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Why could this have happened?

glen

Super Moderator
Staff member
I agree until more information is given is anyones guess whats happened, very sad
 

Justin B.

Well-Known Member
Sometimes its the exact opposite of abuse that can trigger these attacks. Far too little info to speculate or tell.
I have read news stories where:
- PB have killed their owner over the owner having seizure or other medical conditions
- Presa Canario once killed its female owner while she was giving him a bath outside.
 

Steven C

Well-Known Member
Sometimes its the exact opposite of abuse that can trigger these attacks. Far too little info to speculate or tell.
I have read news stories where:
- PB have killed their owner over the owner having seizure or other medical conditions
- Presa Canario once killed its female owner while she was giving him a bath outside.

I remember that one in Ft Lauderdale I believe, where she was washing it. I actually though that was a Cane Corso. The husband actually warned the wife on that dog as it growled at her frequently. The police shot it and it fell in the pool.
 

Justin B.

Well-Known Member
I remember that one in Ft Lauderdale I believe, where she was washing it. I actually though that was a Cane Corso. The husband actually warned the wife on that dog as it growled at her frequently. The police shot it and it fell in the pool.
I do think it was in Florida. I think the family was getting ready to go on vacation or something.

Oh wow i don't remember that part. Exactly why I dont dismiss or downplay any signs of handler/owner aggression with certain breeds. Terrible tragedy.
 

Nik

Well-Known Member
I just have a hard time believing there would be an attack of that severity with no prior warning and nothing triggering it. And as Boxergirl says there isn't enough information here to even take a guess.
 

Steven C

Well-Known Member
Sometimes its the exact opposite of abuse that can trigger these attacks. Far too little info to speculate or tell.
I have read news stories where:
- PB have killed their owner over the owner having seizure or other medical conditions
- Presa Canario once killed its female owner while she was giving him a bath outside.

The strange thing is that almost always the person attacked is the non dominant one in the family, ie kids, wife or some innocent passerby. I have never seen an attack on the alpha pack leader. Shows the importance of pack structure across the family above the dog. These situations occur with a non alpha owner which this seemed like.

There was a Golden retriever case a couple years ago with an older lady owner and 2 other dogs. The dog killed her at the nook in the kitchen while they were eating and I though wow, what would provoke something like that. Nuts.
 

Nik

Well-Known Member
The strange thing is that almost always the person attacked is the non dominant one in the family, ie kids, wife or some innocent passerby. I have never seen an attack on the alpha pack leader. Shows the importance of pack structure across the family above the dog. These situations occur with a non alpha owner which this seemed like.

There was a Golden retriever case a couple years ago with an older lady owner and 2 other dogs. The dog killed her at the nook in the kitchen while they were eating and I though wow, what would provoke something like that. Nuts.

The thing that I find frustrating is it is always the cases where it is a pit or bully type dog that get all the media attention. It is a disservice to bully breeds but also dangerous because it makes people mistakenly believe that all the other dogs are completely harmless. Animals are animals and anyone who owns one should know what the warning signs are. Heck even with cats! I mean that's how I ended up with a bloody head by ignoring a cat's warning signs. No animal is harmless and they should all be respected.
 

trg

Well-Known Member
A Rottweiler I had one time ended coming home with a broke jaw. I didn’t know it at the time but after a visit to the vet, sure enough broke jaw. The only thing holding it together was his back tooth with double roots. The break was straight up the middle between the tooth roots. Only thing I could figure out was he was kicked by a deer, he had cuts on his forelegs. After about 6 weeks you would never know by looking or his actions anything was ever wrong. So within a couple of months after he was completely better he started not minding me and would growl at me when I would try to lead him. I figured he was going through his teenage years as some dogs do, testing the waters. I was willing to work through it. Things changed rapidly with the family though, he growled at my little boy while the dog was eating. All my son did was pat him just above his tail on his back as he was walking by. With the growl came the hair standing up one the neck. Now keep in mind this dog was raised in the house, food taken away during eating and given back to show non threat situation. He adored the kids they were never mean to him. Here’s where hatters May hate, I had the dog put down. I would not consider giving him away with the kowlege I had, and I surly was not keeping him at my house. This was not a dog I bought from some back yard breeder, I paid $1300 and had him flown from California to NC. From a reputable breeder. Bottom line, things happen, in my opinion a responsible dog owner always keeps an eye out for changes in their pets. For what it’s worth, I cried like a child when the dog was put down.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
No judgment, trg. Sometimes we have to make difficult decisions. My kids and husband know my wishes if something happens to me before my three dogs are gone. Plenty of very strong opinions have been made about one of my decisions from others, and I really don't care. I know my dogs and my family better than anyone and I love them all desperately. I know what's right. Death with a loved one by their side isn't the worst thing that can happen to a dog. It really isn't. I am sorry you had to make that decision.
 

Steven C

Well-Known Member
No judgment, trg. Sometimes we have to make difficult decisions. My kids and husband know my wishes if something happens to me before my three dogs are gone. Plenty of very strong opinions have been made about one of my decisions from others, and I really don't care. I know my dogs and my family better than anyone and I love them all desperately. I know what's right. Death with a loved one by their side isn't the worst thing that can happen to a dog. It really isn't. I am sorry you had to make that decision.

I don't understand fully. If something happened to you, wouldn't the 3 dogs be ok with the rest of the family? I mean I thought about that also with my wife thinking 3 would be tough for her alone, but I think she would manage ok and the dogs would be ok with her.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
I have a special dog. There is not anyone at this time that can continue his daily care and training as it needs to be to ensure quality of life for him. These dogs are mine. My husband loves them, but they are my dogs. I'm the dog geek. My husband works far too many hours and doesn't understand what needs to be done every day to keep Al's quality of life where it needs to be. He would try very hard, but he wouldn't know how. The other dogs he would be fine with. My daughters are both adults now and have their own lives and animals to take care of. If something happens to me, I have requested that Al be euthanized. I know that it's in his best interest long term. He has always put his trust in me to keep him safe, and I don't plan to betray that trust. Luckily I don't anticipate anything happening to me, and he's going to be nine this year. I've never had a boxer live past ten. If you're interested, you can look for posts about Al. I've made plenty of them.
 

TylerDurden

Well-Known Member
I have a special dog. There is not anyone at this time that can continue his daily care and training as it needs to be to ensure quality of life for him. These dogs are mine. My husband loves them, but they are my dogs. I'm the dog geek. My husband works far too many hours and doesn't understand what needs to be done every day to keep Al's quality of life where it needs to be. He would try very hard, but he wouldn't know how. The other dogs he would be fine with. My daughters are both adults now and have their own lives and animals to take care of. If something happens to me, I have requested that Al be euthanized. I know that it's in his best interest long term. He has always put his trust in me to keep him safe, and I don't plan to betray that trust. Luckily I don't anticipate anything happening to me, and he's going to be nine this year. I've never had a boxer live past ten. If you're interested, you can look for posts about Al. I've made plenty of them.

It is great to know that forum members can openly discuss such serios topics without anybody being judgemental.
You must have a very special and deep relationship with your dog, which I think is great and unique. Only you know what‘s best for him. While I have a close relationship with my dog, it‘s probably more evenly balanced between my wife and I. Therefore, if something happens to me, I know that there will always be someone who takes care of him equally well. Regardless, I probably wouldn‘t be able to have him euthanized if something happened to me. It would feel like punishing him for something he is not responsible for. Again, just my personal opinion and I understand and accept your point of view 100%.
 

April Nicole

Well-Known Member
A Rottweiler I had one time ended coming home with a broke jaw. I didn’t know it at the time but after a visit to the vet, sure enough broke jaw. The only thing holding it together was his back tooth with double roots. The break was straight up the middle between the tooth roots. Only thing I could figure out was he was kicked by a deer, he had cuts on his forelegs. After about 6 weeks you would never know by looking or his actions anything was ever wrong. So within a couple of months after he was completely better he started not minding me and would growl at me when I would try to lead him. I figured he was going through his teenage years as some dogs do, testing the waters. I was willing to work through it. Things changed rapidly with the family though, he growled at my little boy while the dog was eating. All my son did was pat him just above his tail on his back as he was walking by. With the growl came the hair standing up one the neck. Now keep in mind this dog was raised in the house, food taken away during eating and given back to show non threat situation. He adored the kids they were never mean to him. Here’s where hatters May hate, I had the dog put down. I would not consider giving him away with the kowlege I had, and I surly was not keeping him at my house. This was not a dog I bought from some back yard breeder, I paid $1300 and had him flown from California to NC. From a reputable breeder. Bottom line, things happen, in my opinion a responsible dog owner always keeps an eye out for changes in their pets. For what it’s worth, I cried like a child when the dog was put down.

You knew the dog better than anyone. I think you made the right decision.
 
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Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
It is great to know that forum members can openly discuss such serios topics without anybody being judgemental.
You must have a very special and deep relationship with your dog, which I think is great and unique. Only you know what‘s best for him. While I have a close relationship with my dog, it‘s probably more evenly balanced between my wife and I. Therefore, if something happens to me, I know that there will always be someone who takes care of him equally well. Regardless, I probably wouldn‘t be able to have him euthanized if something happened to me. It would feel like punishing him for something he is not responsible for. Again, just my personal opinion and I understand and accept your point of view 100%.

I never would have thought that I would make that choice either, but that was before Al. Life is terrifying for him much of the time. He has learned to trust me to keep him safe. He can't do any sort of change. Even moving the furniture is traumatic for him and he has an anxiety attack. Some days he still has really bad days without any explanation. I posted a video of him not that long ago. There was a time where I evaluated his quality of life every single day because the the good days didn't outweigh the bad. He was unable to walk down the street for a long time. I worked very hard to build his trust in me so. Now when we're out he has a default move behind me or back between my legs when he's frightened and I take care of the situation and get him home. The day I saw him consider bolting and choose to look at me for direction, despite being so afraid, brought me to tears. He requires daily work. He knows commands and is very well trained, but sensory things are new to him every day. So we work every day. He worries 24/7. He notices a sign down the block and worries about it. He scans the street for things to worry about. He needs structure and routine in his life and he needs someone that he trusts to keep him safe. That's me. I've worked for eight years to get where we are. Where his good days outweigh his bad. I'm not being arrogant or thinking that I'm special, but I know that he would not be okay if I were gone. I did not make this decision lightly. Luckily, like I said, I'm pretty positive he's going to go before me. And it's going to break me because I've put more than 100% of myself into this silly dog and I love him very much. He's taught me so very many things and he's given me all of his trust. That's a big deal.
 

Sheila Braund

Well-Known Member
I never would have thought that I would make that choice either, but that was before Al. Life is terrifying for him much of the time. He has learned to trust me to keep him safe. He can't do any sort of change. Even moving the furniture is traumatic for him and he has an anxiety attack. Some days he still has really bad days without any explanation. I posted a video of him not that long ago. There was a time where I evaluated his quality of life every single day because the the good days didn't outweigh the bad. He was unable to walk down the street for a long time. I worked very hard to build his trust in me so. Now when we're out he has a default move behind me or back between my legs when he's frightened and I take care of the situation and get him home. The day I saw him consider bolting and choose to look at me for direction, despite being so afraid, brought me to tears. He requires daily work. He knows commands and is very well trained, but sensory things are new to him every day. So we work every day. He worries 24/7. He notices a sign down the block and worries about it. He scans the street for things to worry about. He needs structure and routine in his life and he needs someone that he trusts to keep him safe. That's me. I've worked for eight years to get where we are. Where his good days outweigh his bad. I'm not being arrogant or thinking that I'm special, but I know that he would not be okay if I were gone. I did not make this decision lightly. Luckily, like I said, I'm pretty positive he's going to go before me. And it's going to break me because I've put more than 100% of myself into this silly dog and I love him very much. He's taught me so very many things and he's given me all of his trust. That's a big deal.

WOW! I'm bowing to the master! Really Boxergirl that's amazing!
I totally understand. If something happens to me, I think my Sunny would starve to death. I'm her "service person" I've told my family the same thing about Sunny. I've gone on a 7 day vacation a couple years ago. My dad was puppy sitting. He ended up taking her to the vets for iv for fluids. Yep that my last vacation I've had without her. Now we just take her with us every where. And I'm very grateful she's only 6lbs.