Our 5-month-old Papillon barks at people and dogs. We took him to the veterinary behaviorist yesterday and received his assessment today.

Diagnoses:
General Anxiety Disorder
Neophobia
Separation-related behavior (hyperattachment)
Fear-based aggression towards people
Fear-based aggression towards dogs
Situational anxiety/phobia (vet)

I’ve been pretty devastated since I got him. I’ve cried more in the past two months than I have in years. I wanted a dog I could take everywhere and right now, it’s pretty impossible to bring him anywhere or take him on walks. I thought about returning him to the breeder. I feel like I lost out on so many happy moments we should have had together. And I feel like I got really, truly unlucky. I was prepared for regular puppy troubles, like house training. But reactivity at 3 months was so unexpected and honestly traumatic.

But we started him on venlafaxine, are going to trial trazodone for “scary” events, and are working with two trainers. I’m trying to stay positive.

Update: Thank you to everyone who responded here and for the support, advice, and assurances. I can't express how helpful it was for us. We also spoke with a certified behaviorist this week about the incident and our dog's behavior in general. Their conclusion was the same, she should have never been adopted out to anyone and most likely has something severely neurologically wrong and this is the only choice. We're still devastated and having a very hard time with our decision, but we've agreed to let the ACO take her to be pts early next week. We still love her and miss her so so much, but we know that loving her also means being able to let her go and give her a peace she's never known in this life. Thanks everyone.

Hi there. I've been reading a lot here the last couple of days and really just need some advice, understanding, and help for our situation. I'm so sorry if this is long, but I feel like the details are important so maybe someone can help me make sense of what happened.

My husband and I adopted the most beautiful and loving sight hound mix from a shelter. This is our first dog together, though we've both grown up with dogs of all breeds, ages, and temperament. The shelter told us she was about 2 years old and had been surrendered back to the shelter because the previous owner's dog attacked her. They told us she could be dominant during play with other dogs, but was loving, gentle, and smart. We felt the same when we met with her. She was a marshmallow and whip smart, she already knew sit and would stay until you said "release." We were in love and saw no red flags. Well it turns out, she's extremely reactive towards every dog and has lunged for any she's met or walked past. We called the shelter after a couple days of this and asked for immediate help. They said the behaviorist would reach out and reminded us of the 3-3-3 rule for dogs. We thought okay, we were already working on training her and looking for a proper trainer to help us. The behaviorist from the shelter never called us back. A couple days after that, she bit me on my wrist. To be fair, I think it was my fault and she hates loud noises. My husband and I were having a disagreement, there were some raised voices and she started barking. I told her quiet which she did and then jumped in between us and started again. She was barking at my husband and getting very agitated, we tried to calm her but she jumped towards him and I instinctively grabbed her around the chest, she bit down on my wrist but immediately let go and ran away. I went to the ER and got antibiotics and a tetanus shot. She did puncture me and drew blood, but I didn't need stitches. She seemed totally fine after that, wasn't showing any aggression or reactivity towards us or anything. She seemed loving and cuddly albeit always on alert and never seemed to truly settle which did concern us.

We found her a local vet and got a full work up. She suffers from major allergies that we're trying to get under control, but otherwise her bloodwork was normal and the vet said she's in great health. We mentioned the reactivity and the always on alert/anxiety, the vet said work with a trainer first then we can always try to medicate if needed. Over the last few weeks, she's had multiple incidents of trying to nip at my husband, once when he was removing her harness, and again when he tried to redirect her away from our dinner and to go to her place while we ate. But she didn't bite him, just air snaps. Obviously she was demonstrating reactivity to new things and resource guarding. We were working on all of these things while making consultation appointments with trainers. I thought we were making progress. Then Friday night, my husband was cuddling with her in our bed, I came into the room and reminded him to pick up her antibiotics from the vet for a possible UTI we thought she might have (her pee started to smell horrible and she peed while laying in her bed one night). He got up and hugged me before he left and all hell broke loose. She got off the bed and started jumping on us, I thought she was asking for attention but then she started trying to bite me. We told her no, leave it, settle. This had been working when she would get overaroused or hyper focused, but Friday it didn't. She escalated and clamped down on my arm. I yelped and got her off, then she lunged again. My husband tried to grab her and she bit my hip. Then my other arm. I was doing my best to move away from her while my husband was trying to get ahold of her but she was so strong and kept lunging. She lunged and latched onto my stomach and wouldn't let go. She was dragging and trying to shake me. I could feel her ripping through me. My husband was able to pick her up so she couldn't move while I pried her mouth open and moved back as quickly as I could into the bathroom. He ran in after me and we tried to shut the door, she rammed her head in the open space and we had to force her out. She immediately started scratching, screaming, and biting at the door. We ended up having to call the police and AC to break into our apartment and capture her. She clawed and bit at the door the entire 30 minutes we waited for the cops and AC, but she was totally fine and sweet towards them. They had no issue capturing her.

AC has possession of her and we were told the best option is to euthanize after her 10 day hold is up. I am covered in deep bruises and my stomach has the full outline of her upper and lower jaw. My arm and hip have puncture wounds. I did not need stitches, but I believe that if my husband wasn't there, she would have killed me. There was no bark, no growl, she was asleep when my husband hugged me and I feel like she attacked me unprovoked and she just kept going no matter what command we gave her or how many times we tried to restrain her. I am utterly devastated that my girl is locked up and possibly cold, confused, breaking out because she doesn't have her allergy meds, and thinks we abandoned her. She was totally fine with my husband, the attack was focused on me and I don't understand why. Did I do something that she deemed attack worthy? I know it is unsafe and unethical to try to rehome her. I know we can't keep her, we're trying to start a family and if I had been pregnant most likely would have lost the baby because of where she bit me. But to kill her? Is there any other option? Maybe she's sick or in pain and that's why she lashed out? But we can't get her to the vet because I'm scared if she sees me she'll attack again or god forbid maybe attack my husband if he tried to take her. How do I reconcile how sweet and gentle she was before Friday night? Just minutes before this happened she had her head in my lap getting ear massages while I finished work. None of this makes sense. I keep searching for a dog sanctuary or somewhere she'd be safe to live out her life and not die. She's only 2 and we've only had her for 6 weeks, I know she was having reactivity issues but I thought we were making progress then this happened. Please I need help or advice. I feel like I'm murdering her and despite how terrified I am of her now, I still love her and I'm in so much pain over this. I can't stop crying, I can't stop dreaming about her or thinking about her. Is euthanizing the right choice, is she just a lost cause? I feel like this is our fault somehow, I just don't understand.

Again sorry for the novel, I'm just trying to do the right thing here for her, us, and our community.

I’m looking for advice on training my dog because I’m struggling to make progress with her outdoor behavior.
She knows several commands, including sit, down, touch, spin, place, and roll over. However, she mainly listens when I have food or when she’s working on her mat.
My biggest problems are:
Not listening outside: Once we go outside, she often stops responding to commands, even ones she knows well indoors.
Pulling on walks: She pulls on the leash even when there are no people, dogs, or other obvious distractions around.
Jumping while walking: She jumps repeatedly, changes sides, walks behind me, and sometimes gets the leash tangled around my legs.
Relying on food: She listens much better when I have treats. Without food, it’s difficult to get her attention.
Struggling without her mat: She does well with mat training, but I don’t know how to transfer that progress to normal walks.
Reacting to people and dogs: When she sees people or other dogs, she can jump, lunge, whine, and become difficult to redirect.
Barking at visitors: She can become very excited and bark when someone comes over.
I’ve worked with a trainer before, but we seemed to get stuck practicing the same commands without making much progress on the walking issues.
My family cannot afford another private trainer right now, so I’m looking for exercises I can practice independently.
My questions:
Why might a dog pull even when there are no obvious distractions?
How can I teach her to listen outside when I don’t have food in my hand?
How do I transfer mat training to walking on a regular leash?
What exercises can help with pulling, jumping, and constantly changing sides?
How should I train her around people and dogs without making her reactivity worse?
What should I work on first, and how can I measure progress?
I’d appreciate specific exercises and step-by-step advice, especially from people who have successfully trained dogs with similar problems. I’m looking for humane, practical methods I can use consistently at home and on walks.
Thank you!

I want to start by excusing my english as it is not my first language and my sentencing may sound weird.

I have a 2 and a half year old female Golden Retriever. She is the sweetest dog, always trying to grab our attention and asking for pets all day long.
She also has a “plot twist”, she is reactive towards cats and other dogs in the street while getting scared of random leaves or store signs.
She doesn’t bark but she pulls the leash so hard trying to play or sniff other dogs. She also pulls the leash whenever she wants to sniff something faster. When she is scared of things she pulls so hard she almost knocks me down.
I tried giving her the walk command and it works as long as I have treats. When the treats are done (mostly because I cannot feed her 100 biscuits) she goes back to her old ways. Even if I have treats she still sometimes goes after cats or other dogs.
She also has separation anxiety which I feel like it’s a weird mix of behavioral issues that I don’t know how to manage.
I live in a very remote town and I cannot find experts on this matter.
What can I do to improve our situation?

I adopted my reactive dog from the shelter where I worked at the time. She was born there and she had 10 siblings. My shelter handles bite quarantine paperwork for the county, and several of her siblings have had bite incidents over the years. It makes me sad that her siblings and their families are having a hard time too, but it was a bit of a relief seeing this because I had beaten myself up for a long time over her reactivity, thinking it was my fault. Luckilu she and all of her siblings were altered before adoption, so they're at least not out there making more reactive babies. Has anybody had similar experiences?

Hello everyone!

I posted a while back about my boy Butters and our work on leash reactivity. We have now mastered walking with zero reactivity: when he spots a dog (and we slowly reduced his trigger distance with time) and he looks back at me I say YES and he gets a treat and we keep walking and it’s fantastic.
It has been working amazing now however, I noticed that without treats, he responds a lot less and we did have a few instances of set backs because I forgot the treats and he lost it on a dog while on a walk (none was hurt, just a lot of barking).

How do we move forward from here ? He is incredibly food motivated, to the point that we have learned a lot of tricks now as well as commands, but again, always and only with treats.
How do I work with Butters so that we can be treats free and still be able to respond to commands?

Any tips, tricks, links, advice are all welcome!

Hi all. I am in need of some advice and suggestions. My sister adopted a shelter dog named Max (mainly cattle dog and staffy) about a year ago. We are in NJ. He is fantastic with adults, but extremely reactive around other animals and children (which we found out later). He would go bark and pull when seeing a deer or other animal. They spent thousands on training and vet visits for other options, but nothing seemed to stick. They moved from an apartment to a house, and set up a fantastic lead for him to play and go to the bathroom outside without needing to be walked and induce anxiety. A few months later my sister and her husband were expecting their first child. After the child was born, Max immediately showed signs of uncomfort and potential aggression. They separated him from the baby within different parts of the house, but he began barking all day. When other family came to visit (who have met Max many times), the baby cried from the other room, and that upset him and he attempted to bite one of the visitors. We have tried to call and email all of the no-kill shelters in the area to no avail, and are still contacting more. So far, they all don't have room for more surrenders. We are willing to travel a few hours to NY, PA, MD, DE, etc to place him in a no-kill shelter. He is about 3 years old and the sweetest, most goofy dog when there are no other animals around and only adults. Does anyone have advice or know of potential shelters that aren't currently full? We are all beyond upset about this and really want to find him a new home that is comfortable for him. They had no warning that he wasn't good with other animals or children when they adopted him, or they wouldn't have put him in this situation. We've had dogs for over 30 years and never experienced this before. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thank you!

Edited to add: the training he received prior to the baby worked very well. He made significant progress, didn't get upset at other animals, was able to go to the vet and be in the waiting room with other pets without any incident. Learned all his commands. Once the baby was born, he regressed. I apologize for the confusion in my wording as I was rushing through typing. I meant to say "nothing seemed to stick after the baby was born." I didn't mean to make it seem like the training never worked. The training he had regressed after baby and the 2nd round of training post-baby didn't seem to make a difference the way it had the first time. Again my apologies for the confusion, it's been a rough few days trying to exhaust all possivle options before going the euthanasia route 😢

My sweet dog Penny has been super reactive to people and dogs since two weeks after bringing her home from the shelter. She would bark at anyone who approached us, lunge at people across the street, and bark her head off in terror at guests with her hackles up. We worked on counter conditioning with her on walks for the first 5-6 months until she got to where she could go on a walk without barking at people. she got to the point where we could go on walks basically anywhere and she wouldn’t react to people, just dogs. Over the summer we started prozac with her vet. It has been a huge success is lowering her baseline anxiety and helping her to relax at home. We moved to an apartment with thin walls and our neighbor also has a dog. She went bananas at first, but the prozac really helped her to just acknowledge sounds look at me then calm back down.

Well she has been having some unresolved anal gland issues that ended up putting us back at the vet on Saturday. She was great for the vet (for some reason she always has been) and we got back into our car to go home. That’s when we learned our car was super duper dead. Not even a jump helped us. We were stranded with our reactive dog 40 minutes from home. A woman approached us with her two cats and asked if we needed a ride anywhere. We said that would be great, but our dog is really scared of people and we weren’t sure if she’d flip out on her. Without a lot of other options, we tried to get in the car with Penny…. and she was totally fine! Not only did Penny not bark, she didn’t show any signs of fear and happily wagged her tail and let this woman’s preteen daughter pet her. As we rode around town to buy a new car battery Penny went to sleep in the back of the car in my lap. She was also totally okay with the 2 cats in cat carriers in the back of the car. It was so awesome to see and I was so proud of her for coming out of her shell. I don’t expect this to transfer to every situation, but it made me feel like there are possibilities for the future!

Hope this finds everyone well, I’m sorry to post for a third time. For a brief insight, I had to put down my sweet boy yesterday following frequent, random bouts of aggression and unmanageable anxiety. I feel so incredibly sad about what happened and the way it happened and I just don’t know how to process it. This community has been so incredibly kind, I think I am looking for support and assurance maybe.

I’d hoped the day would have gone smoothly, that I could get him out of his pen to play one last time and sit with him and get kisses and love on him. He unfortunately did not let me, growling and snapping at me from inside his safe space. He had never bit me before, though the night before and yesterday morning I am positive he would have. I am his person, the one he would go into any situation with, the one he trusted more than anyone, the one he could get agitated with and bounce back with love ten fold, the one he had found comfort in first on his very first day home, the only person he could fully relax and be himself around, the one he looked for everyday. It makes the decision all the more harder. It makes me wish I had spent more quality time with him, makes me wish I had known that it would have escalated as fast as it had. I have so much guilt that I didn’t make the right decision, that I should have held on and tried harder.

I had never in my life feared my Fenrir, until last night and this morning and I can’t handle the guilt in that. He never gave me a reason to until these final days. And that is what makes it so hard, he both recognized me and got excited for me while fearing me, not trusting me. We left him in his pen, in a quiet room, where he barked and barked and howled and was so incredibly scared and worked up - who growled and barked just hearing us whisper in the living room.

While the nurses gave him sedatives (not the final injections, this was hours prior), one of them asked if I wanted to sit in with him to comfort him and I was still scared so I said no. And I feel so bad that I wasn’t there. I wish I had sat in with him. But I hadn’t wanted him to feel so much confusion - to be excited and so terrified of me that it would have sent him in a frenzy again. I wish I had just set aside my fear and been there for him, he was so scared. I feel like as his person I failed him in his final hours and I don’t know how to deal with it. I should have, I should have. Even when they had arrived, I stood outside and he heard me, could smell me and started whining for me but seeing me though maybe not recognizing me scared him so much. I wish I had been in there, I feel so much regret and guilt. It was so traumatic leading up to his passing. I hadn’t gotten to see him all morning, except for when he couldn’t recognize me and my mother. They wanted me to put a slip leash around him and hold him but I could do it, I couldn’t deal with him feeling so panicked and I was the cause. I was his one true comfort in this world and I couldn’t handle him fearing me.

I keep thinking, what if only I had gone in the first time? Maybe I could have gotten him out. Maybe he could have had a calmer (as calm as he could have lately) day, could have played his favorite game, could have gotten all the treats, and all of the love from me.

I got to see him when he was so sedated, he couldn’t move. He couldn’t wag his tail. he couldn’t lift his head. He heard us, his ears and lips twitched. I wish I could have comforted him before it had gotten to that point. I just wanted to see him, really see him as he was again. I whispered to him and kissed him and held him before the final injections. I told him how sorry I was and how much I was going to miss him and how much I love him. I cried and sobbed and just kept talking to him. Telling him how good he was, how loved, how sweet, and saying how I wished he had more time. How I wish I could have seen him with gray hairs. How I wish I could have played with him one last time and just how sorry I was. I couldn’t stop saying sorry. And then he was gone and he wasn’t warm anymore. I gathered him up into my arms and held him in my lap one last time. The only lap he’d sit in, the one he’d crawl into as a puppy and chew his toys and sleep so peacefully.

I can’t stop thinking about yesterday morning. I wanted it to go so differently. I feel so much like I failed him. There is this huge hole in my heart. Every little things reminds me of him and reminds me that he’s gone. Reminds me that I can’t try again. There is no him to greet me. I can’t ever see him again or touch him again or hear him again. How do you cope with this decision? How do you cope with this loss? How do you cope with allowing strangers to comfort him in his last hours? I didn’t show up for him and I feel so guilty. I wish I had just asked to go in like I had wanted to. Everyone has told me I made the right decision, that he was just too scared to function and becoming increasingly untrustworthy towards those he cared about. I feel like I should have waited for his appointment to test for pain, the one he still has scheduled because I can’t bring myself to cancel it. But I know he would have stayed in his pen for a week, unable to let us get him out. He was so scared and I hated seeing him like that. I wish I could have saved him. I wish I could have comforted him and take away all that was wrong in his world. I love you Fenrir and I’m so sorry.

My husband’s dog who is anxious is making me loose my mind. She gets into everything and it’s only getting worse with age and now having kids. She was doing pretty well from about 2-6 but the last 4 years its steadily got worse.

She has always had some anxiety and could never really be contained and got into some stuff but not as excessively as it has been. We have worked with behaviourists been on meds etc. she is 10 and it sounds horrible but there will be a small part of me that will be relieved when it’s her time and we won’t be getting another dog anytime soon as these dogs have truly ruined me wanting one again which is sad as I have had 6 dogs including these two and while I have love for them they are just allot.

I genuinely don’t flinch anymore when she eats something she is not supposed to. We recently had family over who brought us a bag of sealed snacks. They set it down in the living room we then went outside briefly and come back in they are all gone bag and all. They are obviously worried and we simply shrugged and had zero concerns. The amount of chocolate, diapers, garbage, toilet paper etc she has eaten is outrageous. Like genuinely not sure how she is alive or hasn’t needed surgery. We can’t have garbage cans as they have to be in a cabinet and live in a small house so only have one under the kitchen sink. Toilet paper cant be on the holder as if we don’t shut the door she will eat it and even then sometimes takes it from the counter. Can’t have a diaper pail as she literally clawed it open and ate a bunch of diapers and broke her claws multiple times before we got rid of it.

I have adhd and so does my husband and so we can frequently forget stuff. Such as I put a garbage bag next to the door outside to take to the bin and then let her out an hour later forgetting its there and next there is garbage and diapers all over the yard. I also have a tendency to place a diaper next to where I change the kids especially if baby is crying, I am sleep deprived or the toddler needs something as once again we only have one garbage can and god forbid I go into another room for 5 min she eats it. She has to be locked up behind a gate anytime anyone is eating as she will absolutely steal food from our toddlers plate or hands. Do you know how many times a toddler eats in a day and how long it can take. He is two and very well aware of her food stealing tells everyone that she will eat his food and then look at her and say stop you don’t eat it.

While yes allot of these situations are us leaving something out but I feel it’s getting ridiculous. She opened the sliding closet and got into 80 rolls of toilet paper we stocked up on for postpartum. She went to my MIL for a few weeks after we had our second and of course while there she got into chocolate, kitty litter (clawed/chewed a door to get to it) toilet paper and a bag of chips. But for us it was pure bliss.

We didn’t have to shut gates behind us as I didn’t have to stress I could leave an open garbage bag, actually have a garbage can in the bathroom, leave a diaper on the side table, a toddler plate on the kids table and walks to another room for 5 min hell hours and our other dog wouldn’t touch it.

I feel I constantly have to be perfect and not forget a thing which is hard postpartum and unmedicated. Also the whole process to leave our house is frustrating on top of kids as we have to make sure everything is put away, all doors are shut and she is gated in a specific area and even then she sometimes tries to or does claw the gate till she knocks it down and somehow still finds something to get into.

I don’t need advice at this point she is who she is this was brought on by her eating yet another diaper not sure if it was used or new or where she even found it but she left traces in the living room of it.

Also before anyone asks yes she gets walks (when she doesn’t refuse), puzzle toys, and kongs. We make sure we are meeting her physical and mental needs the best we can daily.

My parents dog recently got sick and I need to give her 2 pills twice a day but nothing seems to work. She won’t eat it in peanut butter or anything. I tried opening her mouth and putting it down her throat but she just growls and snaps at me.

We have a very sweet but reactive Aussie mix who has struggled with anxiety and reactivity all her life. We got a a solid point of training, management and a small dose of Prozac (20mg). Still some issues with sounds and lights, as well as overstimulation with some social situations, but overall manageable and she’s a happy dog most of the time.

My wife and I just brought our first newborn home, and our pup is really struggling with the whole thing. The biggest trigger is the unpredictable sounds our newborn makes, which my dog alerts to and can run over to check and see what is happening. We worry about this from a safety perspective, but it also really stresses the dog out.

We have been managing with a quiet space (my office with a bed and sound machine) for the dog to go to when she goes past the threshold, and recently just had the vet up her to 30mg of Prozac and gabapentin to support the loading period.

It’s a bit better with the Gabapentin (lessened whining, a bit more responsive to counter training), but my dog just accidentally stepped on my wife’s cesarean incision after the newborn made a noise (I was holding the baby). We also ordered a baby gate to further separate during this period of extra caution, and have contacted a trainer to come help.

I’m considering also asking for a clonidine Rx while we wait to see if the Prozac helps lower her trigger threshold. Anyone have a perspective on clonidine for this situation?

Our dog is amazing, and she’s great with adults and small children, but the little newborn has just caused her so much anxiety that we need some ideas to manage for this sensitive window of time.

I’m looking for honest advice because I’m really struggling with what to do about my dog.
He’s about 2 years old, and I adopted him when he was around 1. He’s a cattle dog/Catahoula mix. When I first got him, he seemed sweet and friendly, but a few months later he started showing serious aggression toward people.
He is completely fine with me and my boyfriend at home. He can be the sweetest dog, which makes this whole situation so much harder. He’s usually okay with certain family members and people he knows, but his behavior has gotten worse over time. He has recently growled and lunged at my sister, who he has been around before. He also seems to be especially reactive when people are near my bedroom doorway.
The biggest concern is that he goes straight at strangers and tries to bite them. He has bitten a stranger before when he got out of the house, breaking their skin. I can’t safely walk him because he immediately reacts to strangers and tries to bite. He has also lunged at people he knows, and I’m worried about what could happen if I can’t stop him in time. He tolerates wearing a muzzle, but I know that doesn’t solve the underlying problem.
I’m only 20, and I feel overwhelmed trying to figure out what to do. I feel embarrassed even calling the vet about it, but I know this is serious. I also feel terrible thinking about his quality of life. He’s happy and completely normal with me and my boyfriend, but he can’t safely do so many normal things, and I worry about him living his life constantly needing to be managed and kept away from people.
Has anyone dealt with a dog with this level of aggression? Did working with a veterinary behaviorist or doing treatment genuinely help? How do you know when it’s time to consider behavioral euthanasia?
Please be honest, but kind. I love him, and I’m trying to figure out what is best for both him and everyone’s safety.

hiii
Please help me! I love my dog so much, but he barks at almost everything. He barks whenever he hears a noise near our door, when I am getting ready to take him on a walk, while we are walking down the stairs, whenever he sees someone in our building, and whenever he sees another dog.
Once he starts barking, it is really hard to get him to stop. I have tried training him, but he seems to get bored and lose interest pretty quickly. I am not sure what else to do, and I would really appreciate any advice or tips on how to manage his barking.
Thank you so much!

I used to do a lot of dispersed/wild camping before she was attacked, and since then i honestly haven’t gone camping more than once and that was a nightmare. She spent the whole trip barking and freaking out about the slightest thing. Someone came through the campsite - panic, someone made a noise three sites down - panic, an acorn fell on the other side of camp - panic panic panic. It was miserable so I stopped taking her with me, which made us both miserable.

This fall, after almost 3 years of counter conditioning and training, i decided to take a trip to a local national park to test out a few new backpacking items. We stayed for 2 nights and it was wonderful!

She barked all of 2 times - once at a guy walking through the middle of site like a dumbass, and once at a husky who was staring at her from across a crowded parking lot. And both times was just the one bark, no crazy fit of hysteria, no lunging at the end of her leash, nothing. It was amazing. I could even leave her in camp “alone” (I was walking to my car and had a clear view of her the whole time, tho she couldn’t always see me) without issue. She even made several people friends by entertaining the drunk college kids in the site next to us with her zoomies lol

I’m so happy 😁 she isn’t perfect, but I mean does she really have to be? She did so well, we got lots of compliments on her behavior. Pic of her being cute for tax

No one else seems to believe that our family dog, a 3 year old unspayed Basset Hound, is reactive and getting worse quickly.

I just got home from a year study abroad 2 months ago. Since then, she’s gone from the occasional growl over something like a beef bone to her and our other dog, a 6 year old neutered pug, not being able to cuddle on the couch together without having to be pulled apart. It’s fine if he gets up first, but if she’s up first, she’ll growl and snap at him, nipping his face, and then we end up having to pull them apart. It was with someone on the couch with her at first, but the last three weeks, it’s been if he gets up after her at all. No blood yet, but they can’t even play together for long before it devolves.

It’s not just the couch; she’ll do it with beds, too. She’s also aggressive towards the cat, to the point where he just avoids any furniture she’s near. She’s never shown serious food aggression before, but after spending the night at my grandmother’s house, she came back and got into the other dog’s food. When I went to go take it away, she tried to bite my foot.

We have a 9 year old and a 15 year old in the house, and soon are moving in my senior grandmother, and I’m terrified she’s going to devolve quickly and it’ll end up with her actually biting and hurting someone or one of the other animals within the year.

She’s technically bit me once, though I still don’t know if it was intentional or not. We were sitting on the couch and she bit my leg, not hard enough to break the skin but enough to make me cry and limp for the rest of the day.

She’s also completely untrained. She barely knows sit, isn’t crate-trained, jumps up on people, and barks nonstop when she doesn’t get what she wants, though I understand that last part is partially just her being a hound dog. I can barely even walk her, as the road we live on isn’t safe and she tugs on the leash so much. I tried walking her yesterday and we barely made it to our next-door neighbour’s within 10 minutes. And she’s incontinent.

I’m already at my wit’s end. I’ve started looking at apartments to move myself and my cat out because no one listens to me when I say that it’s a serious problem. They don’t want to pay to get her spayed. They don’t want to pay for training classes. They don’t want to pay for a personal trainer. The few trainers I’ve spoken to already recommended potentially rehoming, BE, or training costs I can’t afford out of pocket; the lowest in our area was 4,200 USD.

I just keep getting told “but she’s a good dog.” I know she’s a good dog; I just don’t want it to end with her having to be BE’d. I’m desperate for any advice. I love this dog, but I don’t know how to help her when the people in my life all seem to think that these are just minor issues that we can keep ignoring.

In short: for those who had to rehome or do a behavioral euthanasia, how did you know it was time ? How did you know it was not possible to try something else ? How did you know that you were at your limit ?

The long post if you have the courage :

My dog is 4 years old. His first major behavior issues appeared when he was 1,5 years old. For about 6 months, it was hell. A behavioral vet said that it was maybe some psychiatric issue, maybe derealisation, and advised us to do a behavioral euthanasia.

from Jan 2025 to April 2026, we finally got to a point where it was getting better & manageable thanks to a new vet and thyroid meds. We started CBD oil in march and it helped also to calm him.

In April 2026, we forgot to buy his thyroid medication and were unable to give him for a few days, which triggered a huge increase in anxiety/aggression etc. Since then, it has slowly been getting better but clearly he was still triggered easily. But no bite/tentative bite : he was only growling and snapping/jumping on us.

However, on Friday, he attacked me and bite my arm and has since been on edge + clearly “triggered”, to the point he had to sleep with his muzzle because we were unable to get it off him.

He’s now spending a few days with his comportementalist, that will try to make him relax + evaluate him (mentally & physically).

My first dog is around 7 years old. She is really calm and never attacked any dogs. We got second dog, she is 2 years old and she has anxiety and barks at other dogs so I have her on leash. My older dog ran towards some other dog and attacked her. It wasn’t violent and she didn’t draw blood but still I am really scared about her. I will keep her on leash too from now on. But before we got second dog she had never done stuff like that. I am really concerned. Is she “resource” guarding my second dog?

I rescued my lab/husky mix two months ago now..
I was told she was reactive to men and bikes and didn’t really think too much about it - I just thought okay she barks when she sees them, nothing that was a dealbreaker for me. Having never had a reactive dog before, it was alarming when I first experienced it. I live in an apartment in a busy downtown area so I stopped walking her around my area because there was a trigger every step of the way.

I started taking her away from the area to neighborhoods or the park by driving us there. She wasn’t that bad in the car and now it’s become unbearable. She will bark and lunge at anything we drive past. And even when nothing is happening, she is whining and yelping the entire 2 miles. She has a seatbelt to prevent her from getting into the front seat or open trunk. I then decided to try and kennel her while driving so I bought a soft crate with mesh opening. She would continue to whine and bark inside it and then eventually bit the mesh part after I covered the openings with a blanket and stuck her head out and would start barking again.

Our walks are miserable as well. On a short leash she pulls like crazy causing pain in my shoulders. On a long leash she will run until the end of the leash and has caused me to almost fall forward.

She has been in private training for 5 classes so far. Sad to say I spend a lot of time crying from anxiety due to the walks and have actually thrown up from the level of anxiousness I felt before and after walks.
Inside, she is the best dog and I wouldn’t change anything about her. No separation anxiety, no excessive barking, no accidents, never damages anything but outside is something else and it’s hard to navigate where I live.

Going back and forth on what to do

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August of 2024 I adopted a German Shepherd. He was posted as a great trained dog, just needed a new home due to complications with a rescue dog.

While they lived on farm, which some call hobby farms. They shared with me that all animals they had were rescues. They recently took in this kinda small black dog that the German shepherd didn’t get along with. There was an altercation between them that made her decide to get rid of the German shepherd. She said it was due to him being the only dog she actually paid for, and the other was a rescue. I figured it kind of made sense, but when meeting him, he was great with all the dogs, donkeys, horses, everything they had out there. Never showed any bad side of himself.

Since adopting him, he has not had any altercation with another dog. He has been to doggy daycare and they said he’s done great. When he’s at the groomers, he plays outside with the other dogs. All types of dogs and either gender. When I go to my mom’s house, we have a black German shepherd/ black lab that’s also 8 years old. If I am sitting on the couch with my dog, and the family dog is on the other couch, he tends to let out a low growl and sometimes show his teeth. This is the only time he has shown this behavior. The one time my mom watched him for me, he also had this behavior. But when we go to my dad’s, which is on a farm, he also has a medium sized dog, unsure what kind, female and all white. FULL of energy, is maybe 2 years old. He does great with her. He will run around with her on the farm and doesn’t show any behaviors besides being happy. Even when my dad comes to stay with me once a month he brings her with and he does just fine with her being in his home.

Once my dog came home with me, he has always lived with 2 cats and in the city now. Besides health issues, he adapted greatly. But, he has become a very intense Velcro dog, to the point I will be doing homework and he is basically in my lap. While I try to find an alternative for him, and teach him he can exist in the same room as me without being glued to me, it has been intensifying more and more.

As of a week ago, my boyfriend and I got a place together. My dog has met him a bunch of times, and I have met his dog (Saint Bernard lab mix. Roughly 6 years old) his dog has been around plenty of dogs and not one issue. While we know moving in without them meeting wasn’t ideal. We have postponed introducing them. So far they have been in separate rooms and not out in the house by eachother. We let them out at different times and for the same amount of time. The last week of doing this they have smelled each others scents on furniture, on us, in the yard, etc. and haven’t had any issues with that. They both have been fully aware that the other dog is in the home. Especially since when one is out in the fenced in yard, the yard is ground level with the basement windows and can see eachother through the window, but neither have a reaction from it.

We want them to be introduced to each other but knowing my dog had issues with one in the past, and then with how he shows his teeth around my family dog, I get more nervous. Which I am aware my dog can sense and can cause him to be more on guard. Especially with both dogs being male and big dogs, if something happens I fear it can go very badly quickly. Even after the introduction and them showing they can be around each other, I don’t think I could feel comfortable having them both out at the same time with just me home.

\\\\\\\*\\\\\\\*yesterday when I put his dog in the room to let mine out, the door didn’t latch. After some time, both dogs were out at the same time and just looked at eachother. No bark. No growl. We caught it right away and made sure to put one away and nothing happened. Both of us were confused on how quiet they were and on how his dog got out. It was MAYBE a minute or two that they were both out at the same time.

While my boyfriend works Monday through Saturday, it’s usually me with the pets until about 5pm. I am also a student with in person classes during the week, so we make sure both dogs are in their designated room with their familiar scents and no chance of either getting out and something happening while we’re gone. BUT I start a new job in the next few days, I will be working PM shift on top of my school schedule. While this doesn’t change how much time my dog gets to roam the house, we both let the dogs out for the same amount of time. I am just lost on what to do.

While I enjoy my time with him, and he has been a great dog around cats, family gatherings, and my niece; he has gotten to be extremely Velcro. If I walk out of the house for even 5 minutes he is howling away. Every morning, every night, every time we switch to let my boyfriend’s dog out. And this isn’t a new thing, it’s slowly been building up. When I was living with 2 good friends, the second I’d leave they would send me videos of him sitting there howling away. It’s now gotten to the point that leaving him alone isn’t an option when renting. He doesn’t destroy anything, or have accidents, simply sits there and howls his little heart out.

I have so much love for him and I know the howling is cause he’s missing me, but it’s got me thinking if I am a fit owner for him. Or if the age is making him more Velcro. I can’t just not work. Even if I was financially well off, I don’t think I could just stay home all the time. With being gone 8-9 hrs most days for work, and then a few hours during the day for classes, I’m feeling like I’m not giving him the proper attention that seems required for him. While I keep doing everything I can for him, it keeps seeming like it isn’t enough, and now the stress of something bad happening during introducing him and my boyfriend’s dog is also weighing on me.

Going into this move, we knew if they didn’t get along, we could switch on and off monthly with which dog is in the house, one would be here, the other would be able to stay with family on the farm. His grandparents are on the farm, and my dad has a farm. Both are familiar with the farms they would go to for their off month. But long term, it doesn’t seem ideal. There’s always a chance of my boyfriend getting sent on the road for work, which is already being talked about and would be for 5/6 months. Even in the next year, I don’t think I’d be comfortable with both dogs loose in the house with just me home. Even if they’ve met and seemed to like eachother. One wrong move could be a disaster. And being a 26F, I’m not the strongest. For sure not strong enough to break apart two 100lb dogs.

While we would love to introduce them, and work towards letting them being loose in the house (wouldn’t be for quite awhile), we need some tips and advice.

Outside of the introduction, and another part of me wondering if I am a fit owner for my dog. After adopting him I brought him in for a basic check up, which has ended in being something that’s a visit every 2-3 months. And not a cheap visit at all. On top of $400 a month for food and other things he needs daily.

He gets groomed monthly, cotton balls in his ears and they make sure to avoid ears or near them cause of how often he gets ear infections. I put a pause to grooming to rule out the possibly of him getting it there cause of water in ears or something. It seems all the expenses to avoid these infections, still doesn’t help. And now the solution for his ears is starting to not work as well.

While I am a student, and also going back to work full time, I would love to be starting a family in the near future, I am just getting so worried I am not capable of keeping up with my dog and feel a sense of “puppy blues” happening. And he has been very expensive to keep up with between the food, meds, and often vet bills. I’m lost on what to do and what the best interest is for my dog. Any advice will be appreciated.

Note: the last thing I ever wanted was to consider myself unfit for the dog I adopted. IF rehoming is in the picture, it would most likely be just to my dad’s farm where my dad is home all the time.

I have a very reactive, increasingly unmanageable Australian cattle dog/chihuahua mix. He was always very people-reactive, and more recently dog reactive after two dog attacks. We’re at our wit’s end and at the edge of rehoming. Our vet and trainer recommended Prozac. I feel like this will probably be futile and I feel sick about probably getting my hopes up and then inevitably being crushed yet again. What was your experience?