Rehoming or Euthanizing Dogs with Serious Bite Histories
ehavioural Euthanasia is a difficult topic. The topic evokes strong emotional responses in many of us, and rightly so. Choosing to end an animal’s life when they are ‘perfectly healthy’ is never an easy decision, or rather it shouldn’t be.
There are four ideas I consider when discussing behavioural euthanasia.
1 – If management/training fails, what risk does this dog pose?
If the dog ends up loose on the street is a person or another dog likely to get bit for simply existing on the street? Only if the person/dog approaches? How serious is the bite likely to be? Is a person or dog likely to be nipped at or actually killed?
2 – While training, how much management is needed to prevent the dog from biting?
Does the dog live in a single person home in the middle of nowhere with a secure 6′ fenced run? Does the dog live in an apartment with a family with children, many people coming and going throughout the day? Does the dog have to navigate apartment hallways and elevators to potty several times a day?
3 – Is the owner physically, financially, and emotionally able to care for, manage, and train this dog?
The dog’s wellbeing and quality of life matter, but sometimes we forget that the owner matters as well. An owner should not face financial instability or have to choose between their family and the dog.
4 – What is the dog’s quality of life?
It is important to remember that a dog may be physically healthy, but in mental anguish. Is the dog able to have their needs of basic exercise, mental stimulation, and social contact met? For anxious dogs, are they generally anxious about life or just in certain scenarios? How much of the dog’s life is spent in a state of high anxiety?
Rehoming?
Unfortunately, homes willing to take on dogs with bite histories are few and far between. There aren’t a lot of people on acreages in the middle of nowhere with secure fencing, no children, no other dogs, and no delivery people coming by.
Unless it is a very specific case of a mismatched home, I don’t usually recommend rehoming dogs with serious human directed aggression. Even with full disclosure to avoid liability, there is an ethical dilemma. Quite often, a person who would take on a dog as described likely does not have the experience to understand the full ramifications of owning a human-aggressive dog. People who have lived with dogs who bite people, typically never want to be in that boat again. Unfortunately, I have seen it far too often where a new owner does not understand the risk their new dog poses, doesn’t take the appropriate precautions, and another person or dog is injured by a dog with a known history.
Resources
Below are two helpful podcasts, a Facebook support group, and a blog post. These are the typical resources I share with clients considering behavioural euthanasia.
Muzzles can be used for many reasons. Certainly, if your dog is a bite risk to yourself, other people, or animals, consider a muzzle. I love to muzzle train my dogs in case of emergency. If your dog has a serious injury requiring veterinary care, the vet may need to use a muzzle.
Muzzling your dog can prevent:
Biting
Ingesting rocks and other inappropriate things
Too rough play
Play escalating to fights
Your dog should have enough room to pant fully. Picture a tennis ball in your dog’s mouth. Will the muzzle still fit? If not, it is too small.
Locally, the most common muzzle is the Baskerville. comes in a few sizes and fits some dogs well. If you have a dog who is a serious bite risk, a determined powerful dog and bend the Baskerville rubber and still bite.
Khaos Muzzles
These not bite-proof but they are pretty and useful for many dogs who do not pose a serious bite risk:
Here are two places to buy bite-proof muzzles. My preference it the first. The Jafco (second) might be a bit hot for long walks in summer.
Dean & Tyler Freedom Muzzle
They have amazing customer service. There is a measuring guideline on their website. Have a friend take pictures while you measure your dog. Send the images and measurements to them at support@deantylerllc.zohosupport.com They will help you choose the correct size.
I am often called to a home to see a dog with behaviour problems of one sort or another: Anxiety, reactivity, aggression, destructive or annoying behaviours. Often, even though their owner is trying, the dog’s basic needs are not being met. When a dog’s needs aren’t being met, you will very likely have behaviour problems. And until those needs are met, addressing behaviour challenges can be an uphill battle.
Here are two things I routinely find missing in a dog’s life:
Decompression Walks
Mental Stimulation
Decompression Walks
Sorry folks, doggy day care, wrestling with their best friend, and playing fetch don’t count. Neither does walking 5k on a 6′ leash. In fact, the more of these high intensity games your dog plays, the more he needs decompression walks. If you have a young dog that gets overexcited or anxious, that 5k walk around the neighbourhood, past the bus stop and the school might actually be doing more harm than good!
This is one of the most important pieces to having a mentally healthy dog. Many dogs living in towns don’t have the opportunity to use their bodies in a healthy, non-adrenalized way. Fetch and wrestling games are fun for many dogs, but too much and they create adrenaline junkies.
Any walks on a short (6′) leash often build tension rather than release it. Watch your dog’s gait walking on a street on a 6′ leash. Now watch them in a field on a 15′ leash. See the difference? Dogs require the ability to move freely through their gaits, choosing for themselves which gait to use, generally for an extended period of time.
Healthy movement for your dog is either off leash or on a long line (15’ – 30’) and trotting around sniffing and peeing and just ‘being a dog’ in nature.
Do you have a quiet country street, trail, logging road, or field where you can take your dog for decompression walks? As an adult, a good two hours doing this a few times a week is ideal. Evaluate your pup’s age and fitness level to decide how long you should walk for. When in doubt, ask your vet how long it is appropriate for your puppy to amble along beside you.
Mental Stimulation
What has your dog done today that used his brain? Have you taught him a new trick? Practiced some obedience, nosework, or agility? Even old dogs need mental stimulation. A 1 year old border collie is going to need more than a 12 year old pug, but all dogs benefit from using their brains.
A simple way to add a little stimulation is to buy a set of food puzzles. Rather than feed your dog from a dish, use Kongs, Toppls, food puzzles, snuffle mats, or even sprinkle your dog’s meal in the grass for them to sniff out.
If you sat down every day and did the same crossword puzzle, it would cease being mental stimulation after a short time. Rotate your dog’s feeding toys to keep it fresh!
I attempted to make a video showing you how to handle a dog who growls, lip curls or otherwise threatens you when you try to take their bone or toy. I’ve worked hard on Riker’s resource guarding and he was such a good boy! He was tense and a little anxious, but did not feel too threatened by my hands near his treat.
In the video I talk about why never to punish a growl and some other tidbits.
If your pup is growling or in other ways guarding their treasures, please let me know and I will help you fix it!
If you have a dog classified as ‘reactive’ or ‘aggressive’, you probably are either working on better obedience or on a counter conditioning program.
Obedience training programs
This program helps you keep your dog’s attention as you pass other dogs, as children run by, as dogs bark ringside etc. We see a lot of sport dog people using this approach and you might hear them say “watch me” or “right here” a lot. This program teaches your dog that there is a lot of value in YOU and they shouldn’t look at the other dog, scary/fun person, squirrel or whatever it is that causes the lack of focus.
The Geeky Stuff This is what we call Operant Conditioning based on the work of B.F. Skinner. We create value in voluntary behaviours such as giving eye contact, sits, downs, doing tricks, etc.
The problems?
Tension, stress, and frustration are often built into the obedience behaviours. This usually is a side-effect of working too close to the triggers and trying to coerce the dogs to pay attention. Coercion can come in the form of leash pressure and a stern voice, or even as a high value treat or toy lure. For more on food as coercion, check out Cog Dog Radio Episode about coercion
The second problem I commonly see is that the dogs don’t know how to actually interact with other dogs, people etc. We sometimes see these dogs behaving seemingly OK, then BAM! the offender is too close and the dog in training explodes in fear, fury, or extreme exuberance. Your dog can only ignore the trigger for so long, or until they actually touch or sniff him.
Counter Conditioning Programs
Do the Look At That Game or BAT sound familiar? Have you been told to feed your dog while he is under threshold and looking at the trigger? The basic premise of these games is that you feed, pet, or otherwise reinforce your dog for looking at or being near the trigger, moving away before your dog goes over threshold.
The Geeky Stuff This is what we call Classical Conditioning based on the work of Pavlov. You remember him? The guy with the bells and the drooling dogs. In classical conditioning programs, we use food to create new reflexive/automatic responses in the presence of a trigger.
The problems?
Sometimes we accidentally train our dogs to stare at the triggers. Oops! I may be guilty of doing this.
Secondly, the world is not generally designed with your reactive Fido in mind. People come around corners, dogs are off leash where they shouldn’t be, and sometimes we misjudge what our dog is capable of and they go over threshold. You DEFINITELY need a management plan to get you and your dog out of trouble when this happens. Oh hey.. you know what might work? Some of that obedience and ignoring triggers from that other plan!
What do we do?
Part 1
Being able to manage our dogs by walking them past triggers, even if they aren’t up for interacting with them is a great tool that would improve the quality of life of many people and many dogs. When we teach these obedience skills, we cannot simply focus on the behaviour our dog is doing. We must also consider how the dog is feeling. The emotions we see in the dog while training become a part of the behaviours.
How do you know what your dog is feeling? At best, we can take a guess. If you watch your dog performing known behaviours at home or in low stress environments, are they fast? Is there any delay between when you ask for the behaviour and when they do it? For your dog’s skill level and personality, what is ‘normal’ response time? Be sure to work from far enough away that your dog is able to respond just as quickly as at home. If your dog can perform the behaviours fluently, you know you can move a little closer.
Part 2
Allow your dog to look at triggers, but from very far away. You will likely do this piece from a greater distance than you were in Part 1. If you notice your dog hard staring or becoming too excited/alert, BEFORE they meltdown or start lunging/barking use some of those skills from Part 1 to get their attention and move away. We don’t want to practice staring or having a tense body in response to the triggers. The behaviours we see the dog offering while training become a part of the end behaviour.
The Geeky Stuff As much as there are two camps about Classical or Operant Conditioning, Pavlov and Skinner are teammates. You can’t have one without the other. In an operant training program, as long as you believe dogs have feelings, they are feeling something. Those feelings are being woven into the behaviours we are training. In a classical conditioning program, unless he is dead, your dog is performing behaviours. We usually are reading those behaviours to take guesses as to what our dogs are feeling. Those behaviours are becoming a part of the program.
In Summary
When training always consider how your dog is feeling AND the behaviours they are actually doing. Behaviours and feelings go together – you cannot have one without the other. As trainers, we will be much better if we keep our minds open to the larger picture.
Reinforcement drives behaviour & most dogs love eating so food is an easy reinforcer.
Food allows us to reward quickly and many times in a minute. The more reps we can get in, the faster we and our dogs will learn.
But Can Treats Be TOO High Value?
Yes. We want to use valuable reinforcers, but not reinforcers that our dogs don’t think they can live without. For most training scenarios, the best treats or toys are ones our dog finds valuable, but not so valuable that they would endanger themselves to get them. Sarah Stremming explains this beautifully in her Cog-Dog Radio episode When Positive Reinforcement is Coercive.
On a personal note, I have made this mistake with Riker (anxious) and Enzo (confident). I used very high stakes food when training Riker, and he was participating in shows at fairs in front of hundreds of people. I was unintentionally coercing him and it soon backfired. With his training since then, I use medium value food and always consider his emotional state, allowing him a safe way to opt out of training.
With Enzo it was Tug! Tug! Tug! The poor guy could not think in agility since for him, tug really is life or death. I had to put a lot of time into teaching Enzo to eat around agility equipment, but now we can use a lot of food as reinforcement rather than always tug.
Anxious Dog?
If your dog is worried about the world, using treats so valuable they ignore the outside world can create many problems. If your dog needs those treats so bad that they are willing to put themselves in harms way to get it, you effectively remove choice for the dog. The right level of food for anxious dogs is one that the dog wants but that he can live without. Especially when we are asking our dog to do something they feel is risky, we need to build consent into the training process.
Coercing a dog into situations using too high value food can cause your dog to:
Have Explosive reactivity
Shut Down
Bolt
Some reinforcers can be far to important to the dog to be fair to use. I want my dog to always be able to say no to a behaviour they feel is risky.
Difficult Task?
When training difficult skills, if your dog is confident but feels he cannot live without the treats you are offering your dog is likely to be frantic and less thoughtful. If you are using a too high reinforcer in agility, you might see knocked bars, spinning, and biting the handler. In obedience work you might get jumping, mouthing, & barking.
Conclusion
In short, watch your dog. If the reinforcer you are using is a matter of life or death for your dog, put it away and choose a different option. We use positive reinforcement to create happy and willing dogs because coercion builds anxiety and stress into our training. Be fair to your dog and always consider their emotional state, not only the behaviour we are trying to achieve.
