lab/chow bites

Question
I recently moved in with my boyfriend and within 3 months I have witnessed this 9 year old dog bite the cable guy while he was standing in the doorway.  He recently bit my 17 year old son as he was petting him on the head.  He has also snapped at my 21 year old daughter and if she didn't pull her hand back quick enough he would have bitten her as well.  This is the 3rd bite for this dog as he also bit a child in the face when he was younger.  My boyfriend wants to work with the dog.  I feel it needs to be removed from the home.  My boyfriend feels the bite was my son's fault.  what do you think about this??

Answer

Hi Donna,

Who's at fault is the dog's owner for allowing this situation to get this bad that so many people have been bitten. The dog is an animal, nothing is his "fault".

You should know that if you surrender this dog to a shelter, it will be destroyed. Dogs that have a history of biting don't get adopted. If your boyfriend is to keep the dog, both your boyfriend and the dog would benefit from working with a professional dog trainer, along with daily training sessions. Your vet or a local boarding kennel may be able to give you a referral to a trainer.

If you and your boyfriend (the entire household needs to commit to this) are unwilling or unable to train the dog, then you need to remove him from your home. That sounds very antiseptic, as the dog is a victim of poor socialization and either insufficient or no training, and will pay the ultimate price for something that's been beyond his control. You and your boyfriend have a responsibility to give this dog a second chance at life, and get him trained. If the dog hasn't yet been neutered, that would be the place to start, in getting this aggression problem under control. (Along with the training!)

Until the dog has been trained (which may take months), you need to get defensive and not allow the dog opportunities to bite. The may mean that the dog needs to wear a muzzle. A wire basket style muzzle is the most humane, it allows the dog to pant and also drink water while it's worn.

Best of luck,

Patti