Our Doberman Mauled my girlfriend. 20 stitches in her face - Doberman Forum : Doberman Breed Dog Forums

blur · 11-08-2011, 02:32 AM

I'm trying to find the breeder. Her name is cookie she is based out of Sebastopol California. If anyone knows her please give me her contact.

My girlfriend who has lived with the dog his whole life, over 2 years, handles him daily, feeds him, and trains with him, was mauled by him today. I had to pull him off of her. She was trimming his nails which she has done regularly when he snapped. He wouldn't have stopped if I wasn't there to stop him.

Completely confused and still in shock. Our friend has him at his ranch right now. Both our vet and trainer said we should put him down.

o0 sHaDoWoLf 0o · 11-08-2011, 02:40 AM

omg I am so sorry you had to go through that, when it comes down to it. It is up to you if you and your GF want to work through this problem. Hire a behaviorist and get to the root of why it happened. It will take time and TONS of patience, when it comes down to it, its all about understanding behavior of the dog. He might have been showing signals of distress and they went ignored for who know how long. Dobermans are not meant to be owned by a first time dog owner. They require a lot of attention to detail. I am sure some more members will chime in but for now take some time to settle down get your bearings straight and make your decision. You dont want to make a hasty decision and regret it later. Good luck to you all and you will be in my thoughts.

blur · 11-08-2011, 02:53 AM

No offense but by no means are we first time dog owners. Our other dog is a dogo argentino. And dogs before have been australian shepherds, pits, and a german shepherd. We trained and worked with the dog daily. But thanks for your thought out response and kind words.

Ps I'm not dissing the breed and I don't want this thread to be an attack on us we've been through enough. We are very responsible dog owners that's partially why we are here we are going through all outlets we have available.

Dobemama33 · 11-08-2011, 02:53 AM

Wow, I'm so sorry this has happened! Has he shown signs of aggression in the past? There may be alternatives to having him put down, maybe working with a dog behaviorist? Maybe he was reacting to pain not that it would excuse the behavior. I'm sure there will be others with more dobe experience that can help more than I can but I am a Caesar Milan fan and I believe that most dogs can be rehabilitated.

blur · 11-08-2011, 02:57 AM

No pain as she hadn't even clipped a nail yet. He has been aggressive with the dogo in the past but we have worked past that. I agree he could be rehabbed but I don't think I could trust him ever again because of the extent of what happened.

Sherryh · 11-08-2011, 05:16 AM

Only you can make this decision if this happened where I live the police would be called with a report and the animal control would be called to view the dog. This is a serious situation and you have been given some wise words of advice. Find some one who knows dobermans and who you can trust to give you the true findings. If this were me it would break my heart but I would seek counsel and then make a decision. My prayers are with you.

Tater927 · 11-08-2011, 06:46 AM

I'm so sorry this happened to you guys. You do have a difficult decision on your hands that only you can really make. There are definitely very valid points on both sides of what your next move should be. I agree you should take some time to think about it before you make a decision.

mmctaq · 11-08-2011, 07:03 AM

If this was the result of inherant lack of a sound temperament, than I wholly agree with your vet and trainer. There are enough good dogs in the world that I don't see taking exraordinary measures to try to "re-hab" a dog like this. If he's got a screw loose, then he probably does not have the potential to be the dog you'd want.

If it was me, I would want a thorough medical examination prior to a decision regarding his future, or lack thereof. Seizure behavior and a brain tumor come to mind, and realistically either of these would probably not be overly addressable. However, both hypothyroidism and some of the tick diseases can cause behavior such as you describe, and either of these could be addressed and fixed.

I guess whether or not you investigate possible medical issues would somewhat depend on whether you and your girlfriend would be comfortable living with the dog if a medical issue was found and corrected and he was returned to stability.

Regarding the breeder: you don't have a kennel name or a registered name of the dog? This would make it easier.

**Jhagman** · 11-08-2011, 07:26 AM

I was just going to ask about medical issues. Thyroid in particular.

dobriety · 11-08-2011, 07:42 AM

Curious as to why certain medical issues would make a dog bite the face of someone they're well acquainted with?

ddvv · 11-08-2011, 07:57 AM

Was the dobe a male and the dogo a male too....maybe too much testosterone in the house was making the dobe more aggressive? Just a thought.
Difficult situation and best wishes to your girlfriend.

TxDobieLady · 11-08-2011, 08:03 AM

omg that is terrible im sorry but i agree with vet trainer not saying he is unsound but you will not be able to trust that animal maybe if you dont put him down he could be rehomed to someone willing to work with him

LindaH · 11-08-2011, 08:06 AM

Having a bite history has doomed him as far as a rescue taking him and rehoming. Medical reasons or not, its either you keeping or rehoming him with complete disclosure. Personally, I wouldnt want to risk rehoming him for a number of reasons, putting my problem off on someone else, what might be done to him if he were to bite a member of someone elses family, and what he might do to someone else or a child. You will have to make up your own mind, but I would have him put down, too risky not to. You would really be open to a lawsuit if he bit a stranger and I doubt if you can find house insurance to cover him. I am very sorry this happened, for ALL concerned.

**PatchworkRobot** · 11-08-2011, 08:31 AM

I am so sorry that this happened! I'm with LindaH, rescues won't take him and rehoming is too much of a risk in my eyes. If you can't trust him (and I imagine waht happened would be ridiculously hard to get past) then putting him down may be the best option. I hate to say that but you have to make sure whatever decision you make is best for you and for the dog.

**Fitzmar Dobermans** · 11-08-2011, 08:35 AM

I would look to your vet for medical issues he might have - I would do so because I would want to know if there was any medical reason for him to do what he did. Brain tumor, thyroid issues, seizure.... all possibilities.

However, nothing would really excuse it, and if he were my dog he would be put down. I don't care that my dogs have "Champion" before their name or not - any dog that would maul me or a member of my family would not live in my home or any other home ever again.

I'm sorry you are in this position.

**dax0402** · 11-08-2011, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitzmar Dobermans

I would look to your vet for medical issues he might have - I would do so because I would want to know if there was any medical reason for him to do what he did. Brain tumor, thyroid issues, seizure.... all possibilities.

However, nothing would really excuse it, and if he were my dog he would be put down. I don't care that my dogs have "Champion" before their name or not - any dog that would maul me or a member of my family would not live in my home or any other home ever again.

I'm sorry you are in this position.

I am so very sorry this has happened to you but I totally agree with Fitzmar. I would want to know if there are any medical issues just for my peace of mind.

blur · 11-08-2011, 09:25 AM

Dogo is a fixed female and he is a fixed male. Yesterday was full of tears it's been very difficult to cope with. I do have paperwork on Liko, I'll go through and post his lineage and everything else I can find. We feel as if we've been attacked and also lost our dog in the same moment.

workingk9s · 11-08-2011, 09:29 AM

I am so sorry this happened. There are lots of breeders here in CA. What is your dog'e registered name and maybe we can help you find the breeder that way.

pwncakesauce · 11-08-2011, 09:36 AM

Along with others who mentioned medical issues (my apologies if it's already been mentioned and I missed it), rage syndrome could be a possibility. I'd expect it would have shown up before now, though.

Edit: Sorry you have to go through this. Best wishes.

Incredibledobe · 11-08-2011, 09:54 AM

Sebastopol is right in our backyard -10 minutes down the road. I have an idea of which BYB this is. PM me and I will tell you what I can. Helpful to know your dogs parents to be sure, but Sebastopol isn't that big.
So sorry, hope your girl comes out of this okay.

blueberry · 11-08-2011, 10:20 AM

I'm so sorry this happened! I can't imagine what you are going through. Best wishes

Toby'shuman · 11-08-2011, 10:22 AM

I am so sorry your girlfriend got mauled and you are both now in this awful position. It is one thing a dog having a go at another dog, but a human. It doesn't bear thinking about if you hadn't been there and personally speaking if it were me and someone was bitten by any of my dogs, (apart from home invaders, they deserve it) I would have my dog put to sleep. It is a horrible place you are in right now and my heart goes out to you.

Don't let this put you off Dobermans, they can be and are wonderful dogs.

ZeldaRules · 11-08-2011, 10:23 AM

If this was my dog he would be euthanized. At that point with a serious attack to the face of all places and with that amount of damage, the fact that he wasn't stopping....I wouldn't care if it were medical or not. The fact that he did that at 2 years of age, to his own family member of all people, he could potentially do it again to anyone and he is too young for me to be comfortable managing that behavior for the rest of his life. What of you're walking him and a child or adult wants to pet him, gets near, and he attacks?? Some things are just not worth the risk to me and we do not need to see Dobermans in the negative headlines. My ex's German Shepherd attacked me one day after I had spent months living and working/bonding with that dog. He was 90 lbs and thankfully only grabbed my hand but he bit and held and would not let go, my ex could not call him off and he had to painfully pry his jaws off of me. This dog had a rough start in life due to my ex not knowing what he was getting into when buying a GSD from
a BYB in college. The dog had an extensive bite history and really should have been euthanized. He couldn't bear to do it so I found a no-kill sanctuary that takes dogs mo matter what the issue is so the GSD lives there now for 80 bucks a month and he is only 4 years old. Didn't mean to ramble but there are options for you, this is just what I would do if I were in this predicament. A serious attack to the face of a family member who is dog experienced, I'm sorry but that would be a hard one to live with.

Murreydobe · 11-08-2011, 10:59 AM

Since your gf received stitches, there's a chain of events that's going to happen. The doctor who treated her is obligated to report the incident to the authorities. Animal Control WILL quarantine this dog for 10 days. This is California law.

The reason I'm mentioning this is if you decide to put this dog down prior to that 10 day quarantine, you could wind up in jail..I saw it happen when I got bitten by a dog on a private dog training call.

I agree with most of the others. I'd look for a medical cause, but if this turns out to be a case of inherently unsound temperament, then the dog needs to be put down.

RedFawnRising · 11-08-2011, 11:54 AM

Sorry you guys are going thru this. Best wishes for a quick recovery for your girlfriend, and I hope she ends up bearing no visible scars from this.

I agree with the others--I'd want to know if there was a serious medical issue, for my own peace of mind and to stop some of the "what ifs".

Then I'd wait the legal quarantine period, and have the dog humanely euth'd.

Of course, that's the solution that would feel right to me, and it's your dog and your life, so folks will be interested in hearing what you decide is right for you and your situation.

Please do share the name of the breeder when you find the paperwork. It's so important to possibly help someone else avoid this kind of tragedy.