Struggling with our options
Three years ago, Blue was just a puppy when he and his brother were abandoned on our front porch. His brother was adopted, but we kept Blue. He joined our household alongside our older border collie, a yorkie mix, and a cat — all indoor pets. At the time, we also had two elementary-aged children who absolutely adored him.
From the beginning, Blue showed signs of resource guarding. We’ve worked hard to manage it and put safeguards in place, but over the years he has had several altercations with our border collie, including one that resulted in a puncture wound. When he was younger, he would sometimes snap unexpectedly, though with training we were able to improve his behavior for a while.
The hard part is that the majority of the time, he’s a big goofy dog who coexists peacefully with our other animals. He can be affectionate, playful, and sweet, which makes all of this even more confusing and heartbreaking.
As he’s grown larger and stronger, things have become more difficult. At this point, my husband is the only person physically capable of restraining him if something triggers him. A couple of months ago, two kittens ended up in our car engine and we haven’t been able to rehome them. Since bringing them into the house, Blue’s behavior seems to have regressed significantly.
We now feed him completely separately from the other animals, but even hearing food preparation causes him to growl, fixate on nearby animals, and sometimes slam himself against the crate door trying to get to them. My husband is the only one who can safely feed him now.
The truth is, I’m scared of him. I no longer trust him around our children, even though they’re older now and in junior high. A few weeks ago, he attacked our older cat while my husband was present. Later, my husband admitted it was the first time he truly didn’t know how to intervene because he believed Blue would bite him if he tried to separate them physically.
My husband had an event tonight and I took Blue out on a leash to go outside , when we came in my kid had filed his food bowl and I was taking him directly to the room he eats at alone, he saw the border collie on the way and locked on and tried to go after him but thankfully he was still leashed. I got him in his crate, but then my collie wouldn’t pass through that room anymore because Blue would start intensely growling in his cage and he went and hid under my bed. My husband and I keep saying we need to have a serious conversation, because our resources and options are limited. We can’t afford a behaviorist or long term training.
We love this dog, and making any decision about his future feels heartbreaking, but we’re at a point where safety has become a serious concern. Has anyone dealt with this level of resource guarding and aggression before? Were you able to safely manage it with professional help, or how did you know when things had gone beyond what your family could realistically handle?