Longhunter89
Senior Member
oYesterday was one of the hardest days of my life. I had to put down my 6 year old blue heeler. I've had probably over 20 dogs in my lifetime. Mostly working/hunting dogs but this one affected me very badly. He was the best dog I had ever owned. And I had to put him down because he had just got too mean for his own good. It became a struggle of dominance between me and him. And I made some mistakes and did not correct it early enough and it cost me and him both. He turned on me and bit me thursday afternoon did a pretty good number on my finger. My wife immediately told me I needed to put him down. Which I knew already but I sat there all afternoon on the porch steps trying to work up the courage to do it. Meanwhile listening to my middle child crying her eyes out in the house. It was brutal. What made it so bad was he was that dog would do absolutely anything you asked him. Highly obedient but always slightly aggressive with a high prey drive. He was always right up under my wife's feet and lived in the house. At some point due to various reasons we put him out of the house about 2 years ago. And thats when the problems started. He was highly possive of my wife and when we put him outside he couldn't handle it and took it out of me. Long story short I couldn't do it Thursday night- it was just eating me alive. I went in to work and thought about it all day. I was going to buy a outside kennel and keep him in it and work with him for 30 days and see if I could get this issue figgured out. When I got home I let him off the porch and after about 5 minutes I tryed to call him to me and pet him. He came at me slowly head down and nose up with a low growl. I realized right then and there what I had to do. We was never going to be the same and I had to put him down. He had no respect for me and I would get bit again or maybe next time one of my kids. Even though he did all that it was devastating to my family. While I don't put dogs on the same pedestal as people it was incredibly hard on us because we remember how loyal and steadfast he had been. How he had protected my wife and kids from bad situations multiple times. I never thought I would say this but putting him down even after everything he done to me was one of the hardest things I've done in my life. He had just got to mean and I was worried he would eventually bite one of my kids.