advice please

pinball

pinball

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could i please have some advice, my mom has a rescue shitzu who she has had 3 years who has turned agressive so far it has bit 4 people in the family including just misssing my two year old nephew,i must sound really harsh asi recommended pts,but she feels guilty as he has had a crap life,could i please have opions as she might believe others,pleas note he is checked by the vet every 4 weeks due to a heart problem.
thank you any advice welcome
 
What happens to make the dog bite, is it just out of the blue and he just goes up and randomly bites people or are people doing something to him and he bites. Is it a bite or a nip?

Is he on any meds for his heart problems? did this problem start before being diagnosed or after.
 
have you pin pointed why its being agressive? Could it be that it's scared or people are approaching it in away it might find intimidating?
 
I'm not a behaviorist or a vet or anything that might be helpful - but I have groomed a few shih tzus that were fine and then one day turned aggro for apparentlly no reason. They can be a firey breed and it's worrying when they go like that. I would suggest getting to the vet to rule out anything medical, and then behaviorist to see if there's something that might be amiss with the way the dog is being handled.

The WORST bite I ever got in grooming was off a Shih Tzu that bit me and really MEANT it.
 
thank you for replying ,there is no trigger to him bitting,he just lunges and bites,his meds are for his heart and she has the vet give him a really good check over and there are no problems apart from his heart,at 12years we hoping we can sort this out
 
At 12 it's possible one or more of his senses are leaving him. At his age, with medical problems and unpredictability, I don't think you are harsh to recommend PTS. TBH dogs who behave like this are rarely 'happy' in themselves. If he was a big dog like a GSD or a Rottweiler we probably wouldn't be having this conversation x
 
thank you for that i will show her this thread,i think she is worried that people will think she is being heartless,but i do worry for her when she walks him incase he flips out again and bites someone outside the family,hope this will put her mind at rest.
 
As he is 12years old I think its highly unlikely you will now change his behaviour, if you cant limit the damage ie shut him in another room when visitors come then perhaps its time to pts.

As CC said if he was a big dog breed no one would be prepared to live with it but because he is small and cute people will put up with it.

I also think perhaps some sort of dementia is going on as there dosnt seem to be a trigger and his behaviour could escalate without warning. Perhaps you could give him some sort of medication from the vet to see if it makes any difference but if it dosnt then I think the responsible thing would be to pts. At least then you can say you have tried everything.
 
I think for me it would be time to PTS. You could have a lifetime of regrets should a child be badly bitten. The dog will go quietly to sleep & know nothing abut it, just another jab. It's the people who have the sorrow.
 
Thank you
Thought I would give an update GIzmo had his monthly vet check tonight ,had the usual check heart ,ears,joints,and checked for dry eye nothing 10 out 10 as usual good as gold just as the vet had finished he fliped and bit her not a nip sunk his teeth in and meant it, vet recommends various test a scan and blood test, I'm sorryy but I still think pts , perhaps I'm wrong but. I don't now ???
 
Nice CC says that the vets can be a stressful place, when you're old and doddery and a bit senile and people are poking and prodding you.

Cynical CC says there's no vet fees or repeat business possible from a dead dog.
 
I know cc they know my mom would spend her last penny on him,,I just. Hope there not in it for the money, best part ,they told her to try hin on a more natursl diet .Her answar he is fed raw they said that is why his teprement has changed,her answer he has been on it since I have had him and they tried to sell her science hills because it was MORE NATURAL lol
 
I was hoping after he bit the vet that they would all see sense but clearly not, the fact they think its diet related while he is on raw says to me the vet hasnt got the dogs best interest at heart. I despair of some vets, when we took our Lancashire Heeler puppy to the vets and we told them we fed her raw they said why she is not a wolf:eek: needless to say we found a better vet with a positive attitude towards raw.
 
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