Am I an evil person for putting my dog down?

Is this dog living, or now dead - for starters, I seriously doubt any reputable vet would be willing to put a healthy dog down. Whether or not you are evil I have no idea, but I'm not sure what you expect anybody to tell you, if this has already happened. Do you want validation - if so, you'll not get it from me. Nobody, surely, has a dog put down for being fearful of thunder. On the othr hand, if the dog was unduly aggressive, then of course, that for me, might be a reason to euth. But not until I'd explored every alternative.

Oh and perhaps it would be best if you don't have another dog - anxiety like this could have been controlled, as could buying a dog with a sound temperament from a good breeder.

From the tense you use i would guess that said dog is still alive. Good,putting down a healthy dog for intermittent anxiety issues IS evil. Talk to your vet. Try a sedative, try a thundershirt,try a soundproofed closet (a former boss does this with one of his chesapeakes),
For one thing you will (thankfully and rightly) have the devil's own time finding a vet that will put down a healthy dog. You think a life is worth less than having to wipe up some dog pee? Are you truly that lazy?

Have you tried any behavioral drugs from the vet? There is one called Chlomicalm that was made expressly for anxiety like his. Thundershirts can help too. If you have gone the animal behaviorists route, and have tried behavior drugs, then that is another story. For a dog to be healthy, that means healthy in both mind and body. A dog with extreme anxiety issues is NOT healthy in the mind, and is tormented by those demons on a daily basis. If the condition cannot be controlled with drugs, then the kindest thing to do may be to put him down - after exhausting the drug option. This is affecting his quality of life, and quality of life is what it's all about.

And note to all the posters saying "vets won't put down a healthy dog" - yes, they do because they know that an unwanted dog is going to end up on Craigslist and potentially mistreated, or end up in a shelter where the dog spends weeks in a metal cage and then is put down. Better to get it done and over with than cause the dog the stress and anxiety of the metal shelter cage. And this dog - if his anxiety is that severe and cannot be controlled - is NOT healthy. Healthy means both mind and body.


ETA - for all of you slamming the person posting - shelters will euthanize this dog about 5 minutes after he is dropped off. NO ONE will adopt a dog like this, and dogs aggressive for any reason are a liability and cannot be adopted out. So they are euthanized, plain and simple. And how many of YOU are willing to take on a dog like this? I bet none of you are, and you all just are quick to criticize.

That is so pathetic and yes! You are an evil person maybe you should try to get your dog some train or find it another home who can handle them it's not there fault at all that they are scared!! You don't ever need to have a dog or for any fact any kind of animal if you think it's just ok to put your animal down and not even look for other resources!!!!!!!!!

I think you mean to ask if its unethical. That's based on opinion, but my answer is yeah kinda. First off, the dog is aggressive because it seriously fears for it's life and you are keeping the dog from saving it's life. Obviously not what is really happening but thats how the dog truly sees the situation. Like a PTSD freak out mode, you don't wanna be caught in the middle. Anxiety can be medicated or, even better, conditioned out of a dog. Get an empty room and bang pots (softly at first getting louder) and immediately rewarding. Big noise=food, not death yay. Short sessions of this over months. Success rates will vary but I think your pup is worth a second chance. Maybe you don't want to put up the money or time and that's not 'evil' but taking a life because of it when there are alternatives? Eh. Kinda. Just my opinion, though. You're the one that'll either come to regret it or not. Should really be asking yoirself this question and not looking to make decisions on a life via Yahoo.

If you have consulted vets, trainers, and behavioralists, and tried sedatives, thundershirts, and training, but are still convinced that this dog has debilitating anxiety issues, then you should ask yourself if the dog is stressed by daily life to the point that euthanasia would be better for it than continuing to live in fear.
There are many ways to desensitize dogs to loud noises, and the fear-related aggressiveness you describe is also easily fixed. However, it is possible for a dog to be so afraid of loud noises that none of those solutions work. If you've tried everything but can't relieve the dog's fear, euthanasia is something that must be considered as a last resort.
Before the decision is made to put the dog down, you must be convinced that the dog is so afraid that it can't live a normal, healthy life. If you truly believe that this dog will be happier being euthanized, than it is perfectly all right to do so.
Whether or not you are evil is not something I can tell you without knowing you personally.

Nope. Bring on the TDs but if a dog is so weak nerved that thunderstorms sends him into a panic mode as you described, there is no reason to live, simple. Thunderstorms are a part of life and like another user said you can't have a normal life with a dog like that, my life doesn't revolve around a dog, looks like yours doesn't either. Next time buy a dog from a breeder who offers genetically sound, strong nerved dogs who do not get scared of such simple things, and yes, NO sound dog will.

Oh, and the fact he also gets aggressive would have had him blue juiced a long time ago in my household, no dog is allowed to show aggression towards the family for any reason whatsoever. Even more proof that he does not need to keep living.

You are not evil for thinking of comfort and peace for your dog. It doesn't mean you're a bad person. Have you considered having an MRI done on your dog to see if there are any brain tumors? Everything you describe sounds characteristic to a brain tumor's behaviors. Extreme sensitivtiy to loud sounds then aggression. My cat had this it also applies to dogs as well. It all started with thunder she would come at me and attack. I didn't get upset at first, but after so many times then other things woukd trigger her episodes..it was sad and scary. So llater on we took her to vet had a scan done it ended up being a brain tumor it couldn't be cured. She was the sweetest loving cat and we had to put her down because the vet said over time it would get worse and dangerous if we kept her in her condition that. It is possible there could be a tumor it is the pressure of the tumor that causes such sensitivity and behavior changed. I am sorry you are having an issue such as this it isnt your fault

In my opinion you should try and be there for the dog, when there is thunder, comfort it and give it treats, it will soon relate good things with thunder and won't have as much anxiety. As far as the aggressiveness the best choice would be to go to a dog training class maybe but ensure you get a muzzle for your dog not only to protect the dog from going after something much bigger than itself and getting hurt, but to also protect you if it does at all have a mood change. However if you have already put this dog down, it may have been the best thing to do as owning a dog especially with anxiety is hard and it was definitely putting the dog out of its own misery swell as relieving your stress and you can focus on your life and not have to worry about how your dog will react to every situation.

I've read your full post and your previous posts on this topic. All I can say is that it's a sad situation but I don't think that you're evil. This is not a puppy, nor even a young dog, that can be expected to be trained out of it and the problem pertains to all loud noises, not just thunder, making normal domestic life - challenging. This is a medium-large dog with VERY destructive and aggressive tendencies. (Go read the other posts people.) You've done what you can and tbh, the likelihood of finding someone willing and able to take on such a huge challenge for a dog toward the end of its projected lifespan is vanishingly small. It would be unfair and dangerous for this dog to go to an unwitting family. Do what you feel is right for both you, your dog and the rest of your family. My advice would be different if it was "just" thunder and this was a young dog, but I suspect that you would not be at the end of your tether in that situation either.