camily said:
I have a friend with a yellow lab that needs to place him. He is almost a year old and UTD on everything. He is also neutered. I am going to try to get a pic to post. Here's the deal though...the famiy had company and the dog a kid. No stitches but it was a clear bite. This dog would be great on a farm with no kids. Please, if anyone has room, let me know. He was being protective I feel. He has been raised with kids and will be a year old in April. He is my Pastors dog and he just can't take the risk as they have kids over alot. Vet records available.
If the dog bit the kid for absolutely no reason, rehoming him may not be the best option. You never know when a kid will come around for a visit regardless of where he's placed.
Behavior problems...
If you got your dog as a puppy and he now has a behavior problem you can't live with, you must accept the fact that you are at least partly responsible for the way your dog is now.
You have 4 options:
1. You can continue to live with your dog the way he is.
2. You can get help to correct the problem.
3. You can try to give your problem to someone else.
4. You can have the dog euthanized.
Obviously the first option is out or you wouldn't be reading this page. You're probably most interested in Option 3 so let's talk frankly about that for a moment.
If you were looking for a dog and could select from all kinds of dogs and puppies, would you deliberately choose one with a behavior problem? No, certainly not - and neither would anyone else. To make your dog desirable to other people, you're going to have to take some action to fix his problems.
Most behavior problems aren't that hard to solve. Think hard about Option 2 before deciding it won't work for you - because the only option you have left is number 4: Having the dog euthanized. That's the bottom line. If you, who know and love the dog best, won't give him another chance, why should anyone else? Think about that.
IF YOUR DOG HAS EVER BITTEN ANYONE...
If your dog is aggressive with people or has ever bitten anyone, you can't, in good conscience, give him to anyone else. Could you live with yourself if that dog hurt another person, especially a child? Can you deal with the lawsuit that could result from it? You stand to lose your home and everything else you own. Lawsuits from dog bites are settling for millions of dollars in damages.
Our society today has zero tolerance for a dog with a bite history, no matter how minor. A dog that has bitten - whether or not it was his fault - is considered by law to be a dangerous dog. In some states, it's illegal to sell or give away a biting dog. No insurance company will cover a family with a biting dog. And to be perfectly honest, no responsible person in his right mind would want to adopt a biting dog.
No matter how much you love your dog, if he has ever bitten anyone, you only have two responsible choices - take him to a professional trainer or behaviorist for evaluation and maybe the dog can be rehabilitated. This could be costly and time consuming but could be very rewarding. If this is not an option for you, take him to your veterinarian and have him humanely euthanized. Don't leave him at a shelter where he might be frightened and confused and put other people at risk. Don't try to place him as a "guard dog" where he might be neglected, abused or used for dog fighting.
As hard as it is to face, putting a potentially dangerous biting dog to sleep is often the only safe and responsible thing to do.
For a dog that young, it would be worthwhile to take him to obed classes and try to see if there really is a problem..if it can be worked with, was the bite provoked (Did the kid do anything to antagonize the dog, back him in a corner w/ no way out while poking him in the eyes, anything at all?)