So upset I could vomit

mlm1128

I think I just need to vent, because I know what I really need to do, but it's making me physically ill.  Last night my dog bit one of dh's friends.  It's now the second time he has bit someone in a 7 month span. He is a good dog, and never, ever even looks at us cross eyed when he's in the house. But when he is outside (he is chained) he literally attacks strangers. And it's only men. The last time it was my uncle. I feel so bad that this happened, and I can't even explain it.  

He is 8 years old, and I love him to pieces.  But now I am soo afraid that he is going to turn on one of us.  I am taking him to the vet to see if there is a medical issue.  If there isn't, I don't know how we can keep him.  And I just don't know what I am going to do.  How will I tell dd?  She loves him as much as we do. 

DaiLyght

no advice just (((HUGS)))

femmegem

Oh no. Is he trained? Could you consult a trainer at least in addition to taking him to the vet?

I'm a cat person so I know next to nothing about dogs. I'm so sorry.

DandelionMom

You can probably make this work.  There are behaviorists that can help.  And since he's biting on a chain, your answer is probably as simple as not using the chain anymore (maybe a dog run and walks on the leash instead).   

My dog is protective of our yard and it sounds like your dog is too. 

JOEBunny

I am sorry you are going through this.  My former neighbors had to put their dog down for this reason.  They were vegan, active in PETA, but their dog first bit one of them, then bit their older child, then after the mom strapped the baby in the car seat in the car in the garage, she went to get the older child and the dog got in the car and bit the baby.  4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year, 880,000 of them require medical care, and 31,000 require reconstructive surgery.  I don't want my child to be one of those. 

My current neighbors dog bit 3 people in 3 years.  He was always on their front porch (with them there), without a leash.  Our houses are 15 feet apart.  I lived in terror of that drat dog and could not be happier when he died.  I am not sorry about my glee at his death.  I hated him and though I am very good friends with his owners, I started to really resent them for the dog (which was their baby).

I would not live with a dog that had bitten people who were not attacking it and if you had that dog and invited my child over and did not tell me his history and he bit my child, I would be likely to press charges or sue you.  I just wrote an article about dogs on the playground for my local paper for this reason.  I have zero tolerance.  

npeacock

Checking for the medical issue is a great first step. I agree that if there isn't a medical condition, that consulting a behaviuorist/trainer would be beneficial. You have had so much going on at your house, that the dog probably gets the least amount of attention, which may contribute to his behaviour. I know my dogs don't do well on chains either, so if you have another option, you may need to explore that.

Did your dog have a bad experience with men in the past?

breezee_bean

I can totally understand what you are feeling.  I am so sorry.  This is one of my biggest fears about getting a dog.  I would never want to have to make this decision if something like that happened. 

mlm1128

No bad experiences that I know of.  It is possible that when he is out on his chain someone may have teased/tormented him in the past.  We back up to a fire dept that does training drills, and at times I do have to go inside while he's out there.

And Joebunny, I have no tolerance for the biting either.  That's why I am so tormented right now. 

DandelionMom

Maybe ask on the pet board for advice?  The replies will be more helpful if you don't mention getting rid of the dog. 

lilpiglet

mlm1128:

  But when he is outside (he is chained) he literally attacks strangers. And it's only men.

this part makes me think maybe he's just trying to protect his family???

do you have have "strangers" come to the house that he doesn't try to attack??

Do you know if he was ever abused by a man/stranger??

Did he stay at a kennel shortly before his first "biting episode"?

I would talk to the vet and maybe a trainer before you do something you might regret.  Sounds liek he has only gone after "strangers" which is a dogs nature when protecting their family.

AviatorJJ

https://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/index.html

mlm1128

AvitorJJ, he is only chained if we are out there with him and he has a 50 foot chain.  He can go a long way.  He is basically an inside dog, and spends most of his time in the house with us.  We USED to let him free in the yard, but I was afraid he would run after people walking by and scare them because he's big.  He could very well just hate being chained.  And I know he is protecting us.  I can be even more specific...he did it twice, to men that were starasngers, when he did not know where dd and I were. 

He has growled at people in the house (only 2 people that I don't particularly care for either, so maybe he sensed it) but never, ever even attempted to bite them. 

AnneEB

I don't post much, but this one really got me.  We had to put our dog down last summer because he bit me pretty badly.  We adopted him at 5 months old and although he was the sweetest, gentlest, most lovable dog around us and even around DS, he had an unpredictability around other dogs that got worse over time.  Even though it was dogs that would get him aggressive, he would turn and bite me instead of attacking the dog.  After the first bite, we got a personal trainer, tried different collars, etc.  Thought everything was fine, then he did it again one random day on a walk and all I could think of was, what if he bit DS instead of me?  If he could bite me, what's to stop him from doing it to someone else?  It was by far the hardest thing we ever did, he was only 2, but we had to put him down.  The fact that he was unpredictable was what scared me the most.  I'm not saying what's best for you and your family, just sharing my personal experience because I know how awful it is to think these things about a pet you love so much.  I hope it works out for you all.

JDodds

If you do end up having to put him down, maybe you could explain to your DD that he was sick?  Tough place to be in.  GL