Dog that bites

Question
We have a golden/chow mix. He is sweet and loving to us. However, his behavior toward visitors - adults and children has not been good. He has bitten 2 adults and snapped at our niece (she tripped over him) and lunged at my sister, who he knows.

We are quite concerned and have not let our son have friends over. We brought in a in-home trainer who knows him, and he bit her and continued to show his teeth and growl during several sessions.  

We are at our wits end and not sure if we should return him.  

Thank you.

Answer
It looks like you are doing the right thing in getting an in home trainer,as that is usually what I recommend

But unfortunately some dogs have to muzzled at all times when other people are around,as it could become a dangerous situation

Also unfortunately,it would be unfair to return the dog to a shelter as it would sit there,or be adopted by someone and then seriously hurt,or even kill a child-and in that case that only thing that can be done is to have the animal put down-and i know it is not an easy choice,but if it is dangerous there isn't anything else that can be done

Now there are some things you can try before it gets to that point,such as seeing what the trainer can do,or putting a muzzle on the dog when people come over(or sending it outside) But if everything else fails you might have to make a tough decision-but don't do anything rash and weigh all of your options first and talk it over with your vet first to make sure you feel you are doing the right thing

A friend of mine had to have a German Shepherd put down for attacking people,and while it wasn't easy,she did what she had to protect her children,as people always come before animals,and unless a dog is being teased or hurt,there is no excuse for them to bite/attack people,and there's far too many good dogs that get put down in shelters everyday because of lack of homes to keep bad ones around