Sad week

Hi All
I never posted before but needed some comfort. After 1 year of all family members getting bitten badly, 2 trainers, 2 behaviorists, vet checks, meds and many scary growling incidents at other people we had no choice but to bring our beloved corgi back to the breeder who then euthanized him. Needless to say rescue would not take him nor could he be re-homed.
We made the difficult decision after the last violent attack which lasted for a good part of an hour. Our home became an unsafe place and we and the experts believe he was not well.
Regardless, I am so sad and can't stop crying. I keep doubting myself and wonder if we had done something different if he could've lived out his life. I don't know how to get over this guilt and grief. He was a wonderful little guy with a great personality until these episodes occurred which were becoming more frequent and intense. Also, they started as early on as 3 months.
In trying to decide whether to get another corgi I am wondering if most of you had an easy time training your corgi. I'm wondering if we would always second guess ourselves with another one.
Thanks for listening. This is so hard.
Amy

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Comment by Amy Channen on March 7, 2013 at 9:58pm: I just want to say thank you for all the kind words from you all. Each of you have made things a bit easier for me by your words of wisdom. Rationally, I know what we did was correct but my heart still breaks for the life I had hoped my dog to have along side of our family for many years to come. Despite all the issues, I loved him, his smile and adorable ways. The bad stuff is slowly moving to the back of my mind while the good stuff is what I'm thinking about.
I suppose in time we will know if another Corgi will make us nervous or not. I know they are a wonderful breed with great personalities so its so sad to think our experience could sour us to another one. In my opinion, I feel our breeder owes us another dog however I'm not sure I'd want one from her.
Thanks for your posts. They do mean a lot to me.

Comment by DSmith on March 7, 2013 at 8:58pm: You and your family are special people to have endured both emotionally and financially what you have in this journey. I'm not aware if you have children, however if you do then you have certainly demonstrated to them a commitment to the responsibility of pet ownership. I'm sorry for your loss. Please take time to process your grief. Immediately after I lost my beloved Akita I was gifted a corgi from a pet store. I didn't want the dog at first but the little guy grew on me. It's been 8 years and a second corgi later and I still feel like I wasn't able to grieve and honor my beloved Akita adequately. I was downsized from a large dog to a small dog which is what I prefered but the time/energy factor of having a corgi increased measurably. These dogs must have embedded nuclear energy chips. But I will say they keep me young and amused. I guess my point is, take your time to grieve then decide if you even want another dog and if you do then what breed is best suited for your family... I wish you and your family well...by the way the pet store corgi is "perfect" George and the breeder acquired corgi Dexter is the "problem child"...just saying.

Comment by Kristin on March 5, 2013 at 1:00pm: Oh Amy, I am so sorry you and your family had to go through this. I agree with those who have said you gave your corgi the gift of peace. A scared/aggressive dog is not a happy dog and it sounds like there was something neurolgical going on that would not have changed that. It's horrible (but true); there are a lot of people who would have given up after the first trainer, much less after two, two behaviorists, meds, etc. You did all you could, there's no doubt about that. I can't even imagine how difficult this has been on you, and I'm so very sorry for your loss.

As far as getting another corgi, that's a tough call that only you can make. I think you will know in your heart what the right decision is regarding that. If the thought of getting a corgi leaves knots in your stomach vs. thinking of getting another breed, maybe that's your answer. You can always get another corgi down the road. Give yourself time to grieve, heal, and sit with it for a while.

Comment by Linda on March 5, 2013 at 7:40am: I am so sorry. I agree with Chris that it sounds like there might have been some type of seizure problems and you did all you could to help him. He was not happy living that way either and you did the most loving thing you can, you gave him peace.

Training would not have helped...you can't train away a medical condition. Give yourself some time to heal and you will know when it's right to bring another pup into your life whether it's a corgi or not.

Comment by Anne on March 4, 2013 at 11:19pm: How terribly sad....so sorry that you and your family had to be subject to this tragedy. Hopefully in time, you will be more comfortable getting another pet...maybe another corgi. GOOD LUCK!

Comment by Chris Payerl on March 4, 2013 at 10:09pm: I'm so sorry to read your sad story. I'm sure you are heartbroken, but you did all the right things under those trying circumstances. Please take solace in knowing you helped your corgi find peace. He wasn't happy living that way, either.
It sounds as if it may have been some sort of seizure episodes. If so, you cannot "train" that away. Sophie has seizures, but not the rage type, and hers are controlled with meds. Not all seizures can be controlled, though, and the dogs are not in control of themselves when they have them, not acting aggressive out of meanness. Some seizure disorders are genetic, some due to other disease processes, some due to accidents/head injuries, and some idiopathic --- who knows why? Seizures can "teach" the brain to have more seizures so the fact that they were getting more frequent and violent makes that scenario sound possible. Who knows? Now you need to heal physically, mentally, and emotionally. You will know when / if the time is right and if a corgi is right.

Comment by John Wolff on March 4, 2013 at 1:48pm: A heartwrenching story. What a terrible disappointment for you. But it also sounds like there's an element of inevitability here. One thing a dog must do is get along with people, and not bite. If it cannot do that, for whatever reason, it's not that much different from getting run over by a car, or struck by lightning, or dying of disease. The inescapable bottom line is: a dog that bites people is not going to make it.

The cause of this tragedy may remain a mystery. You may never know why. Could you have done something different? Did you make some terrible tragic mistake? Maybe. Maybe not. If you consulted behaviorists who could not point out any obvious thing you were doing wrong, probably not. Don't be too hard on yourself.

We have a similar thing with Al: he is perfect with people and kids, but he will occasionally attack a larger dog. This started when he was nearly 2 y.o. We have no idea why. Mystery. I have to watch him closely. He's perfect with kids, but I watch him.

Things happen. We lost our first corgi to choking: we fed her something too big, and it killed her.

The pain will fade. Get over your guilt and grief and try again. You'll find a wonderful corgi, or it will find you.

Comment by Becky Focht on March 4, 2013 at 8:40am: So sorry for your loss. It sounds like you did everything you could before making this terribly difficult decision.

Comment by Natalie, Fiona, & Django on March 4, 2013 at 1:45am: My heart breaks for you. I can only imagine how difficult a decision this was...and how difficult this past year must have been for you. It sounds like you did everything you possibly could have done and then some. I'm so sorry you and your family had to go through this.

Comment by Donald Till on March 4, 2013 at 12:27am: We put Snoopy down when he was 12 when it became clear we could no longer control his vicious attacks. My wife had been to the ER 3 times and my daughter once, when he attacked again. It was just too much I wanted to do it a year earlier but everyone else want to continue to give the dog chances so when I took him in to be put down I knew it was the best thing to do. Sure it was always our fault! I didn't want to put him down as physically he was old but in great shape but I didn't feel bad about. We all really loved this dog but my family's safety (including my dogs) comes first.

We had put Genie down about a year earlier - Snoopy's long term companion. She had a degenerative disease and would drag herself around as she couldn't use her back legs. Amazingly they seemed to work quite well when she was swimming. We had a lift and would walk her out to the yard to take care of business then she would drag herself back into the house. This was working fine until she lost control and started poopin and piddling in the house, either before we put her in the yard or more often after she came back from it. She had a couple these seizures where she would shake out of control and her eyes would roll back into her head. We decided it was time for her so we called the vet and knowing her fear of going to the vet he came over and put her down right in the yard so she should be comfortable. Unlike Snoopy I second guess this decision as I'm not totally convinced it wasn't as much about our convenience as it was about doing the best for the dog. We all really loved her.

When Genie was diagnosed we went out a picked up a couple of Cardigan littermates - Star and Scout. Both Genie and Snoopy adored the pups. After we put Snoopy down we picked up another Cardigan - Spice and another a few months later SunnyD. All females - my daughter has two Cardigan girls as well.

Snoopy was the only one prone to aggression - the other 5 are absolute dolls. To people that is - other dogs and cats no.