What to do with a troubled dog and owner?

I have had a dog for about 3 years, who I care a lot about. About 3 months ago I had to find a place for him to stay while I moved in with my girlfriend until the end of her lease. He stayed with a close friend for the last 3 months, he has another dog and has always taken care of it. Now when I pick him up to move into my new home, he is seriously depressed, chewing his arms and legs down to the bone, and not eating. He has always been a slightly aggressive dog and a fear biter. I dont know what to do with him, he looks unattractive because of the hair all pulled out from the biting on his legs, so no one would want him. He is just very unhappy. I dont know what to do with him, I cant keep him, shealters wont even take him due to being aggressive. I dont want to just leave him somewhere. I really dont want to take him to the vet to be put down. I am really out of solutions, maybe someone has a suggestion.

What to do with a troubled dog and owner?

Are you sure that hes not biting at fleas from your mates dog?

Work on his fear biting i was reading that a trainer was able to put a stop to a border collie fear biting by training him with the clicker.

Google it "clicker training for aggresive dogs"

and good luck.

What to do with a troubled dog and owner?

Your dog has stress-related behaviors. you should see a vet who specializes in behavior problems.

A mild sedative or prozac might in fact help ease his stress problems. He could be missing the other dog, or just be upset from all the stress from moving around.

Also, stress can trigger hypothyroidism or other disease, so you want a check-up for that.

My old dog started tearing out the fur on her back because she had flea allergies and also became emotionally stressed because the dogs next door were harrassing her. We had to put a collar on her so she wouldn't chew her back anymore. Another option might be a basket muzzle-- the dog can be fed treats in that but can't bite.

The fur WILL grow back if you can break the nervous chewing cycle.

Because of the dog next door jumping into our yard, our dog also started breaking into the house and having severe panic attacks whenever left alone, and we pondered putting her to sleep, so I empathize with your dismay.

What helped was sedatives, putting up an electric fence, and stronger windows so she couldn't break in, and trying to make her more secure overall.

An animal behaviorist (www.iaabc.org) might be able to help you figure out a way to solve the problems.

Please do your best to keep him. Keep looking for a landlord that takes dogs.

I assume you're under 25 years old-- so many people between 18-25 often wind up having to give their dogs up because their living and financial situations are so prone to change; which is why people need to think and wait a bit before getting a dog during those years.

What to do with a troubled dog and owner?

Is he a purebred? Many breed rescue groups will take dogs with issues and foster them until they are adoptable.

For the hair loss thing, you should check with your vet. If he didn't have that before you left him with your friend, he could have a bad infestation of fleas (and/or flea bite allergy), mange, thyroid disease or any number of allergies. See if there is a medical reason for it that can be cured.

You say he's a little aggressive and is a fear biter. What is he aggressive toward and fearful of? If it is something like strangers or other dogs, you can work with him by rewarding him for being calm near those "scary" things, taking him just to the threshold where he begins getting anxious and rewarding him for something simple like a sit or down, or even for just standing calmly. SLOWLY get him closer and closer as he is more comfortable until his fear threshold is next to nothing. It can be done but it will take patience and time. Can you keep him for a month or two to work out his issues?

If he's afraid of EVERYTHING it may be kinder to put him to sleep. Imagine living in fear of your life every moment of every day. You could also see if the vet has some sort of mood-altering prescription drug he could take to lessen his anxiety, but that's going to be expensive. You could always try it for a few weeks and see if it makes a difference.

Sorry, I hope this helps.

What to do with a troubled dog and owner?

There have been some really good suggestions already, I just wanted to encourage you not to give up on him, seek some professional guidance, and be patient. Ahng in there, the issues all sound like they can be worked with !!