[JDUCE]

As you know, Duce got neutered April 1st. We thought this would help take away some of his attitude. Pryor to this we had one incident with him. I was sitting on a chair petting the top of his head and his back when he flipped out and jump, growled, and tried to get my hands and arms. I was able to push him away, but he got my hand. He left some bruising but no blood. He received a new toy that day and it was put away for the day and it was in his toy box. We had no idea what to do. We talked to Judy C and we all agreed that he did not respect me and he needed to go back into training.

He got neutered and he acted a little weird, but we thought well, he just had surgery and he is in pain and he is on meds. Three weeks went by and he was perfect. No Problems. Keep in mind he had little contact with people and we watched him like a hawk. He had to gain our trust. During these three to four weeks he acted weird but we had no problems.

A week ago I was laying on the floor and Nathan was sitting behind me on the floor. Duce came over and laid next to me. He had no toys around and he was fine. He buried his head under me and I was petting his back and rubbing his ears (which he loves). He pulled up his head and I thought I saw his pull his lip back. I asked Nathan if he noticed anything and he said no. I went to shift me weight/get up and Duce lunged toward me. He showed his teeth and growled. No warning. Again we disciplined him and crated him. The next few days he was sorry and the trust we were trying to get back was lost.

He has been to puppy class, obedience 1 and has been around various people/kids and situations. We tried the best we knew how to socialize him. He has food issues as a result of his litter mates, but we have always worked on this. (NILF) He is not allowed on the furniture and he is a well behaved dog. He loves kids and people. At this point we did not know what to do. I thought oh “rottie behavior; he is coming into his own.” I again talk to Judy C. At this time we were going out of town and Judy was going to pet sit. This was this past weekend.

Long story short he went after her (she was trying to put his leash on), and he went after Kenny (Kenny was trying to put the water bowl down – Food Issues the problem here.) We took him to the vet last night and he growled and tried to get her when she went in front of him and looked at his eyes (dominance). He was muzzled and held down. He has a bad hip, but he shows no sign of pain or discomfort – the vet checked this. She is doing a full blood panel and thyroid work up.

At this point with talking to our vet, Ken and Judy, and our breeder . . . . . we have decided to have Duce checked medically (results later this week), but we know in our heart and our minds Duce is not a well dog. We have decided at this point we will probably put Duce down. I guess looking back over the past 3 months, something changed and he is no longer the dog we grew to love. WE CANNOT BE A PRISONER IN OUR OWN HOME AND I CANNOT LET HIM HURT HIMSELF OR OTHERS. My heart is breaking and I cannot stop crying. Nathan is a mess. We go over and over what did we do wrong, can he change, what should we do?

Then we think about what is said on the forum how many attacks is too many (Judy W), if you get a dog you should know eventually you may have to put it down (??). I am second guessing, and I look at him and he is perfect. He is beautiful and healthy. He is so young he is 16 months. He has not had much of a life. The problem is he has a switch and we do not know what it is. His warning signs are inconsistent and so are the triggers/times.

Is he a loaded weapon? Are we doing the right thing? How do we get over this? I cannot function at work. I cannot eat, I feel so sick. Please let us know your thoughts and opinions. We are going to wait and see what the vet says. Please keep us in your prayers.