Feelings about the situation are getting edgy between me and my son and his wife. I feel that I have done all that I should for now.
Hopefully, your advice has made your son and DIL a little more "aware" and they will see/recognize any future signs of aggression from the dog; plus will make sure a replay of events (puppy playing with Goldie) will never happen again.
You can only do what you can do. People have to live their lives. And although as I said, as LE I'd be talking to CPS, as a family member that does have permanent and typically very traumatic consequences. I think if you've said your piece you just have to let them live their lives unless you personally feel that you can't do that and want to do something drastic. There's no point in beating the proverbial dead horse... it creates hard feelings and in the end, it often pushes people who aren't ready to hear it in the opposite direction of where you want them to go, just due to resistance.
susan
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a wabbit, Fuzzy Wuzzy had a dandelion habit! RIP little Wuz... don't go far.
mikestock wrote: The vet they took the dog to did know that the primary reason for the visit was the killing of the puppy.
Feelings about the situation are getting edgy between me and my son and his wife. I feel that I have done all that I should for now.
Once our kids are married and on their own, there's only so much a parent can do. We have to let go and hope we have raised them well enough that they make a good life. When in-laws become involved there are boundaries.
It's not worth fracturing family relationships over this.
It's almost like when kids are teens - if they date someone the parents don't approve of, sometimes the more the parent fights it, the more drawn they are to that person.
If you try to push any further right now, it's not going to have any effect other than to strain the relationship.
You have made them aware of the dangers. Basically all you can really do is sit back and hope and pray for the best. I think grandparents are an important part of a childs life, and you don't want to end up in a position where there is so much animosity that you can't enjoy your grandkids.
Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.
Code2High wrote: ... it creates hard feelings and in the end, it often pushes people who aren't ready to hear it in the opposite direction of where you want them to go, just due to resistance.
So true.
Doug & Sandy
Jill (11yr old Golden)& Charmin (16 yr old something)
Henry NOW a camping cat
2008 Southwind
2009 Honda CRV
bdpreece wrote: We have had 3 male Golden or Golden mix dogs over the last 30 years and all of them were the sweetest most loving dogs you could ever find around dogs, cats, and children. I would be highly suspect of this dog. If the dog is neutered and is still this aggressive I hate to say it but have it checked by a vet and if they find no illness it may be necessary to put him down. Golden's are probably the most laid back loving dogs ever, something is drastically wrong here.
Ditto this! I raise and show Golden Retrievers and this is NOT normal Golden temperament or behavior. Goldens are known for their sweet, steady natures, and aside from a little rough play (as they don't realize how strong they are when they are young)any sign of aggression is out of line.
Have a vet do a work-up to rule out any medical problems. Second, hire a good trainer, preferable one who has extensive experience with aggression, third, sadly; put the animal down. Meanwhile do not allow him to be with young children, or small animals.
Knowing Goldies as I know them, I absolutely hate hearing of things like this.
We have a lot of dog-owners in our neighborhood. There are 4 Golden Retrievers and 2 'doodles' in 2 blocks! I see them everywhere. It makes me think that due to overbreeding, a mutant aggressive gene may have surfaced in some strains. Years ago, I remember 'Spaniel Rage' in Springer and Cocker spaniels. Haven't heard much about it lately, again, I think it was genetic.
Go Dogs wrote: ..It makes me think that due to overbreeding, a mutant aggressive gene may have surfaced in some strains...
I may have mentioned this before, but several years ago I attended a presentation at our AAHA national meeting where Japanese veterinary researchers had isolated several gene groups that predisposed to aggressive tendencies. They used blood samples from Goldens and Shiba Inu as their pool to isolate the genes. By analyzing differences in temperament (goldens being non-aggressive and shiba tending to more aggression) they were able to identify these markers.
The military was interested (US army veterinarians) in hopes that using these tests they would be able to pre-select candidates for military service before spending the time and money in training only to have the dogs wash out because of not being aggressive enough for the work.
Undoubtedly there have been problems developing with goldens since they have become one of the more popular breeds. Behavior issues are still very rare, but more common than 25-30 years ago. Health issues including allergy, a tendency to develop cancer later in life and hypothryoid are all issues we see more regularly now.
We have friends that have a 2 yr golden and it started doing the same thing last fall. They took it to a trainer and we're told it's a possession thing. The dog feels he owns the family and boundaries need to be set that he is in No Way the Alpha Dog!! And if he is allowed to continue to believe he is, the aggression can turn towards anyone in the home. Especially if the parent is trying to punish the child. He may have had training in his old home but he now needs it with his new family. It's not hopeless at all. A shock collar will help when other dogs are around. Put him on the leash and walk him around another dog, when he acts aggressive jerk the collar, say now and hit the beep only button. By the third time if he still isn't listening use the shock button. Start on a low setting and adjust accordingly until it gets his attention. My dog wears one. She only needs the beep button now but last yr when our friends dog went after another dog for no reason and she tried to follow, I yelled no, it the beep and she sat down beside me. It's not cruel if used the proper way. It's for the dogs safety and urs. If that dog hurts someone or another dog he can be sued and in today's society he can lose everything he has worked hard for.
Just stumbled across this topic and found it very interesting as we too rescued a Golden Retriever that was very aggressive around other dogs. We've had him 7 years now and we've worked with him quite a bit - watched all the dog whisperer shows we could, rented videos, bought a used a shock collar, hired a trainer, and I can say he is a lot better.
However - we never leave him alone with another dog off leash until the two have been appropriately socialized over a period of at least a month. We just adopted another dog - and followed a series of steps to carefully socialize the new dog into the home and now both dogs are just fine together even though the new one is a lot smaller. Our Golden still needs to be corrected periodically and we are diligent to let him know we are always the alpha - not him. We can never let our guard down when it comes to that.
Some other things we do is have him wear a muzzle - the kind that is like a basket - so he can swim and breath easily in it but cannot bite another dog. So in cases where he will be around other dogs, that is our approach.
Here is a link we found that helped us a great deal: http://leerburg.com/introducingdogs.htm?set=1
Just because a Golden is aggressive toward other dogs, doesn't mean he will be that way with children. Ours is great with kids - but when it comes to other dogs the whole "pack" mentality kicks in and he wants to make sure he's #1.
That said - we don't leave dogs alone with children ever because abuse can occur in both directions and we never know for sure what can set off an animal.
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