advice on adopting dog with protective issue

[Mum2mutts]

I am asking this question for a friend, as I have no experience with an issue like this.
My friend is NOT a dog person (likes dogs- she was my room mate for several years) and her children, ages 8- 15 ish really want a dog.
She e mailed me today wth the following question


"I have been debating about getting a dog. I heard of someone close by who has a male 15 month beagle looking to give away. This is the issue... The dog has become protective of their baby where it now growls at people & is acting more like a guard dog. They have a new baby on the way & are afraid that it will not accept the new baby or become very protective of their one child. They have brought the dog to two special trainings to work with it to change its behavior, but the trainers have informed them that they will not be able to. they also moved into a condo & don't have the room for him anymore.
What are your thoughts on this behavior thing? Not coming from a real dog world - I'm not sure what it means for the dog. If his environment is changed to our home with different dynamics - does he change or will I be dealing with the same issues.???/??"


My first question is why did the trainers say they could't help?????? Beagles aren't really aggressive- has he just gotten away with this behaviour, since no one knew how to re direct him??? Or would you tell her to walk???

My suggestion was to contact a rescue and get connected with the right dog for her family, as as a non dog person it may be better for them to start out with an "easy" dog with no pre existing issues.

Any thoughts??

 

[lizzybeth727]

My first question is why did the trainers say they could't help?????? Beagles aren't really aggressive- has he just gotten away with this behaviour, since no one knew how to re direct him??? Or would you tell her to walk???

As a trainer, I can tell you there are many reasons why we wouldn't take on a client.

The most common, at least for me, is that the client wants something that's beyond our capabilities. For example, I wouldn't take on a dog who has severely bitten a human, because it's probably beyond what I'm capable of fixing. Another example, I wouldn't take on a client who wants to train her own guide dog, because I don't train guide dogs and wouldn't really know where to begin.

Another reason would be that the liability is too high. Beagles can be aggressive just as bad as other breeds, and it's possible the situation is really bad. I have a trainer-friend who will never take on a client whose dog is aggressive to children, because even a small chance of a child getting bitten is too dangerous for him. At work, we had someone ask if we could train a service dog to alert her if she's driving too fast; maybe we could, but the liability is way too high to even consider it.

Another possibility is that the trainers didn't think the client would be successful in implimenting the training plans. When I work with clients, I let them know in the beginning that there's going to be homework and that training does take effort. So if I walk into their home week after week and see that they've put forth NO effort (which has happened!), I'll have a serious discussion about how badly they want me to continue training them. Because ultimately, if we were to finish out our lessons and they didn't do their homework, and their friends ask them about their dog, they're going to say, "I even hired lizzybeth to train my dog and he STILL isn't trained." How does that make ME look? Better to not take the client at all, than to take a client who won't put forth an effort.

My suggestion was to contact a rescue and get connected with the right dog for her family, as as a non dog person it may be better for them to start out with an "easy" dog with no pre existing issues.

This is probably the best option for the family. There's no way to know how bad the problem is or whether it will transfer to a new home, but it does raise some red flags. Unless the family were attached to this particular dog for some other reason, I'd say it's probably best to pass on him.

 

[milos_mommy]

I would not bring a dog like that into a home with an 8 year old if I had no experience.

It sounds like a very fixable issue, honestly. But if someone with no experience takes that dog and handles it the wrong way? It's going to become downright dangerous. That dog needs a home with someone who has experience, and your friend should call a rescue and ask them for a dog suitable for a first-time owner with young children.

 

[Mum2mutts]

Thank you both for the answers
I had been thinking last night about the trainer issue, and - yes, I imagine there can be quite a liability problem there- understandable. I feel bad for the dog, hope it dosent end up badly for him- hopefully he will find an experienced owner.

I spoke with my friend again today........she is going to go the rescue route, and she actually knows someone who adopted a dog from the rescue that I had suggested, so hopefully she will find a nice appropriate dog. (AND sends me pics of said dog!!!)- I told her I would babysit if she went on vacation- get myself another doggie for a week or so

Thanks again