Vet thinks puppy should be put down!! Help!!!

[Doja's Mommy]

True that!

Thanks for the advice Vela!

Just so everyone knows, I wasn't trying to attack anyone.... as you can see from my original post on this thread. I was really curious as to where the line of thinking came from. And that was cleared by the knowledge that they had come across a disturbed dog, and it was not a pleasent encounter I assume. Also, in the post that I was responding to..... apparantly I misunderstood what was said. Now, due to clarification, I see that they were only trying to state that the dog might have aggression problems or something of that nature.

I will try coming back to a post at a later time, if it is something controversial..... Worked for you, should work for me!

BTW Vela, I looked at your gallery earlier, your babies are absolutely gorgeous.... something about the white ones I just love..... sooooo adorable.... sweet littles faces. So now, along with the fawn that I want, I would love to have a white one like yours!

 

[Tucker's Mom]

Just a thought here (while getting back to the original subject), I noticed that there were only a few mentions of separation anxiety in this thread. But, that may be the majority of the problem. I had a pitt bull puppy who acted exactly like this. He was completely dependent on my boyfriend and would not listen to me. If Johnny left the room, the pup would panic and act the same as the boxer pup in question. And this was extremely hard for me since Johnny drove a truck for a living at that point and was gone for a week at a time. And the aggressive behavior went hand in hand with the separation anxiety. I don't know if our pup was taken from his mother too young or what may have caused it (we rescued him from his previous owner at about 10 weeks). But I do know that we were able to work with him and help him through it. He is a year old now and still has slight obedience problems, but he has gotten much better. And that was a breed that is known for being agressive. Since the original post mentioned that the boxer pup would act up when he thought he was alone but was fine when he knew someone was home, and based on my own experience, I would suggest researching separation anxiety and talking with a behavioral specialist about helping the pup overcome it. And that "look in his eye" is most likely fear, not aggression as one might believe. Charlie (our pitt) did the same thing. He hated the vet, bit and snarled at people he didn't know, and was generally destructive. He actually damaged over $3,000 worth of furniture and household items before he got over the anxiety. But, with a little time, some great advice from behavioral specialists, and a lot of love, he has become a very sweet and affectionate dog (although he is spoilt rotten and always wants to be the center of attention). He has even become best friends with my God Daughter (he lives with her father now) who is only 4 years old.

My point is this: if separation anxiety is the problem, it can be corrected. Especially in a gentle breed such as a boxer. After all, I overcame it with a pitt bull - a breed that has been outlawed in many places due to their general tendency to become aggressive if raised incorrectly. And I'm no dog specialist. Just a loving mother to my 4-legged children. I just don't believe that there is ever a reason to give up on a puppy because of behavioral probelms.

 

[GinsMomma]

I was wondering what happend to the puppy??

Did the little guy ever get the training he needed? I couldn't find an update about this dog.

 

[Prophecy]

I think it is a little soon to make a decision to put the dog down or not. He is still very young to make that type of behavioral decision. When my boxer boy was a little over a year he started bitting me when we would play outside. He would listen to my husband but not to me. It took some time to get him to see me as an "Alfa parent" too. I would sugest training and obedience school, things like that and work on the stern "No's" before I would make the decision to put him down. Hope this helps.

 

[Dham]

I have to say that I do think there is a difference between "being a puppy" and true aggression problems. There are pups out there that are very dominant aggressive pups, and it stems from bad breeding. No breed is exempt from having "bad dogs", because of poor breeding, and handling.
I was a vet tech for ten years and you see alot. I wouldn't have suggested putting the pup down by any means but we were not there to see what his true behavior was, and a true aggressive puppy needs lots of work, and not something I would just brush off as "being a puppy".

 

[winda88]

Please correct me if I'm wrong......These are the things I was told...
1. True aggression and dominance issues rarely materialize until a pup is around say 6 months old (before that and you MOST LIKELY have typical but sometimes stubborn normal puppy behavior)
2. Even true aggression is something that can USUALLY be managed through proper training (trained professional with experience handling aggressive dogs)
3. No matter how well your dog is trained by a "professional trainer", unless you are able (time and technique) to follow through with that training consistently you are wasting your energy.

Sounds to me like these vets are either nuts and should turn in their licenses or there is sooooo much more to the story .

In "people" medicine there is a saying (I'm paraphrasing) "Uncommon manifestations of common problems are more likely than common manifestations of uncommon problems." Applied to this situation: You most likely have a more difficult NORMAL puppy rather than a typical aggressive/dominant, needs-to-be-put-down puppy. Does that make sense?