bad behavior in adopted dog

Question
Hi, we adopted a 3 yr.old Husky mix (looks like he might have Rottweiler or shepherd too) 2 months ago from the Humane Society. We are wondering if we should keep him or return him to the shelter due to the problems detailed below:

-growling occasionally when disciplined or told to do something
-snapping,tending to chase kids and nip
-pooping and urinating in the house
-chewing
-not obeying commands regularly

He was sick with Bordatella for the first couple of weeks, (had to be put on antibiotics)and very docile and well-behaved.  According to the previous owners, he was housetrained, did not chew, and had never bitten anyone,nor did he growl/snap/bite. The Humane Society said he released the tennis ball and walked on a leash w/out pulling.  However, we believe he was getting sick at that time (only 1 wk @ shelter before we got him) and therefore behaved; because he pulls very hard on the leash, does not easily relinquish the tennis ball or chew toy, etc.  He is neutured. We are a family of 4: husband, wife and 13 y.o. boy & 8 y.o. girl.  I am a stay-at-home mom and have established myself as alpha to him, as has my husband.  I don't believe my kids have despite my coaching them.
 
After he started feeling better, we noticed he was not minding and coming right back after we let him out to go to the bathroom like he did before (always came right back).  We also became concerned when our son got up in the middle of the night, heard the dog downstairs, and looked over the railing.  The dog looked up and growled @ our son, then when he said "Bear, it's me Conner" the dog still growled again & barked (the dog did not come up the stairs, and our son went back to bed).  A couple weeks later the dog growled and snapped at our daughter when she told him to eat the kibble he had spilled on the floor while eating.  She had heard me telling him in a firm voice to pick it up and she was doing the same (unfortunately while he was eating).  He got her lightly on the thigh, but did not leave a mark or break skin. Next, he growled at me when I was showing him and scolding him about the poop he did on our carpet. He has chewed twice on an expensive pine dining chair, as well as his retractable leash.  Even though the scent was taken away from his earlier poop, he snuck upstairs again (this area of the house is off-limits to him) and went poop again as well as urinated there.  He recently growled at my son when my son was on the staircase looking down @ him and then he barked, raised his hackles and started moving towards the staircase.  I saw this one with my own eyes, and when scolded he stopped.

There are so many good things about this dog, that we have become very attached to him in this short time, but the behavior concerns us, and the shelter thinks he should be returned.  What do you think?   Thanks so much,   Shannon  

Answer




Shannon,
I apologize if my answer confused you.  The reason that I was concerned about your disciplining the dog for snapping at the kids is that if you punish a dog for this, and they then are afraid to warn the children, they might proceed directly to biting a child.  Aggression never really goes away, and most ordinary pet-owning families do not wish to try to rehabilitate dogs, especially if there are children to think of.  But, if you were to have considered it, the first step is to avoid triggering the aggressive response.  You sent me a message that said words to the effect "you can't just let him go around doing that stuff".  I do not expect people to tolerate rude behavior in their dogs, but often, the answer does not lie in punishment or scolding.  It's more a matter of prevention, and redirecting the dog (i.e. training) to a more appropriate behavior.  I really do agree with you that this is not the dog for you, but I do want to make you aware of a couple of things, so that your next experience will be positive.  First, some dogs regress in their housetraining for a variety of reasons.  Without knowing your dog, I could not hope to give you a reason, but some of the things that happen are: moving, fear, urinary tract infection, spay incontinence, or general anxiety.  A dog that eliminates indoors is not house trained, at least not in the sense that trainers mean.  Dogs don't generalize very well, so when they change homes, or another circumstance in their lives changes, they can have accidents happen.  The chewing could be due to anxiety (it calms them), or if the dog is an adolescent, he may just have entered his second chewing stage.  This is when the dog MUST chew to set his permanent teeth into the jawbone.  Many owners find that pups are good for months, then they suddenly chew the legs off a table.  Supervision of young dogs is important so that you aren't taken off guard and lose valuable possessions to this aspect of puppy development.
I sense that you really didn't like or trust this dog much, and that you pretty much had your mind made up that he was not for you.  That's ok, but my suggestion is that if you adopt again, you try to find a nice adult dog that has been temperament tested with children your own kids' ages.
I am sorry that you were not satisfied with my original answer, but I certainly would have preferred that you have a conversation with me about it before giving me a negative rating over an answer that was unclear to you.  I would gladly have corresponded multiple times until you were satisfied that you understood.  That doesn't mean that I would have agreed with some of how you handled this dog, but I really do understand what motivated you, and I know that you were doing what you thought best for your children.  Good luck in finding a dog that will make everyone a safe lifetime companion.