Need Help Rehoming Dog with Human Bite History

Submitted by trshwmn t3_10q49t6 in rva

Unfortunately, we have made the very difficult decision to rehome our dog after a human biting incident. We unfortunately don't have the resources to put more time and money into his training. But he is a very sweet dog when he isn't guarding resources and deserves to be in a home where he can get what he needs. We think he would do really well on a farm or as a hunting dog, somewhere he could have a job. We live in RVA but are willing to road trip a good distance to find the right place for him.

Also please don't be a jerk about this, we feel horrible enough as it is.

Please click the link here to find out more information about him and please pass this along to anyone who can possibly help!

https://preview.redd.it/cn0k1qd7tefa1.jpg?width=510&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=6e75ea4007b6a534b805e469dad386dc5b443f46

69

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

ichheissekate t1_j6oxjnb wrote

A dog with a human bite history and that does not readily get along with other animals as your adoption posting indicates is unsuitable for hunting or farm work.

It may be difficult to find a place for him because he has demonstrated that he is a risk and can pose a danger to others. You’re doing the ethical thing by not obscuring his bite record, but rescues sometimes will do so and it creates a lot more victims - sometimes even “dog laundering” to hide it (renaming and transferring the dog to another rescue out of state to hide the bite history). You need to give full details to an adopter/rescue about the bite, beyond what is in your adoption posting — do not sugarcoat it.

If you can’t find a rescue that will agree to accurately represent the dog’s bite history to potential adopters, you may need to seek behavioral euthanasia. The fact that the bite is bad enough to rehome indicates that it may be the right thing to do to consider this option, despite it being painful to think about. If a child was bitten, then you really should think all options through to determine what is the most ethical choice. While it is a sad situation to be in, you need to prioritize the safety of other people in this decision.

Edit: your comment responses indicate that your dog has a repeat bite history. It is extremely irresponsible to rehome your dog at this point because of this.

162

LostDefectivePearl t1_j6phmww wrote

Thank you for mentioning behavioral euthanasia, I have a friend who had to make that hard choice. I know there are circumstances where that is the most humane and compassionate choice. She was able to give her dog a wonderful and loving last day with a hike and lots of treats.

61

junebug2daface t1_j6pfylv wrote

Hi! I recently hung out with someone who had a bite-y dog they had adopted without being notified that the dog had a biting problem.

Their solution was to have the dog wear a muzzle around everyone else. The dog seemed perfectly happy.

I don't know if this helps, but I'm sorry you are in a difficult spot with this puppy

44

burneraccountlolz t1_j6ofjj4 wrote

A lot of people that hunt with dogs just leave them to die in the woods at the end of the season because it’s cheaper to get a new puppy than it is to properly care for a dog for it’s life. Would not suggest adopting out any dog to someone who participates in that archaic blood sport.

12

freetimerva t1_j6oicoy wrote

You have a link to any evidence to support that? Never heard of anyone intentionally leaving dogs behind.

53

fusion260 t1_j6onxkk wrote

Here's a distinguished (featured) student essay featured by VCCS titled "The Abandonment and Neglect of Hunting Dogs" that mentions cases from Virginia and North Carolina.

The issue doesn't seem to be common but it does occur and is primarily due to the hunter's inability or lack of desire to feed dogs off-season when they're struggling to feed themselves.

33

TheCheeseDevil t1_j6oojhm wrote

This is a fairly recent article on the issue, although its hard to differentiate between lost hounds and dumped ones after the fact. We found a good number of emaciated dogs that just got left behind on our property. I am having trouble finding an article, but when I lived in Gloucester someone abandoned an entire pack, it was the talk of the town. At least a dozen dogs with no tags/trackers just dumped

24

Poopforce1s t1_j6p5lvo wrote

I have personally heard from two hunters that they will open the truck and just let the dogs out and drive away if the dog "don't run good". One laughed as he recalled backing his truck up to a bridge and watching the dogs jump into the river and driving off. The other said he would go to wealthy neighborhoods and do it so someone would take the dog in.

I also work in a rural part of the state and have personally rescued numerous hunting dogs whose owners lose track of them and then just leave them behind. If the dog has a collar, half the time the owner just never answers or calls back.

22

jeb_hoge t1_j6okn65 wrote

We heard the same thing from Cumberland County's animal control when we adopted our hound from there. Dogs either get abandoned or shot. We're not sure what our girl's history was...there's a part of me that hopes she had a family and just got good and lost, but no one ever came looking for her either.

17

freetimerva t1_j6om8rl wrote

Thats wild. Some of my family is from Nelson. Damn near everyone has hunting dogs up there and never heard of that!

Seems like a major waste of resources considering puppies cost money.

11

WompWompIt t1_j6p11pv wrote

Not if you are letting them have puppies in that cage out back it doesn't. No vaccinations, parasite, deworming or heart worm protection.

10

jeb_hoge t1_j6on2j5 wrote

I know, I think it sounds crazy too, but I just remembered I also heard the same from a former director of SPCA Charlottesville-Albermale after we adopted.

6

DogVacuum t1_j6p61xo wrote

I adopted a Plott hound when living in Virginia. beautiful dog, couldn’t understand why he was available. The humane society said that in even slightly poorer areas, being abandoned is the best case scenario for hunting dogs, and that most of them just get shot.

It’s not a world I was familiar with, but I wound up with an amazing dog out of it.

8

robs_kabobs t1_j6pi43v wrote

Same with mine. He hates gunshot noises (or anything similar), tight spaces, and large vehicles. He was abandoned in Powhatan and when he was brought in he was completely emaciated.

2

WompWompIt t1_j6p0uyh wrote

This is absolutely true. It's horrendous but very common.

Source? Life in the country on a farm for 20 years. Sorry to say I've seen hounds freezing to death on the road during hunting season. Never spayed or neutered (as evidenced by testicles or a belly full of puppies). Too scared and unsocialized to be caught.

16

SuccsInAllSituations t1_j6oth28 wrote

I grew up in an area with a lot of hunting and they would absolutely dump the dogs that weren’t good at it or injured. I would pick them up all the time and end up rehoming them to loving homes as pets. We kept one who was dumped probably because he was afraid of gunshots. He was a sweet boy. But it does happen.

10

TripawdCorgi t1_j6p89hz wrote

Anecdotally, this is our current dog's backstory. Hunting dog, abandoned at some point due to either poor hunting skills or the human's inability to feed him in off season, bounced around a little bit before we adopted him. A few dogs we met while looking for a new buddy had similar backstories (abandoned hunting dogs particularly beagles and hound varieties). Again, it's anecdotal, but the rescues we spoke with seemed to be familiar with the scenario.

9

Cerebral-Knievel-1 t1_j6p7pvb wrote

My own hound was a rescue from Nelson county. From an "oops litter" apperntly mom and dad weren't the intended parants for the breeder..
Back in my fathers time.. a litter like that would have been tied up in a sack and tossed in the river. And i have no doubt that my father probably tossed a few sacks himself.

6

PickanickBasket t1_j6phu3q wrote

My cousin rescues abandoned hunting dogs in Missouri. It's super common. We got one of ours from her. Was clearly beaten, cigarette burns on her body, gun-shy.

1

manyamile t1_j6omwou wrote

This is the second dumbest thing I've seen on the internet today.

But to add some relevance to OP's post...I don't know anyone that hunts with dogs that would take this pooch.

He's unproven as a hunter and given the issues, won't be worth the time to train when there are plenty of other beagle/hound litters from proven lines of trackers to draw from.

−4

TheCheeseDevil t1_j6ooskr wrote

my neighbor growing up bred them in large amounts and euthanized the hounds that didn't work out. there are a lot of assholes that live in isolated areas to avoid scrutiny.

17

manyamile t1_j6opemb wrote

There are indeed a lot of assholes. Assholes everywhere.

1

TheCheeseDevil t1_j6ou5h3 wrote

Yep. If you ever want to really depress yourself, look up rescues for galgo and podenco dogs... abandoning or killing hunting dogs in the off season is a way of life in some places.

2

manyamile t1_j6oy2ka wrote

I'm aware that it occurs. I worked in the animal health field for 12 years where I traveled between shelters and veterinary teaching hospitals to help develop relationships between the two groups and assist with the writing of behavior assessment protocols and curricula with help from groups like AVSAB, HSUS, the SPCA, the APDT.

I'm in no way denying the killing of hunting dogs occurs. I'm suggesting that the person I initially responded to has a heavy bias against hunting in general, probably doesn't know a single hunter and the care that many (not all) put into their dogs, and is painting with a stupidly broad brush - and that OP's pooch would be a poor candidate for a hunter to adopt to begin with so their argument against giving the dog to a hunter to begin with is moot.

1