues with my mom. he doesn’t not like my brother (19 y/o”

“I have 2 dogs. A female Australian shepherd (almost 2) and then a male I guess pit mix (guessing 1 1/2). After we got the Aussie we weren’t getting anymore dogs. My fiancé found him with a collar and rabies vac tag. So we assumed he had just wondered and brought him home and called the vet in the morning. They called and the people who’s number was connected to the tag said they didn’t have a dog. So I went to every Facebook page trying to find him a good home, that’s was unsuccessful. So now we”

“i guess hate is a strong word but she is thinking about getting rid of them and i’m not sure what to do. We got two puppies (i now know it was a terrible idea to get two this was mostly my dads mania making the decision) about 8 weeks ago and they are now 16 weeks. Overall i think they are pretty good dogs despite being a ton of work. We got them during the summer so me and my sister could focus on training them but with school quickly approaching it feels like they are not getting better fast e”

“I have a 2 year old lab mix and he’s a great dog, a little rambunctious, but well trained and loves dogs. A week ago a stray dog (blue healer) appeared in our front yard. No chip and no luck finding an owner. It’s a puppy less than one year old. We took it to the vet to get vaxxed and check its health, and everything was normal. She and my dog have been getting along great in the couple days. She plays with him a little too much, but he’s been a good playmate and patient with her energetic self.”

“Hey everyone, I’m looking for advice from people who have experience with serious human-directed aggression, resource guarding, and difficult rescue dogs. Last year, my girlfriend and I found a pit bull wandering the streets. He was extremely shy, malnourished, and in rough shape, but he was a beautiful caramel-colored dog. We named him Oliver. After confirming that he didn't have an owner, we took him to the vet. We found out he had late-stage heartworm disease and were told he might only h”

“So my dog had to be put down due to a bite and after some months I think I'm ready to get another dog but am scared of another incident. I want to prevent any occuraces or put my dog in any situation that could cause an incident I feel like I need to put a muzzle on them just to go beyond and protect them. This way if something happens, they'd only "bump" them instead of maybe biting them I say this as my dog was the absolute nicest dog to everyone for almost a decade but it on”

“Hello. We have two dogs. Both rescues. One is an 80lb male Doberman/Pitbull mix and the other one is a 60lb female straight up mutt which looks a bit like a black lab mix. We’ve had them for about 8 years since they were a puppy and 1yo. During that time, they’ve been great dogs and very loving towards us and they’ve never shown any aggression towards humans. Even though they get along well with each other, and they’re inseparable, there’s one behavior that’s always been an issue which is food a”

“I have been talking about getting another dog for years, but when we had three, I kind of knew it was never really an option unless one fell into our laps by chance. Then we lost a dog to a three month battle to the big C last March. Now that we are finally in a place to possibly add another dog to the household, I find myself feeling conflicted. On the one hand, I love dogs, I would love another one, and I recognize there are tons of dogs in need of homes. On the other hand, I feel sick at the”

“Hello, Over the past week I’m encountering something that I probably should’ve seen coming. I have a 15 month male pitbull/husky mix. He’s neutered. I’ve had him since he was 10 weeks old and as a first time dog owner I tried to train him to be used to sleeping in a 2 door write crate with a cover. Because I lived in an apartment, his crate also has always been linked with a wire fence to prevent any running off to get into things he shouldn’t or surprise potty accidents. As he got older he did”

“I have 3 dogs and over the last year, they have had multiple fights. None of the have caused significant injuries between them, but I was bitten during the first big fight between the two older dogs. The youngest dog is almost 3 and she’s been very protective over random things such as the doorway, water bowls, me… but not always. Her energy level has also been really high and she reaches a state of arousal and can’t calm down which resulted in a fight during play between her and my middle dog r”

“My boy literally just turned 6 yesterday. He is a Great Pyrennes mix. I'm struggling with the decision on whether to try to rehome him or put him down. I'm leaning on putting him down. We've had him since he was a puppy. He has a big yard that he can access when he wants. He has plenty of food and water and treats. He is well-treated and as well trained as I can. I've been to more training classes and behavioralist than I can count, and he still has these moments. Yesterday we tr”

“Hi all! Some back story: my first dog passed away a little over a year ago. We have our second dog who is about 5 1/2 now who basically lived her whole life with him. They weren’t overly playful with each other but they lived together with no issues and COULD play if they wanted. She was definitely sad after he passed and we didn’t get a new dog until about a year after he passed. Which brings me to present day. We got a 3 month old GSD puppy about 3 months ago. Currently hes 6 months. When we f”

“I’m looking for honest advice from dog owners who have gone through something similar. We have an 8-year-old shepherd mix who is anxious, cautious, and protective of his personal space with small kids and dogs. He has previously bitten our smaller dog when she got too close, and he recently bit our 2-year-old son after our son approached and touched him. My son needed stitches. I understand how serious that is. I am not trying to excuse what happened or minimize the risk. This was the final inci”

“Like many people on this subreddit, we are facing an incredibly difficult and heartbreaking decision. We adopted our dog from a rescue when he was about six months old after initially fostering him. When we first brought him home, he was terrified of nearly everything and would not even walk outside on the streets Over time, he gained confidence and became comfortable on walks and in public settings. He has always loved other dogs and generally has no issues with people outside the home. At arou”

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“Hi all, so I almost two months ago, I rescued an ~8 yr old pit bull who I’ve know her whole life but sadly ended up in the shelter (her previous owners sucked.) She came with a few cuts and scars of varying ages, including one on the tip of her tail that will not heal up because every time she gets excited and wags her tail, she knocks the scab off. In fact, it’s getting worse—the other day you could literally feel the blood splatters hitting you with every wag. I thought a hydrocolloid bandage”

“Sorry about the long post I just wanted to share as much of a complete picture as possible. Me and my dog, Jovie (female, 4-6 years probably) live with my mom and her dog, Cali (female, 7 years) Both dogs are reactive, but to different things. Jovie is very reactive to new people in the house, and just generally doesn’t want to meet new people, but is pretty chill with other dogs. Sometimes she likes to play, other times she just wants to sniff them and be on her way. Cali loves people, is very”

“I have to euthanize one of my dogs. It’s heartbreaking already but I wonder how my other dog will manage. For context, my younger dog has been with my older dog since he was 8 weeks old (he’s almost five now) and they have been inseparable for that entire time. How can I help this transition? I will be having my older dog euthanized at home so that the younger dog will be able to see/smell him after. submitted by /u/Fibonacci_Sequins77 [link] [comments]”

“Hello everyone, I have 2 dogs, the older one is 3 years old, and the youngest one is 1 year old. They have different personalities. The older one is the most reactive; he is not food-motivated, and it's difficult to train. When he sees other dogs, he does not listen and lunges at them and sometimes at people, kids, bikes, and scooters. He is a miniature schnauzer, around 17 pounds. He has never hurt anyone or any dog, as I'm able to hold him. I usually walk the other way or stop and let”

“Hi all, I'm trying to find the best path forward for my German Shepherd, Reid, but unfortunately I'm finding my options narrowing. Reid is a 6-year-old German Shepherd. My family adopted him when he was about a year old through a foster-based rescue while we were living in my hometown. Originally, my parents bought a female German Shepherd we named Aspyn. But we found out early on that she had an eye condition called Pannus, and my mom wanted to get her a friend that could support her in”

“My pit bull, Jinx, is six years old and loves people and other dogs. When I lived with my parents, she lived with their four dogs too. They had the occasional disagreement, but nothing ever serious. About a month ago, I adopted a six-month-old puppy from a shelter who was so underweight you could see all of his ribs and spine. We’ve dealt with a lot of issues with him, including food aggression and biting, but in just a month he’s made amazing progress. I can eat around him now, I can put his fo”

“I recently rescued a 1yr old male neutered pitbull from our local shelter and I have a 3 yr old neutered male french bulldog ans a 10 yr old spayed chiweenie. When the the 2 males play with one another it gets out of hand and very rough. I try to separate them and tell them no or try to give them breaks away from one another but nothing is working to calm the aggressive/rough behavior. Any suggestions on how to train them to play nice and not so rough. I also have my elderly grandmother living w”

“So I have a 10-11 year old Boxer-Pit mix and he’s very healthy for the most part. Everyone comments on how energetic he is because he’s always trying to play with other dogs and loves going on multiple walks a day. But at least 3-4 times a year, he goes through an episode of complete liquid and mucus in his stool and I can’t figure out what it is. He has been on the Orijen brand of dog food for a number of years now. When he goes through these diarrhea episodes it usually lasts 1-2 weeks and the”

“My partner and I have been disagreeing about how we should let our puppies interact, and I’d really appreciate some balanced opinions from people with experience. We have two puppies: an 11-month-old female Lab mix and a 10-month-old male Great Pyrenees mix. We got them when they were both around 2 months old. This was our first experience raising puppies, so we definitely went into it with some naivety. I had heard the term “littermate syndrome” before, but I never researched it because I assum”

“I recently adopted a rescue and I think that things are going well between my new dog and my first dog. I am also being extremely hyper vigilant because I would hate for them to get into a fight. Five days in they play together, lay together, and nap together. The older one has made some corrections (slight flash of the teeth or a quick growl) and the new dog has respected these very well. I am feeding them separately and they sleep separately. Constantly monitoring their interactions has made m”

“Just wondering if anyone‘s dog has done this or is it weird behavior? I adopted my new dog last year and ever since my resident dog has gotten along very well with him and she would be so excited to go out the same time as him. It was just recently in past few months she would sit by the back room and just watch me let him out and not go outside at the same time even though I tell her “outside”. But the thing is when I tell her to go back into the kitchen she actually wants to go outside and wil”

“Hello all, I’m hoping some folks may be willing to offer up some stories and opinions on my dog Ellie’s prognosis. She is our everything and is battling some complicated medical issues and we are trying to gain as much info as possible to make the best decisions. She is 12 years old (will be 13 this November) a shih-tzu/bichon frise mix, 14 lbs spayed female dog. She has been healthy her whole life, apart from skin allergies and anxiety/resource guarding, which she is on Prozac for. 3 weeks ago”

“I just adopted a 10 year old MN Bull Terrier. This poor guy has been a bit traumatized - his first owner passed from a terminal illness. His second owner died by suicide, with the dog in the room with him. I’m not sure how much time passed before he was discovered. He is still very fearful of my husband, but has definitely latched onto me. I work from home, and he wants to always be touching me/crawl in my lap. He follows me everywhere (not unusual for the breed though, my previous BT did the sa”

“I have a 3 year old pit mix. Every single morning for 3 years I have taken him on our morning walk at 7:30am and then again on an evening walk around 5:30pm. It’s our special time together. Recently we had a run in with some dogs off leash, (my dog doesn’t get along with other dogs and can be very unpredictable so this was very scary for me). I screamed at the other dog owner because this had happened before and their small white dogs are not trained. If their dogs see us, they jet towards us an”