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The Most Common Dog Problem
Behavior, Behavior, Behavior.....
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 destroyed.
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. We can help you with them if
you'll give it a try. GSRNE can assist you via email in helping your
dog become a good canine citizen and an “easier to live with” family member.
Don't hesitate to write us a note, and one of our volunteer will be happy to
give you some tips and leads in order to help you resolve the problems you
may have with your dog. If
someone here is not available to help, we will then point you towards an
outside source of help.
If Your Dog Has Ever Bitten Anyone
If your
dog is aggressive with people or has ever bitten anyone, you shouldn't 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.
If
after reading all this you still want to find a new home for your dog, there
are some important things you need to know:
The Reality of German
Shepherd Adoption
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