I'm afraid I must vent, apologies in advance. [View All]

Some of you may remember that my wife and I adopted a rescue dog from West Virginia, he was tied out and left to die when his previous owners moved.

This guy here:


This dog loves us, and is very hyperprotective. He also is not fond of strangers.

My parents and my sister came to visit us on Saturday. They all knew this dog's story and all have been told to keep clear of him.

My sister, being a way-beyond-normal animal lover, decided after many warnings that the dog could "feel how much she loved him" and walked very briskly to where he was on his trolley. He, of course, bit her. Not a flesh-ripping, tendon exposing bite, just a very hard pinch with his front teeth. Skin was broken, and there was some blood.

Now I am in deep shit with my family for having such a "hostile animal".

Now, my wife and I know the dog, and his dislike for most people. We take precautions to keep him confined. He is never allowed out without a leash, or on his steel tether. He does not pull on his tether, as he does not like the pressure on his neck when he does, so there is no real concern of him breaking a cable tested to 1800 pounds. When people come to the door, we put him in his crate. We try to be responsible. When we took him out of his crate and put him on his tether, we were clear that it was okay to talk to him, toss him a ball, anything but stick a hand out to him or get within his tether range.

So now we wrestle with the question: should we put this dog down? Take him to an animal behavior specialist for evaluation?

I need a little guidance, and welcome opinion.