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ckmommy
member
NBR I need more dog help
ckmommy
member
Ok, this is breaking my heart to write, but I believe we need to find our dog Zoe a new home. We have had her since August and have been working with her, but her behavior most recently is something we can no longer have in our house. She has taken to attacking our cats. I have a 16 year old cat who has essentially been hiding in our laundry room since we brought Zoe home. We also have a 3 and a half year old who is most often the one being attacked. Just now Zoe cornered her in the hallway and actually had her mouth around her belly.
We do activities to try and tire her out, she has toys, a bed, is treated really well...but this is not the first time she has attacked one of the cats. It scares C, worries me, and I am afraid to break it up in case I get hurt. I don't know what to do, I am at a loss. She has had a rough life before us and I don't want to traumatize her further but this isn't ok. Any tips, advice or thoughts?
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Re: NBR I need more dog help
I'm so sorry, K.
I know you've been working with her a lot. Hopefully zazzu will chime in with her dog training knowledge, as she is the best resource I know for these types of Qs. I will say, though, that dogs that show aggression can be difficult to rehome. Most shelters will not take dogs that have shown human aggression, and if you rehome her yourself without full disclosure of her temperament issues, you can be held liable if she were to bite/attack/show aggression in the future. I am assuming the aggression has just been limited to cats, and cat, dog and human aggression are all extremely different issues. As long as she hasn't shown any issues with people you should be in the clear- I lurk a lot on the Nest pets board and that has come up a lot with regards to aggressive dogs- many of the gals work there in rescue and have witnessed firsthand these sorts of things happen, unfortunately. So I just wanted to mention it "in case" to make sure your bases are covered if need be. She's a shelter dog, no? If so most shelters require you to return the dog if you are no longer able to care for them so my suggestion is to check your adoption contract first to see what you're required to do.
I am always the last person to, in general, ever support rehoming an animal unless you have done your homework and worked with quality professionals and are still not seeing the results you need to ensure that everyone is safe- including, in this case, the more vulnerable cats. I know you have been working hard and put a lot of time into her, though. Hopefully zazzu will have some thoughts for you. My only other thought is looking into working with a behaviorist as opposed to a trainer, as they do different things. Hugs. My pets are my babies and I can only imagine how hard this is for you as she is your baby, too.
I don't really have any advice for you but I wanted to say I am sorry your dog is not working out for your family. I know how hard it must be to even think of rehoming her. I have seen posting on the Humane Society Facebook page for dogs that would be best suited in homes with no small children or cats, So if nothing else Tacoma might take your dog.
Just FYI, Tacoma HS is not no-kill.
Eek, yes...sooo important! MSTie24 is right - check with the shelter you got her from FIRST. Many do "require" you send them back there.
The Shelter I volunteer for is no kill (Homeward Pet) and they do take owner surrenders, but they are small and mostly volunteer run - so you'd have to call and check their current openings. IF they could take her, they would run her through some tests to see if they could rehome her (feeding/other dogs/human etc). Being labeled "no cats" is really not that rare for (shelter) dogs - we find homes for them all the time.
I am so sorry it did not work out. We too have a special needs (formerly abused) dog. She is great with G, tolerant of the cat - but extremely territorial of our house and defensive around strangers = no unplanned visitors or dog park for us. It's a pain, but manageable. Your situation does not sound manageable anymore though....poor kitties.
Our rescue dog had some severe resource guarding issues that were not disclosed to us before we adopted him. We learned the hard way when he bit me one day. We'd already taken him to obedience school/training so we knew that wasn't the issue. We hired a behaviorist who came to our house, saw how Frankie interacted with us, our other dog, and the cats. It was SO valuable! And, while it does not solve or make his issues go away, the behaviorist taught us what we were unknowingly doing that was making his behavior worse. He also taught us easy ways to avoid Frankie's outbursts and to handle them when he did have them.
I used to be afraid of him (I know, he's a pug for crying out loud!). But, I was. Now, I am never scared of him and have total confidence that I can manage his behavior. I would say if you're still on the fence, try a behaviorist.
Here is the behaviorist we used: https://www.soundanimals.com/
Good Luck, I know first hand how hard that is.
Sorry. That's hard stuff to have to have on your shoulders.I can't remember if it was you I had talked to about behavior problems before, so sorry if this is repeat. Before baby , I was a pro dog trainer for 11 years. Since I'm not working professionally anymore, I'd be happy to chat over coffee or something and obviously not charge you. I'm also more than happy to help you find some good resources. PM me and I can give you my email. Good trainers should have accredited behavior background education, otherwise have no place being a trainer or giving behavior advice. That's not always the case. Any old schmo can say they are a dog trainer or behaviorist, so who you see is important. Things can go terribly wrong especially when dealing with aggression. A real behaviorist typically has a phD or a DVM and can prescribe meds when needed. Behavior modification should be part of a good dog trainers program, and not just teaching sit, stay, come. I don't like making recommendations publicly, for professional reasons, but if you email me I'd be happy to.
There are also underlying reasons for aggression that are often overlooked. Hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, undiagnosed pain etc. I've found that naturopathic vets have a little better grip on this than traditional western vets that want to treat everything with rx's. Exercise is not always the answer. All dogs should recieve exercise regardless of weather or not they are agressive. Asserting dominance is not the answer either, so don't try the caeser milan approach.
Good luck in your decision, and let me know how I can help.
Is Melissa L. still working there? We used to be collegues.