[Bandit]

We picked up a beautiful stray male papillon, all white with black head. We tried every way we could, but no owner came forth. We've had him for several months. He is not aggressively a biter, but if my husband doesn't approach him just right, he has bitten him several times. The last time took two rounds of antibiotics and he had to have his finger lanced twice at the doctor's. We feared that my husband might develop osteomyelitis. Luckily, it healed okay after a long time. I am afraid of the dog and will not approach him. We had him neutered and that didn't help. Our vet says my husband is in denial that Bandit is not a good addition to our household. We have adopted 7 other dogs that needed a home and have fostered many many more who eventually found a home through Good Dog Rescue. We live in a suburb of Memphis (Germantown), TN.

Sorry this is so long, but thought history should be included. My husband has agreed to try to find any solution for this problem short of putting him down. I am willing to do that, and the vet agrees this would be appropriate, but my husband refuses.

HELP ????

Betty Dilley
GErmantown, TN
betty_dilley@comcast.net
(901) 309-0606

[Lara's mom]

I agree with your vet. It is completely unfair for you to be expected to live in a home with a dog that you're afraid of.

It would be unfair to attempt to rehome a dog with a major behavioral problem like this. You'd be passing along your problem to someone else and the chances of the new home working out are slim to none. The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the dog isn't comfortable in a multi-dog household. If it is at all possible, could you ask someone who has no other pets to foster him for a month or so and see if his behaviour improves when he is the only dog in the household?

Apart from that, your only other option if you have the time and the resources would be to hire a trainer to attempt to resolve this issue. A shelter or rescue organization would more than likely deem this dog unadoptable because of the biting issue. If both of these options fail, euthanasia may be the only option left to you.

[Yogi]

though I understand your frustration I honestly do not understand the concept of putting a dog down just because it bites. If that was the case, 6 of the dogs I rescued would have been put down had it not been for me interceding.
What little info you noted implies fear aggressive biting, not aggressive biting. This tells me that the little guy simply put is in a state of fright all the time and therefore is acting out of this fear. Dogs like this require a great deal of patience and time to allow them to feel secure in their surroundings as well as with people and other dogs. This is not an overnight or even a couple months thing. In my case each dog needed nearly a year to acclimate itself to a new home, dogs, people etc. During this transition, anything you do that induces a bite response generally can be linked back to something in the dogs past that it had to react by biting. By remembering these events in its past, it reacts to them now. By you remembering what things get him to react negatively should help you understand and then approach him in a different manner. Dogs like this need less hands on and allowance for the dog to come around when ready. Force handling only makes it worse.
At this point, simply let the dog to some degree, be. As time goes by he will come around, again when he feels comfortable that what ever has caused this is no longer a threat to him at least from you or your husband.
Papillons are very intelligent dogs that with understanding owners can learn quickly given the opportunity. Right now he needs the opportunity with patience and time. Putting him down should in no way even be considered. If so, I and many like me would not have many of the dogs we have had over the years.