Should we euthanize our dog?

Question
We rescued Chelsea, a five-year-old, female boxer/pit mix, from bad apartments behind our house (known for housing drug dealers) when she was about three months old.  According to the apt. manager, she had been eating out of the dumpster for a week.  When my husband caught her, she bit him (obviously out of fear).  We took her home, had her spayed and introduced her to our two female (spayed)dogs, fed her and gave her plenty of love.

Over the years, she has been nothing but trouble.  She has tried to get my cats (they are now babygated upstairs), she has killed three stray cats who have wondered into our yard, she has attacked our submissive dog, Chloe, unprovoked on many occasions, and our late great dog Ashby (who had three legs), she has also attacked smaller dogs that have stayed at our house (I sometimes board dogs) and sent three to the vet for stitches.  She pees on rugs and sofas (ruined many), as if to mark them, and even pees in her crate (she doesn't have a urinary tract infection). If we leave her outside in the backyard, she bites/scratches at our door until she puts holes in them.  

We have hired three different trainers to work with her (spending at least $1000), and although she is very smart, her behavior doesn't change.  We've tried prozac, clomicalm and kava kava to calm her down.  Prozac and clomicalm only made her worse and she attacks our other dogs.

She is very high energy, paces a lot and doesn't relax too often.  She has never shown any aggression towards us, but did snap at a doggie daycare worker once (she was boarded there during our vacation) when they tried to get her to come out of the crate and interact with other dogs -- she kept to herself.

My four year old daughter has seen Chelsea attack animals several times, and yesterday when a kitten wondered into our yard, she heard (but thankfully didn't see)Chelsea attack and kill it.

Despite everything, we are attached to Chelsea and don't want to euthanize her, but don't know what else to do.  We fear that our four year old daughter or 10 month old baby will get in the middle of one of Chelsea's attacks on another animal and get seriously injured.  

We've tried to to find her another home (through rescue) where she would be an only pet, but noone seems to want her.  The only situation I can see her thriving in is as a hunting dog, and I don't want to support that.  

Do you think we should have Chelsea euthanized?  I've rescued many dogs over the years and never thought I'd be faced with such an agonizing decision.

Answer
Dear Karen, Just yesterday I was working with a 150 lb. Saint Bernard with the same problems. My motto is "there are no bad dogs, some are just misunderstood". But that does not help you unless you live in west central Florida. Many excellent dog trainers are not skilled at correcting severe problem behaviors. I am sorry you have wasted time, money and expended much anguish. If you could hire a good canine behaviorist, your dog can be rehabilitated. But you will have to decide if you are willing to put more time and money into helping Chelsea. I do not want to criticize any canine professionals, but I do not know why Prozac was used, it is not the drug of choice for behavior issues in dogs. You can email me privately at caninetraining@gmail.com if you would like further information on that topic. Chelsea can be rehabilitated, but it will take time and probably cost you money if you do not know how to correct her behavior problems yourself. You should not allow your children to interact with her at all, they should be told to ignore her and they should never stare at her. Many rescue organizations will not take aggressive dogs, but you can try contacting some of your local no-kill shelters. Chelsea should be walked at the heel for at least an hour, a minimum of twice daily. She should be taught that all humans are pack leaders and you must be the ultimate pack leader, showing her that you will not allow any aggression in any form ever. She is marking out of dominance, has killed and is a very dangerous dog. I am sure that many people have recommended euthanasia as an option. It is rare that you find a dog who cannot be rehabilitated, but there are a few out there. Please try to call a good canine behaviorist in your area for advice. Read all you can about pack leadership and aggression in dogs. You must put your children first and Chelsea absolutely cannot be trusted with children. Unless you found a really skilled hunter familiar with pack leadership and aggression, she would probably not even make a good hunting dog. Just because a dog kills, does not mean it makes a good hunter. Having a high prey drive is different from being trained to hunt for human pleasure. And you cannot in good conscious allow her to get into the wrong hands because she could be used to fight, be beaten and abused, or worse. So really you only have two choices, you can hire a good behaviorist or chose euthanasia. I alway recommend opting for the behaviorist, it is my job to rehabilitate dogs. But you must make this difficult decision based on your finances, time and family obligations. Please leave me some feedback, and follow-up to let me know how you decide to proceed and if you need further help, you can email me. Thank you for writing. Regards, Susan