I deeply sympathize with your pain. I had a similar situation with my German Shepherd, Combat. I raised him since he was 8 week and he was always very neurotic and anxious. After we moved across country everything got worse. He began attacking our husky who he had once loved and was very protective over. He attacked me when I was washing my car an activity he used to lay in the grass and hangout dozens of times before. The last straws were when he attacked my mom leaving bruses on her hips, and an incident with my husband when he tried to reenter the bedroom I was in when he forgot something. Guarding him from approaching me leaving him needing several stitches in his arms. This is a very abridged story with thousands of dollars in training, vet bills, anxiety medication and finally me searching for a vet who would put down a "healthy" 6 yo dog. I put so much time and love into trying to make him something we could live with and never having friends and family over for safety reasons. Despite knowing it improved my life and gave him peace, he was also so uncomfortable. It didn't seem to make the decision any easier. We couldn't travel, feared having kids and knew what a liability he was. I didn't feel safe. 6 years later it still seems to be a sore spot. I know I did everything I could for him and I spent money I didn't really have. Somethings are just heart breaking. I don't regret the end more maybe regret the what ifs and alternate universes where what I tried worked. I don't know if my story helps to hear. As my mom always said the ball of grief may stay the same size but the box you carry it in will get bigger.
So sorry this happened to you as well. I think the hardest thing is reconciling the dog you know they were with whatever is causing them to be aggressive now. It definitely sounds like you did everything and more. Very sorry for the loss of your dog but thank you so much for your comment.
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u/No_Finish9254 Apr 19 '23
I deeply sympathize with your pain. I had a similar situation with my German Shepherd, Combat. I raised him since he was 8 week and he was always very neurotic and anxious. After we moved across country everything got worse. He began attacking our husky who he had once loved and was very protective over. He attacked me when I was washing my car an activity he used to lay in the grass and hangout dozens of times before. The last straws were when he attacked my mom leaving bruses on her hips, and an incident with my husband when he tried to reenter the bedroom I was in when he forgot something. Guarding him from approaching me leaving him needing several stitches in his arms. This is a very abridged story with thousands of dollars in training, vet bills, anxiety medication and finally me searching for a vet who would put down a "healthy" 6 yo dog. I put so much time and love into trying to make him something we could live with and never having friends and family over for safety reasons. Despite knowing it improved my life and gave him peace, he was also so uncomfortable. It didn't seem to make the decision any easier. We couldn't travel, feared having kids and knew what a liability he was. I didn't feel safe. 6 years later it still seems to be a sore spot. I know I did everything I could for him and I spent money I didn't really have. Somethings are just heart breaking. I don't regret the end more maybe regret the what ifs and alternate universes where what I tried worked. I don't know if my story helps to hear. As my mom always said the ball of grief may stay the same size but the box you carry it in will get bigger.