not sure what to do...agressive chow

[MutzzysMom]

Well. My 13 yr old chow has done it again. He bit my moms 85 yr old uncle without warning and it landed him in the hospital for what we think will be 3 days (infection spread up his arm in a matter of hours). He has tried to bite my dad twice and got my brother once (these all recent) and had bitten me badly about 10 years ago but that was my fault in all honestly and that was with warning. My mom brought up the question about putting him down. He is 13 with horrible arthritis(which is why i know he bites out of pain Im almost positive of it) and has lumps all over him about 4 or 5. I think he can make it for a while longer but our concern is we have a 9 month ol baby around the house who is now learning to walk and we have mutzzy of course who sometimes can be a BIG pain to him since shes so young and chipper. We dont have the $$ to treat him intensely for the arthritis. We give him glucosamine tablets but they dont do much. Im just at a loss. On one hand im not sure putting him down is a good idea but i also worry about the safety of my own small dog who frankly has been through enough already and my neice. I know its not his fault thats the problem. Hs old and in pain I dont blame him for being cranky but im just at a loss

[Rachel]

This is always a really tough decision but by what you have said in your post it sounds like you may have already made you choice. If he is in pain all the time, unhappy, and you can not trust him around the baby or people in general maybe he is giving you signs that it is time. 13 years is a good long life. This is such a touchy subject and I do not want to offend you by saying the wrong thing. But I do want to support you and tell you whatever decision you make it will be the best for him. He will let you know when it is time if he has not already.

Rachel

[Andre Mendizabal]

Ok, maybe everybody will disagree with me, but I do think putting him down is not such a bad idea :( He is old, sick and in pain, its clear he has some issues that may be due to pain or other behavior problems, the truth is that if nobody will spend the money (that may be A LOT) and the time (one on one, a lot of training and patience) to help him out with his pain and issues, he will certainly represent some kind of threat to the smaller of the house (or even the older)... I know its a very tough choice to make, I just want to let you know that sometimes this things happen and its better for them, if he was a puppy or a younger dog, things could go different, but face it, even putting apart the biting, he will get sicker and sicker and if you can't handle it, its better to stop his suffering while it still isn't too much!!!

Whatever decision you make... just keep in mind that we are here for you.

:yourock:

p.d. when my Kraft passed last year this website helped me a bit http://www.leerburg.com/bridge.htm

[MutzzysMom]

I really havent made a decision at all.... and i dont think my parents have either. He is really their dog and therefor their decision. I thiknk i will have to give my mom time to rest before a decision right now. She has been at the hospital with him since 3 pm yesterday. They are expected to return tomorrow morning. Over 24 hours of sleeping in in a chair doesnt put you in the right frame of mind to make that kind of decision. 0thanks so much for your support guys!

[Grace Erick]

I'm so sorry to hear that your chow did that to your uncle. You may be right about his pain causing him to bite. You know best about what is right to do.

If you are interested in arthitis relief, I would search around the net for you. I don't know if it's expensive to treat, but I have seen the topic come up many times on dog chat forums. I don't know what they treat the dog with. If all you need is a vet visit, and the meds are not expensive, it may be worth a go.

[Grace Erick]

Hi,

I looked up arthritis on a site where the gal that wrote this has credentials, so the information should be good. If you want to post at that dog chat that had this info in their archives, I'll e-mail you. Maybe you have questions about treatment and cost.


The way I deal with arthritis is to start with diet. Since I don't
believe in a generic diet for all dogs or all conditions, this would
start with a questionnaire I have you fill out. Now, on an informal
basis - What has your dog been eating? could you manage a home
cooked diet? How much exercise is your dog used to? Does she need to
lose a few pounds? Does she have any other conditions that might
influence how we design the diet? I generally start with a grain
free, moderate to lower but very bioavailable protein level, and a
good deal of Omega3 fatty acids from fish body oils. The protein can
be raw or cooked, and with some dogs I might add a small amount of
grain. we try the basic diet for a few weeks and have a good
veterinary work up at that time to ensure the diet agrees with the
dog on an objective level. Some dogs actually improve, at least
temporarily, on vegetarian. It's important to remember that because
a dog "seems' to improve on a new diet, that doesn't mean the new
diet is ideal. What could be happening is that the new plan adds in
a nutrient that has been low or deficient and therefore subjective
signs of improvement appear. but what if the new plan is also
slightly excessive in some other nutrient (for that dog) or lacks
sufficient amounts of another one? We can go by the NRC numbers but
in the end, there are individual metabolic idiosyncracies. And
nutritional problems can take a long time to appear. So the
appearance of improvement cannot be verified unless it A) continues
throughout the dog's ife, and B) is validated by periodic veterinary
assessments.
So, in short - we start with diet, but can consider this endeavour
to be an ongoing one. ;)

Next, I add supplements. There are many supplements available for
arthritic dogs and some are the subject of much debate. the ones I
consider essential - aside from the aforementioned fatty acids - are
as follows;
1) glucosamine/chondroitin
2) bromelain
3) MSM
4) Super oxide dismutase
5) proteolytic enzymes, such as Wobenzyme , some experimentaion is
usually required in this arena
6) evening primrose or borage oil

Others that may be needed or prove beneficial include:
1) Shark's cartilage
2) cetyl myristoleate
3)Dimethyl glycine (DMG)
4) Vitamin C
5) Various antioxidants, such as pycnogenol, alpha lipoic acid, that
can be used in rotation
6) SAMe (s-adenyl methionine)

DLPA can be considered for pain therapy if needed. Some owners
report great success with Adequan injections as well and many of use
Traumeel from www.heel.com for episodic stiffnes or soft tissue
strains due to improper usage.

http://www.k9magazinefree.c om/k9_perspective/iss3p17.shtml
http://www.wholehealthmd.co m/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,10158,00
.html
http://devinefarm.net/rp/rpdlpa.htm

I would consider anti inflammatory herbs, such as boswellia,nettles,
cat's claw - a good blend can be found at www.doggonepain.com, but I
generally like to work in one herb at a time to ensure there is no
reaction, so a blend can have this as a drawback especially if your
dog has a sensitive tummy.

Lastly, I encourage anyone with an arthritic dog to consider
acupuncture, Tellington touch or physiotherapy. With the combination
of diet, supplements, herbs and acupuncture I believe we are giving
the dog her best possible chance to experience a lessening of
symptoms and a slowing of the disease progression. Again I stress
that thorough veterinary monitoring is a necessity throughout this
process.

Basically, there are four goals in natural thrapy for
osteoarthritis,and they are to 1) slow degenerative damage 2) reduce
inflammation 3) control pain, and 4) stabilize joint function if
necessary. The above programme will assist in all of these and while
it is fairly high maintenance, I have seen great success with my own
dog and with countless others.


Bye, Grace

[Hee Yung Lee]

I agree with everyone else. I just wanted to say that I know everything will work out for the best. You care deeply for this dog and as a consequence only the best decision will be made. Take care.

Liz and Bogart

[Jarrod Stafford]

I understand this is a loved pet and I do not mean to offend you by any means, but this dog should have been put down 10 years ago.

[TimberWolf]

I don't think the dog should have been put down years ago to be honest with you but a chow is not a good choice for a family. They are cute but they WILL bite without warning. It's their breed. it's not something that can easily be changed when it's their breed's charactoristic. A chow is good for a single person whois able to deal with a stubborn, single-minded, guard dog. They only protect one person in a group and will not respond in kind to others even if they are part of the same family. Dogs such as german shepherds and rottweilerss are great within a family because their charactoristics are to guard a pack and not a single being. My step brother had this problem. His chow Cooch was protective of him and him only. Not that he trained him but Cooch chose my step brother as his one and only. He took a bite out of my step father's leg when he wanted to exit the bathroom. He's snapped at anyone that moved too near by him including any girlfriend of my stepbrother's, myself, and my mother. He is kind with other dogs but only those he's familiar with. That is just how they are. They can learn to behave in a family setting but don't expect them to guard the whole lot, just the one they choose.

Anyhoo, He is old and in pain. The more pain he's in, the crankier he'll be. In that case he'll continue to bite out of pain. It's a horrible situation and it's obvious you and your family love him. I think you know the right thing to do. I just hope your mom or anyone in charge of his life decisions will decide what's best for him and your family. If he was young I'd say you need to find him a home imediately, but he's old and very set in his ways. He needs your love right now and understanding too. content editted by myself for not-so-good advice. I apologise for any misleadings

:sad:

[MutzzysMom]

I don't think the dog should have been put down years ago to be honest with you but a chow is not a good choice for a family. They are cute but they WILL bite without warning. It's their breed. it's not something that can easily be changed when it's their breed's charactoristic. A chow is good for a single person whois able to deal with a stubborn, single-minded, guard dog. They only protect one person in a group and will not respond in kind to others even if they are part of the same family. Dogs such as german shepherds and rottweilerss are great within a family because their charactoristics are to guard a pack and not a single being. My step brother had this problem. His chow Cooch was protective of him and him only. Not that he trained him but Cooch chose my step brother as his one and only. He took a bite out of my step father's leg when he wanted to exit the bathroom. He's snapped at anyone that moved too near by him including any girlfriend of my stepbrother's, myself, and my mother. He is kind with other dogs but only those he's familiar with. That is just how they are. They can learn to behave in a family setting but don't expect them to guard the whole lot, just the one they choose.

Anyhoo, He is old and in pain. The more pain he's in, the crankier he'll be. In that case he'll continue to bite out of pain. It's a horrible situation and it's obvious you and your family love him. I think you know the right thing to do. I just hope your mom or anyone in charge of his life decisions will decide what's best for him and your family. If he was young I'd say you need to find him a home imediately, but he's old and very set in his ways. He needs your love right now and understanding too. content editted by myself for not-so-good advice. I apologise for any misleadings

:sad:

This is something weve realized way to late... Talk about the iportance of research before we got the dog. Thank god for the internet now adays. My brother saw the dog at the pet store and brought him hime. That was it There was no research done at all. I was nine He was 17 My mom thought he was the cutest dthing in the world (which he is) and that was that he was a pet. If we knew what chows were all about we would have never gotten him. In his defense (and i know it doesnt sound like it now) When he wasnt in pain and he was younger, he was extremely mellow for a chow...always food agressive, which is how i got bitten 10 years ago but other than that a wonderful dog. He was potective of our family as a wholeThis is how i know he is doing it out of pain. Ive heard millions of chow horror stories and before thos year I always thought we were so lucky.

Thanks grace for that info. WEve been giving him glucosamin and condroiten and feedick him natural balance so i think were at a good start

Thanks everyone for their support.i thought i might get attacked saying that i was such a horrible owner for even THINKING about CHOOSING to put him down. I think i may print out this post for my mom to read. You guys are reallu great and supportive. It really is wonderful to have a place like this.

[Jesse Cruz]

Hi Francesca,

Sorry i'm late getting in on this thread but i usually check doggie bag from work.

It shows how much your family and you love this dog and as mentioned before I am here to support your decision. 13 years is a great life especially in a home with so much love and care. He probably is letting you guys know that he's done and he's ready to move on, but that's something you guys really need to sit down and talk about. Thinking about your neice is high priority and as your dog gets older it seems like its getting worse. Whatever you guys decide i'm sure will be in the best interest of your Chow as well as your family, not to mention Mutzzy (we all know how much she's been through and are happy that she's doing so well).

Good luck and please keep us updated.

[Marne Benner]

I don't think the dog should have been put down years ago to be honest with you but a chow is not a good choice for a family. They are cute but they WILL bite without warning. It's their breed. it's not something that can easily be changed when it's their breed's charactoristic. A chow is good for a single person whois able to deal with a stubborn, single-minded, guard dog. They only protect one person in a group and will not respond in kind to others even if they are part of the same family. Dogs such as german shepherds and rottweilerss are great within a family because their charactoristics are to guard a pack and not a single being. My step brother had this problem. His chow Cooch was protective of him and him only. Not that he trained him but Cooch chose my step brother as his one and only. He took a bite out of my step father's leg when he wanted to exit the bathroom. He's snapped at anyone that moved too near by him including any girlfriend of my stepbrother's, myself, and my mother. He is kind with other dogs but only those he's familiar with. That is just how they are. They can learn to behave in a family setting but don't expect them to guard the whole lot, just the one they choose.

Anyhoo, He is old and in pain. The more pain he's in, the crankier he'll be. In that case he'll continue to bite out of pain. It's a horrible situation and it's obvious you and your family love him. I think you know the right thing to do. I just hope your mom or anyone in charge of his life decisions will decide what's best for him and your family. If he was young I'd say you need to find him a home imediately, but he's old and very set in his ways. He needs your love right now and understanding too. content editted by myself for not-so-good advice. I apologise for any misleadings

:sad:

I have to agree with Ann here.
Your chow is being a chow. They are a very assertive/aggressive breed.
My dog Zak was a chow. Wonderful with my family, not so with people he didn't know. Heaven help anyone who might have wondered into the house without invitation. We had to put him down last year. Not for biting mind you, in the thirteen years that we had him, he never bit a soul and I run daycare out of my home. He loved the kids, not their parents so much.
Anyway, when we had to put him down (liver and kidney failure) the vet told me that thirteen years is an extremely long life for a chow. They usually only make it for 10 or 11, due to health problems there after.
If he is pain, your not doing him or anyone else a favour by keeping him around. His quality of life is deteriating and he is not a happy camper.
It's not an easy decision, but it's a decision that has to be made quickly,for both of you.
Best wishes