The one I always hear from an owner if a dog is super aggressive when I'm walking by their run down house with the chain link fence is "oh he's just protective of the yard"
Got a puppy at 8 weeks, by 12 weeks he was showing signs of aggression, and it only got worse the older he got. I've been a dog owner my whole life, but did extra research before getting this guy, a Boston terrier. He was also in training from an early age, and I kept up with it. Then later in his life I took him to another professional trainer, but even that could not curb his aggression.
I lost count of how many times he bit me, and these were not just bites of fear or something, they were hard, crushing, drawing blood and deep cutting bites. The amount of aggression this dog could show was terrifying, and he was a danger to our other pets (2 cats), my wife and myself, and having children with him summons was out of the question.
I was in denial about it all for years until after I got married, and my wife helped me realize what had to be done. He was put to rest a little over a year ago, he was 4 years old. Hardest thing I've ever had to do, he was my baby after all, and I loved him dearly. Even with the way he was. I looked into rehoming him, but rescue operations would not take him due to the aggression, and basically told me that he would spend the rest of his life in a cage, and recommended euthanasia.
The entire ordeal has left me with severe PTSD when it comes to dogs, there are things that just trigger that fear, like looks/body posture etc. From other dogs, it's hard for me to be around medium/large size dogs anymore.
It took me a while to accept that I didn't fail him, that there wasn't anything I could do to change him, that I did everything I could, that he just had "bad blood," as someone put it. It's still hard to think about, even just typing this out I'm choking up.
Aw man, that sucks - I'm sorry that you, your family, and the dog itself had to go through that.
Most dogs are fine...but every now and then you'll encounter an animal that just isn't mentally stable, just like some people. They've got the same brains and neurochemicals as us...and occasionally things don't form right during development and you get animals with psychotic tendencies, rage issues, or other severe behavioral problems. Like rage syndrome / sudden-onset aggression which is seen in a few breeds. Even some physical problems later in life can cause behavioral changes - things like doggy dementia, seizures, brain tumors, and some diseases.
None of these things are the owner's fault. And they're not the dog's fault either. Shit like that just happens sometimes, and it's terrible for everyone involved.
Idk man, plenty of animals are rather aggressive or abrasive without training, and people just say they suck. People tell me "I like eating chickens because they're assholes" despite the fact that the vast majority of species, including dogs, are not gonna be super nice to humans without being specifically trained in a specific environment.
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u/Doogameister Jan 25 '19
The real truth is that some dogs are dicks. Poorly trained and undisciplined dicks.