Need some opinions

I'm a little troubled about what to do with my mother's german shepard/husky mix. He's a year and a half old. We live in a small house and this big dog is cooped up in the kitchen for 14-16 hours minimum a day. He barely gets walked because no one has time. You can tell he's depressed by the look on his face when you walk in the door. There's one more problem: he's been biting. Hes bitten my mother, myself and my little brother. When you take something away that he's chewing on that he isn't supposed to be (ex: the phone). Not too hard, until two days ago when my brother took something away from him and the dog attacked him. He bit him several times, fairly deep (my brother is only 11 years old).

I want my mom to give up the dog to someone who has more time, and a bigger house. He's extremely unhappy, and now vicious.

My mother has him sedated for a couple of months and says that the trainers have told her he can change if she gets him trained. She *says* that she will start walking him everyday (but she barely has time) and that she will be moving "soon."

What's your opinion?

 

He needs to be trained.. His biting will only get worse if she does not start walking and caring for him. Thats way to long to be locked up in a kitchen. He is having guarding issues(the biting when you take something). All of this should have been taught to him as a puppy. It can be fixed now but it will take LOTS of love and time. That's just my .02 worth.

 

We had a husky mix that did that.
It got worse until one day she bit my cat and my brother.
We had to get rid of her.
What will you do if he hurts someone bad or your cats.
Also my sister has a husky mix they do not belong cooped up.
She has to leave him outside because of how hyper he is.
He also has been through traning.

 

the training didn't work?

 

No it did not.
It might work you never know.

 

that type of dog is a working dog and they need attention in the form of work/exercise/training. They are very intelligent. The biting has to be stopped or he will be dangerous to anyone/anything around him. If your mom can not take care of his need for work, exercise and training, it does him no good....she should let him go to someone who will be good for him.

It's hard to give up, but it's in his best interest to let him go.

 

it doesn't matter how well trained a dog is.... if it sits alone, bored, for 14+ hours a day, it's going to act out! biting, chewing, destructive behaviors. especially high energy, intelligent breeds such as gsd's and huskies- they need EXERCISE! it is flat out cruel to keep ANY dog, let alone a dog like that isolated and pinned up for extended periods of time. if you heard that someone was keeping a sphynx locked alone in a small bathroom for that long, how would you react?

if your mom is unwilling/unable to provide this dog with the time, exercise, training, attention, and stimulation it needs, you need to rehome it with someone willing to put in the time and work. keeping a dog sedated because it is not getting enough attention is awful. it's like keeping a kid dosed up with cough medicine so you don't have to deal with them. "training" isn't a quick fix- it is a constant, on-going process. river is a very well trained dog, and a certified therapy dog. we do at least one brief training session a day, two or three times a week, and a formal obedience class once a year. even with all of this work, if i slack off for a week or two, she starts "forgetting". so you see, even with training, a well behaved dog takes WORK!

also, i would HIGHLY recommend a thorough vet exam, complete with blood work. sudden personality changes (and biting would definitely qualify) often indicates pain or some underlying medical condition.

 

Thanks so much. If I can get a few more responses I'm going to show her this thread. It's so frustrating. She says she'll walk the dog everyday now, when she hasn't before. What about when 6 months of winter comes around and she doesn't want to walk him then? Even if she walks him every day forever... he's still home alone most of the time. I talked her into letting him go, but she selfishly changed her mind.

 

I 100% agree with that.. My Great Dane has been in obedience class from the time he was 12 weeks old. He was 2 classes away from his CGC. Very well trained. I have been slacking off b/c of Blueberry and It show's. In 3 weeks he went from a obedience title to a jack A$$. We will start class again soon and he's almost 2. It's a life long process, not a quick fix..It's hard and very time consuming, and he was a pup when I started. Not a grown dog with issues. From the sounds of it the best thing your mom could do is find the right home for him..

 

I agree with Dragynflye, if you had just heard about that from someone else how would it make you feel?? Sometimes we're too close to the situations to see what is best for those involved. Saying she will walk the dog daily and doing it are two different things...what about all the other hours AND putting family members at risk? How would she feel if the dog bit someone badly enough that she was ordered to have him put to sleep? Surely that's crueler than finding him a new home where there are people to spend time with him and train him and, hopefully work him and keep him occupied.

Sometimes our own selfishness blights our objectivity and only causes more harm to everyone. I'm sorry to say it, there's nothing harder than giving up a beloved pet, but I think if she thought about what advice she would give someone in the position it would be the same advice we are giving now.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

X

 

I absolutely love dogs.

Even with daily walks, penned up alone for a large part of the day doesn't work for even the laziest dog. Until the underlying problem is addressed (bored and lonely) the undesired behaviors will continue to worsen even if the biting is fixed, He will find other ways to get the attention he needs, or he will functionally go 'feral'. If you can't devote 2 hours a day of active interaction (walking, playing fetch, or training) minimum to an active breed like this, you are asking for many problems.

long term sedation (I'm pretty sure) causes some pretty bad behavior issues as well. I know that using animal tranquilizers for any significant time period (months) can cause kidney and liver damage.

 

It sounds like this dog might have some food aggression problems which can be worked on but it takes alot of time and patience and dedication. Being locked in a cage for 16+ hours a day is no way for a dog to live. He could end up with some serious psychological issues and then it could be too late to help him. Also, if he bit your 11 year old brother more than once - why wait until something terrible to happen?! Your brother or yourself or your mother could be seriously injured. There are probably plenty of people in your area that would love a shepherd, husky cross. You could also contact a husky or shepherd rescue group and see if they would be willing to help. Dogs can do extremely well being crated but being crated for that many hours and not having any exercise or attention is neglectful and is not fair for the dog. Sorry to be so harsh. I hope for the dog's sake you can talk your mother into rehoming the dog before things get worse.

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

Thank you all, I'm going to be showing her this thread in hopes she will change her mind.