Help please, hoping to rehome

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Jinx94

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Hi guys, a friend of mine is hoping to rehome her dog - a dogue de bordeaux bitch.

I understand that the chances of finding a new home for her are pretty remote, but we want to try.

She's really lovely, incredibly soppy. However she would occasionally fight with their jrt cross, and the most recent fight resulted in injuries to the other dog which meant she had to be pts (I don't know the exact details, however prior to this she has never drawn blood when they've scrapped).

She's bitten a person once - he was trying to sell something to the family, Mango was being held back by the husband and getting pretty antsy, bloke was warned that she didn't like strangers and he should step back. Instead he said "it's okay, dogs like me" and tried to push his way past the wife into the house. She lunged and caught him but didn't draw blood.

The husband doesn't want them to keep her as they have a young child and he feels that there is far too much risk (understandably).

Does anyone know of anyone that would consider taking her on?
 
I don't know who else they've contacted, I was just asked to see if I could find someone willing to take on the dog. Her husband is pushing her to have the dog pts. Thanks for the Dogs Trust suggestion, Skippydog. I'll mention it to her.

Ice_coffee - the guy wasn't a visitor. The dog was being held back and only really went for him when he tried to force his way into the house, as I said in the OP.
 
Of course Tiddlypom, she was never left alone with the child anyway. Neither of the dogs ever were.

I would like to reiterate, this dog is wonderful, there have just been a couple of big unfortunate blips. She has never shown any aggression towards people, is fine with cats and horses. I've seen her scrap with the little dog previously but it was only when the little one snapped at her first.
 
Jinx94 said:
Of course Tiddlypom, she was never left alone with the child anyway. Neither of the dogs ever were.

I would like to reiterate, this dog is wonderful, there have just been a couple of big unfortunate blips. She has never shown any aggression towards people, is fine with cats and horses. I've seen her scrap with the little dog previously but it was only when the little one snapped at her first.
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But she has shown aggression to people...

And killed another dog...

Those aren't blips.
 
I think if you're rehoming, then you should find someone without a dog or other pets and no kids. Just somebody who will be able to work with the dog and see if she is aggressive or if they were blips! :-)
 
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amymay said:
But she has shown aggression to people...

And killed another dog...

Those aren't blips.
Click to expand...


She bit (but didn't draw blood!!) a STRANGER that tried to force his way into the house. When I was a baby, our Lakeland bit the postman's ankle when he tried to come into our house when my mum was holding me. This was the ONLY time she was ever like that. Would you have told us to have her pts?

She fought with another dog (who was known to antagonise her). Injuries to the other dog meant that it had to be pts - she was injured too. Horses fighting in the field: one kick in the wrong place can result in a broken leg which will require a lot of treatment and is also a potential situation for pts.

Obviously if this dog is rehomed, it needs to be in a household with no other dogs, just in case. If they choose to pts, fair enough, I would support them in that.
 
Jinx94 said:
When I was a baby, our Lakeland bit the postman's ankle when he tried to come into our house when my mum was holding me. This was the ONLY time she was ever like that. Would you have told us to have her pts?
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No. But I'm guessing your lakeland hadn't also killed another dog.

As for comparing dogs and horses - well you can't. Sorry.

I don't accept that it's common place for dogs that live together to scrap. And had this dog been socialized properly the situation with other dog may not have happened (although obviously I don't know). They are also known to be confrontational with strangers.

This is a very sad situation - and if the dog is not pts, I really hope that he finds a home that understands the breed and the responsibilities that come with it.
 
I suppose I am just thinking along the lines that if a dog is attached/controlled by their owner they shouldn't then be biting someone else whatever the situation, that might be easier to say than done though. I just think it would be better for the dog to go someone with breed experience if it goes anywhere as best option. I don't know if there is more than one breed specific rescue, that was just google!

http://www.ddbwelfare.org.uk/
 
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Best case scenario would be someone with experience of the breed or type/only dog/no other pets/no other kids who would implement a strict management policy/would do a lot of training/ and never let their guard down/dog would never be moved on.

Worst case scenario would be someone who 'thinks' they can cope, and the worst happens, someone who will breed from her, someone who will use her as a guard dog, milling around an empty yard on the end of a chain, or someone who will use her for dog fighting.

Which of those homes do you think is more plentiful?

In fairness there was a thread yesterday where a visitor to the house was lunged at, no damage was done, and the consensus was that it was a manageable thing.

Dogs which live together can and do scrap, there are threads about it on here all the time. Dogs 'restrained' are probably even more likely to lunge and bite, as they feel cornered and restrained. They can even redirect to the person holding them.
 
amymay said:
No. But I'm guessing your lakeland hadn't also killed another dog.

As for comparing dogs and horses - well you can't. Sorry.

I don't accept that it's common place for dogs that live together to scrap. And had this dog been socialized properly the situation with other dog may not have happened (although obviously I don't know). They are also known to be confrontational with strangers.

This is a very sad situation - and if the dog is not pts, I really hope that he finds a home that understands the breed and the responsibilities that come with it.
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Well said. I do think that this dog should have the chance to be rehomed properly before someone rushes into her being PTS ! You never know, she may be a lovely dog and may have reacted like this because of the environment she was in. No criticism to OP or the owners of the dog!
 
Jinx94 said:
She bit (but didn't draw blood!!) a STRANGER that tried to force his way into the house. When I was a baby, our Lakeland bit the postman's ankle when he tried to come into our house when my mum was holding me. This was the ONLY time she was ever like that. Would you have told us to have her pts?
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No, however had it killed a member of its pack previously and your parents hadn't wanted to keep it for fear it would have a pop at you then yes!
 
Amymay, sorry I got so defensive, but I really love this dog and if I were in the right situation I would rehome her. She has lived with the other dog her entire life, from what the owner has told me it was a tragic accident.

I'm contacting as many rehoming organisations as possible - they are more likely to be able to judge the right person for this kind of dog if they feel that they'll be able to rehome her.
 
Rehoming centres are brimming with dogs who do not show such problems. Filling a much needed space with a dog who has done what it has is in my opinion irresponsible.
 
They should do the responsible thing and PTS if they cannot keep her. She is a large gaurding breed and has already bitten one person;though the circumstances were somewhat understandable the fact is she bit a stranger and your friend is going sending her out into the world where everyone will be a stranger to her......and killed another dog she was familiar with.Most dog fights between "pack"are a lot of noise with few injuries...deaths are unusual. She may be well balanced and loving most of the time but she sounds like a ticking time bomb.
Some homes may be able to manage her but thoses homes are few.

She would be much better off let slip away to her final sleep surrounded by the people she knows and loves then sent off to strangers she has no connection or trust in to see can they cope with her...or worse to spend a life in kennels looking for someone take a chance on her.
 
Aru said:
They should do the responsible thing and PTS if they cannot keep her. She is a large gaurding breed and has already bitten one person;though the circumstances were somewhat understandable the fact is she bit a stranger and your friend is going sending her out into the world where everyone will be a stranger to her......and killed another dog she was familiar with.Most dog fights between "pack"are a lot of noise with few injuries...deaths are unusual. She may be well balanced and loving most of the time but she sounds like a ticking time bomb.
Some homes may be able to manage her but thoses homes are few.

She would be much better off let slip away to her final sleep surrounded by the people she knows and loves then sent off to strangers she has no connection or trust in to see can they cope with her...or worse to spend a life in kennels looking for someone take a chance on her.
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Completely agree. And any rescue which accepts a dog like that for rehoming are very irresponsible.
 
The dogs trust do.Some of the dogs I treated there almost 3 years ago are still in kennels awaiting rehoming. One was so aggressive two people had to enter the kennel every day to catch him for cleaning walks etc.Needed sedation on board to be given any sort of examine by a vet..Hes apparently suitable for an experienced home.I cant imagine hes enjoying his 2 years in kennels with each day producing that much stress.

but hey...they never put a healthy dog down...isn't that great :(
 
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