About to get rid of our dog

5089 Views 32 Replies 17 Participants Last post by adogslife, Jun 10, 2020

Yz_ThaiRidgeback_Owner

Discussion Starter · Mar 16, 2020

So, a couple months ago we acquired a Thai Ridgeback puppy. He's now 5 months old. Typical puppy stuff was expected but his nipping was extra bad and he would get into crazy moods where his "Zooming" was always accompanied by biting and "spar" fighting like we're in his pack. But nothing mean or aggressive just rough playing. The only "aggressive" thing he does is growl when he's tired and grumpy, but he's gotten better with that. He has gotten WAY better with nipping and play fighting too and just yesterday and also early today he seemed more calm and nice than ever. We have three young kids and he's been nice to them even with them all over him.
But later today he was growling a lot but we didn't seem to concerned. And my little girl went to pet him while he was laying down and he growled and snapped at her and bit her on the leg. Just a really quick bite that didn't break skin (a lot of his puppy teeth are gone at the moment), but there is a bruise and a mark. I threw him outside and had a talk with him and he looked very submissive and sorry. But now we're pretty much done with him....Any thoughts or wisdom for me?
Thanks for your time.

1 - 20 of 33 Posts

pandora

· #2 · Mar 16, 2020

Time to train the children.. Sorry but have you never heard the expression let sleeping dogs lie? It means leave them alone or you could get BITTEN.
Your daughter was in the wrong, the dog was trying to rest and she disturbed him...You were wrong for not controling the situation yet the dog is getting the blame for this,...Not really fair is it?
We expect a lot from dogs and expecting them to have total control over emotions at just a few months is just asking way too much.

Puppies bite, they teeth, and they chew, its natural.
Take the time to go to puppy classes learn about puppy behaviour and biting teach bite control ie to help him know and understand when its not appropriate and teach your children that when the pup is resting he is resting and not to be touched, this link is to a good tutorial about puppy biting

However if you de decide you need to rehome your dog I would suggest you take a good long look at your own situation and manybe refrain from getting another dog until your children are old enough to behave responsibly around it,

See less See more

Reactions: 5

Knute

· #3 · Mar 16, 2020

It is probably best for you to give up the dog. Seek out Rescue groups or No Kill Shelters.

Your family is not ready for a dog with this personality and temperament. If you want a dog, I'd suggest a more reserved temperament animal breed.....like a fish or a pet rock.

Reactions: 5

Yz_ThaiRidgeback_Owner

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 16, 2020

pandora said:
Time to train the children.. Sorry but have you never heard the expression let sleeping dogs lie? It means leave them alone or you could get BITTEN.
Your daughter was in the wrong, the dog was trying to rest and she disturbed him...You were wrong for not controling the situation yet the dog is getting the blame for this,...Not really fair is it?
We expect a lot from dogs and expecting them to have total control over emotions at just a few months is just asking way too much.

Puppies bite, they teeth, and they chew, its natural.
Take the time to go to puppy classes learn about puppy behaviour and biting teach bite control ie to help him know and understand when its not appropriate and teach your children that when the pup is resting he is resting and not to be touched, this link is to a good tutorial about puppy biting

However if you de decide you need to rehome your dog I would suggest you take a good long look at your own situation and manybe refrain from getting another dog until your children are old enough to behave responsibly around it,

Thanks for your response. I want to clear up that my dog wasn't sleeping at the time this happened, he was laying down chewing on a bone. My daughter was in the wrong for trying to pet him? Do you have kids?

Yz_ThaiRidgeback_Owner

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 16, 2020

Your co

Knute said:
It is probably best for you to give up the dog. Seek out Rescue groups or No Kill Shelters.

Your family is not ready for a dog with this personality and temperament. If you want a dog, I'd suggest a more reserved temperament animal breed.....like a fish or a pet rock.

Your comment is not helpful though I did chuckle a bit.

LeoRose

· #6 · Mar 16, 2020

Thai Ridgebacks are a fairly primitive breed, which are typically even more challenging than more domesticated breeds. If you can't, or don't want to, work with him, then returning him to his breeder is probably your best option. In fact, it may be you legal obligation, since good breeders have it in their contract that they dog be returned to them if you can't keep it.

If you rehome him privately or turn him over to a rescue, he needs to be neutered beforehand, regardless of age.

Yz_ThaiRidgeback_Owner

Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 16, 2020

Yz_ThaiRidgeback_Owner said:
Thanks for your response. I want to clear up that my dog wasn't sleeping at the time this happened, he was laying down chewing on a bone. My daughter was in the wrong for trying to pet him? Do you have kids?

LeoRose said:
Thai Ridgebacks are a fairly primitive breed, which are typically even more challenging than more domesticated breeds. If you can't, or don't want to, work with him, then returning him to his breeder is probably your best option. In fact, it may be you legal obligation, since good breeders have it in their contract that they dog be returned to them if you can't keep it.

If you rehome him privately or turn him over to a rescue, he needs to be neutered beforehand, regardless of age.

Thanks LeoRose. The guy I bought him from isn't a professional breeder. It was his only time doing it. He got the parents from Thailand through connections his Thai wife has. He already said he wouldn't be willing to take him back but he does know of other people interested in him so he's working on it now for me.

Knute

· #8 · Mar 16, 2020

Ok....you want more help.

Seriously, neither you nor your family is ready for a dog of this nature. I have a well adjusted, trained and socialized dog. I will not disturb him when he is eating or sleeping.

My suggestion is for you to find a more reserved animal is serious. As a first animal your family is not educated nor experienced for a primitive breed like a Ridgeback. Your household would likely be more suited for a Golden Retriever.

In addition, your breeder appears to a backyard amateur operation. I doubt if any health or temperament checks were performed on the parents. I even have doubts if the pups had health check.

No sense blaming the dog for the errors of the family or breeder.

Good luck.

Reactions: 3

RonE

· #9 · Mar 16, 2020

My son's 8-pound dog is next to me on the couch. Normally very affectionate, but if she growls, she's telling me I'm doing something she doesn't like. The growling is a warning - a shot across the bow - and should never be ignored or punished. If I were to persist, she would bite and I would deserve it.

Most often, she's resource guarding. Sometimes she just wants to be left alone.

This behaviour isn't acceptable but we make accommodations. Her social interactions are very limited. She's not around children (though, oddly, she's quite good around children.)

My point is. I would never disturb her when she has a bone or a toy or is eating or sleeping, and she is eight pounds. To do any of these things with a dog like a Thai Ridgeback would be a death wish unless that dog has been trained by someone much more expert than me.

It's not your daughter's fault, or the dog's or even yours. Sounds like a basic misunderstanding regarding the potential of a formidable dog.

Reactions: 1

Yz_ThaiRidgeback_Owner

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 16, 2020

Knute said:
Ok....you want more help.

Seriously, neither you nor your family is ready for a dog of this nature. I have a well adjusted, trained and socialized dog. I will not disturb him when he is eating or sleeping.

My suggestion is for you to find a more reserved animal is serious. As a first animal your family is not educated nor experienced for a primitive breed like a Ridgeback. Your household would likely be more suited for a Golden Retriever.

In addition, your breeder appears to a backyard amateur operation. I doubt if any health or temperament checks were performed on the parents. I even have doubts if the pups had health check.

No sense blaming the dog for the errors of the family or breeder.

Good luck.

We had two very well behaved Pit Bulls but they were adults by the time the kids came. They were always great so this new puppy growls and bites are a bit of a surprise to us. The parents had papers from the Thailand version AKC, and our puppy has had all his shots and checks. And yes he is a really good dog in all other aspects, so someone, hopefully without kids, is going top get an awesome dog.

Reactions: 1

pandora

· #11 · Mar 16, 2020

Chewing a bone OMG ... NEVER EVER let a child touch a dog while they are eating...

I really think you should find and experienced home for this dog . I am not being mean but you and your family are clearly not ready for a dog of any kind let alone one like this.. Please please please for the sake of the dog find a good home for him.

If you dont one of your kids will end up bitten and the dog will end up dead because you are not ready to take this kind of responsibilty

Reactions: 2

Yz_ThaiRidgeback_Owner

Discussion Starter · #12 · Mar 16, 2020

pandora said:
Chewing a bone OMG ... NEVER EVER let a child touch a dog while they are eating...

I really think you should find and experienced home for this dog . I am not being mean but you and your family are clearly not ready for a dog of any kind let alone one like this.. Please please please for the sake of the dog find a good home for him.

If you dont one of your kids will end up bitten and the dog will end up dead because you are not ready to take this kind of responsibility

Some "reputable" trainers say to get a dog used to stuff like that when they're young so they won't be possessive aggressive..Same thing with socializing them around kids and other dogs..

LittleFr0g

· #13 · Mar 16, 2020

Yz_ThaiRidgeback_Owner said:
Some "reputable" trainers say to get a dog used to stuff like that when they're young so they won't be possessive aggressive..Same thing with socializing them around kids and other dogs..

If they say that, honestly, they aren't very reputable. Messing with a dog's food and treats while it's trying to eat does nothing but create resource guarding where there was none before. You want to teach your dog that it never needs to fear you taking it's food, teach it to trade up for better treats, etc. And allowing children to harass puppies and climb all over them as pups will cause aggression down the road as it's signals that it's uncomfortable and wants to be left alone are ignored, and it's forced to resort to stronger and stronger measures to get it's point across.

Reactions: 2

Yz_ThaiRidgeback_Owner

Discussion Starter · #14 · Mar 16, 2020

LittleFr0g said:
If they say that, honestly, they aren't very reputable. Messing with a dog's food and treats while it's trying to eat does nothing but create resource guarding where there was none before. You want to teach your dog that it never needs to fear you taking it's food, teach it to trade up for better treats, etc. And allowing children to harass puppies and climb all over them as pups will cause aggression down the road as it's signals that it's uncomfortable and wants to be left alone are ignored, and it's forced to resort to stronger and stronger measures to get it's point across.

That makes a lot of sense, thanks for the response!

parus

· #15 · Mar 16, 2020

Reacting badly to being disturbed when asleep or when eating are extremely common dog behaviors, even in otherwise tractable dogs. If your kids are too young/unruly to refrain from doing this, I strongly recommend you don't get another dog until they're older, as you have a good chance of running into the same problem. Sounds like you lucked out with the two pit bulls - what happened to them, out of curiosity?

Yz_ThaiRidgeback_Owner said:
We have three young kids and he's been nice to them even with them all over him.

Don't let small kids "be all over" a dog. Dogs are fine with it until they aren't, and then people get bitten. It's generally possible to teach even small children how to appropriately handle a dog. This is for the kids' general good - they will encounter snappy dogs in their life, even if their own pet dog is a pushover, so they should have good dog interaction habits.

But later today he was growling a lot but we didn't seem to concerned. And my little girl went to pet him while he was laying down and he growled and snapped at her and bit her on the leg. Just a really quick bite that didn't break skin (a lot of his puppy teeth are gone at the moment), but there is a bruise and a mark.

In this dog's defense, he tried really hard. He didn't want to hurt anyone. He was warning all day that he was fed up, and that was ignored. Then when he did get pushed too far, he used a tiny fraction of his actual biting power. This could have been much uglier if the dog was less stable.

I do think he should get rehomed in a home without young kids (even if he wasn't bad about kids in the first place, this handling might have soured him on children) but he doesn't sound like a dangerous dog. I hope you'll make the effort to ensure he ends up somewhere safe and good.

See less See more

Reactions: 3

Yz_ThaiRidgeback_Owner

Discussion Starter · #16 · Mar 16, 2020

parus said:
Reacting badly to being disturbed when asleep or when eating are extremely common dog behaviors, even in otherwise tractable dogs. If your kids are too young/unruly to refrain from doing this, I strongly recommend you don't get another dog until they're older, as you have a good chance of running into the same problem. Sounds like you lucked out with the two pit bulls - what happened to them, out of curiosity?

Don't let small kids "be all over" a dog. Dogs are fine with it until they aren't, and then people get bitten. It's generally possible to teach even small children how to appropriately handle a dog. This is for the kids' general good - they will encounter snappy dogs in their life, even if their own pet dog is a pushover, so they should have good dog interaction habits.

In this dog's defense, he tried really hard. He didn't want to hurt anyone. He was warning all day that he was fed up, and that was ignored. Then when he did get pushed too far, he used a tiny fraction of his actual biting power. This could have been much uglier if the dog was less stable.

I do think he should get rehomed in a home without young kids (even if he wasn't bad about kids in the first place, this handling might have soured him on children) but he doesn't sound like a dangerous dog. I hope you'll make the effort to ensure he ends up somewhere safe and good.

The Pit Bulls got old and were put down at a ripe old age. They were great and now my wife compares every dog to those..
Man this sucks, I would love to keep this guy.. Just today he was up on my wife's office chair chewing something and he knows he's not allowed to do that. He wouldn't get down so she pulled him down and he growled at her...We have been giving him treats when we remove him from a spot that has potential to get him angry.. That seemed to moderately work.

pandora

· #17 · Mar 17, 2020

Yz_ThaiRidgeback_Owner said:
Some "reputable" trainers say to get a dog used to stuff like that when they're young so they won't be possessive aggressive..Same thing with socializing them around kids and other dogs..

No reputable trainer would say that although some tv star trainer or old school ones might thats why its important to stay up to date and not be fooled by Tv antics.

At the moneht it sucks and youre dissapointed but youve read all the posts here and they are all saying the same. For your family and most of all for the dogs sake find a more suitable home for him.

Reactions: 2

3GSD4IPO

· #18 · Mar 17, 2020

It is really very simple. When the dog is chewing something of eating something the kids must be trained to leave the dog alone. I learned it at age 3 with a Beagle we had. Do not touch him when he is in his bed, when he is gnawing something or when he is eating. That is the rule.

Meanwhile, yes. I would send this dog down the road and I would not get another dog because the fact is it is the children that need more training. All that nonsense of being able to take food away from a dog is just that. Nonsense. That food is his.

If you MUST take something the dog has the deal is to trade for it. You must have something better than what the dog has and trade for it. Merely taking it without a trade is unfair and the dog learns you cannot be trusted. And, if the dog is minding his own business gnawing something leave him alone. No petting. Not pestering. No poking. Just let him have "his time" too.

Reactions: 3

InkedMarie

· #19 · Mar 17, 2020

I don’t allow my grand kids to even pet my well mannered, friendly dogs without me saying it’s okay and being right there. Back when my kids were small, there was no internet and I doubt even trainers. Both got bit by our sheltie. One crawled under the hope chest, which was the dogs spot. Other son pushed dog down when he tried to get food from his plate.

Even then, in the 80’s, I blamed the kids.

You aren’t ready for a dog, yet. Before you get another, please find a positive trainer. No positive, reputable trainer would say what yours said. By the way, if you’re a Cesar Milan fan....do some research. You’ll change your mind.

Reactions: 2

Yz_ThaiRidgeback_Owner

Discussion Starter · #20 · Mar 17, 2020

Ok everyone thanks for the responses. Though most of your responses are pretty pompous it's ok because dog owners, like parents love to say their way is best..It's very conflicting considering everyones "expert" opinion here and many other places. I'm like...well you can't all be right.. lol.. But thanks for the feedback.. After speaking with several Thai Ridgeback breeders and owners (Not here) apparently some are good with kids and some simply are not. So we've decided to rehome him. And your feedback was extra good because I've realized we were very spoiled with our two Pit Bulls that we previously had and we shouldn't necessarily expect other dogs to naturally be that good and easy to train. Thanks guys!

Reactions: 1

1 - 20 of 33 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.