- Joined
- Apr 11, 2013
- Messages
- 5,369
- Name
- Tim
Today is the day that my wife and I are basically forced to put my sweet boy Chibbs down. I’ve never had to anything like this before and it’s conpletely fucking eating away at me. In less than 2 hours, he will be gone.
He is a 2 year old Pitbull, and up until the last 2 months, has been the sweetest dog I’ve ever known. I know all owners say that, but he was such a sweet, protective animal.
About two months ago, he started will following strangers to him around staring at them, but never more. Then he started adding growing and eventually snarling. I figured, he was doing his job, he didn’t know them and my kids were outside, he was making sure they knew that if they stepped out of line, they would deal with him. Hell I was almost proud of him. Then 3 weeks ago a neighbors lab was walking the road we live on(we live in the country, down gravel roads, everyone has several acres and the dogs just kinda explore, never a big deal.) Well, Chibbs went after the dog and had him pinned down in the corner of the barn. He didn’t bite him but wouldn’t let him move. The dog has pissed all over the place and was shaking out of so much fear. We easily pulled Chibbs away and he went about his business, again, I thought he was simply setting boundaries with this dog so he knew.
Then 2 weeks ago, he began going after the horses. Biting at their legs and chasing them. Not in a playful way either. This wasn’t such a shock to me, he’s never really been a fan of theirs but he has always stayed out of their pasture. He decided enough was enough I guess and he made his move.
The final straw came Thursday. A 10 year old boy was walking our road, his father has family on the road and was working the land a bit. The boy was just exploring a bit. Chibbs saw him on the road and went sprinting from about 200 yards away and went after the boy, he didn’t bite him, but he was snarling and barking and growling. Circling the boy in what I assume was an attempt to get him from the back. I wasn’t home, but my mother in law was there and got him back and disciplined him. She said that after that happened, he gave her a look that made her very uneasy, like a “touch me again bitch” kind of a look.
When myself, my wife or my children are around, he is sill our sweet baby. But I knew we needed to talk to someone. I called the vet and explained what was happening and asked for advice. She almost immediately said that this isn’t that uncommon, but unfortunately we don’t have a small dog, we have a 90 lb pit. She said her recommendation is going to be putting him down. But she wanted us to speak with a. Behavior Specialist before we made any decisions.
After we spoke to her and explained what had all happened she confirmed that it is most likely a territorial dominance thing. That’s why to this point he hadn’t bitten anyone but he has been letting them know who’s boss. She said that it’s not really reversible and will only get worse, that unfortunately the responsible thing to do would be to have him down before he takes it to the next level and that re-homing him isn’t an option at this point either.
I feel I failed him somewhere along the way. I’m not sure how to feel about it all. Beyond sad, maybe a little angry. Part of me completely understands and part of me feels like I’m giving up too soon. I’m sorry for such a long post, I just needed to vent this out a little bit. Thank you to all who took the time to listen.
I will miss you buddy!
He is a 2 year old Pitbull, and up until the last 2 months, has been the sweetest dog I’ve ever known. I know all owners say that, but he was such a sweet, protective animal.
About two months ago, he started will following strangers to him around staring at them, but never more. Then he started adding growing and eventually snarling. I figured, he was doing his job, he didn’t know them and my kids were outside, he was making sure they knew that if they stepped out of line, they would deal with him. Hell I was almost proud of him. Then 3 weeks ago a neighbors lab was walking the road we live on(we live in the country, down gravel roads, everyone has several acres and the dogs just kinda explore, never a big deal.) Well, Chibbs went after the dog and had him pinned down in the corner of the barn. He didn’t bite him but wouldn’t let him move. The dog has pissed all over the place and was shaking out of so much fear. We easily pulled Chibbs away and he went about his business, again, I thought he was simply setting boundaries with this dog so he knew.
Then 2 weeks ago, he began going after the horses. Biting at their legs and chasing them. Not in a playful way either. This wasn’t such a shock to me, he’s never really been a fan of theirs but he has always stayed out of their pasture. He decided enough was enough I guess and he made his move.
The final straw came Thursday. A 10 year old boy was walking our road, his father has family on the road and was working the land a bit. The boy was just exploring a bit. Chibbs saw him on the road and went sprinting from about 200 yards away and went after the boy, he didn’t bite him, but he was snarling and barking and growling. Circling the boy in what I assume was an attempt to get him from the back. I wasn’t home, but my mother in law was there and got him back and disciplined him. She said that after that happened, he gave her a look that made her very uneasy, like a “touch me again bitch” kind of a look.
When myself, my wife or my children are around, he is sill our sweet baby. But I knew we needed to talk to someone. I called the vet and explained what was happening and asked for advice. She almost immediately said that this isn’t that uncommon, but unfortunately we don’t have a small dog, we have a 90 lb pit. She said her recommendation is going to be putting him down. But she wanted us to speak with a. Behavior Specialist before we made any decisions.
After we spoke to her and explained what had all happened she confirmed that it is most likely a territorial dominance thing. That’s why to this point he hadn’t bitten anyone but he has been letting them know who’s boss. She said that it’s not really reversible and will only get worse, that unfortunately the responsible thing to do would be to have him down before he takes it to the next level and that re-homing him isn’t an option at this point either.
I feel I failed him somewhere along the way. I’m not sure how to feel about it all. Beyond sad, maybe a little angry. Part of me completely understands and part of me feels like I’m giving up too soon. I’m sorry for such a long post, I just needed to vent this out a little bit. Thank you to all who took the time to listen.
I will miss you buddy!
