Reaching wits end with one of my pets
 

Well, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to my dog. Lately he's been acting out very badly for no obvious reason, I can't even have friends over to my house because he tries to bite them. But i've reached my wits end after he tried to attack my hedgehog a few hours ago. And if you're wondering, yes, She's okay, she's resting right now. but as for my dog, I'm not sure what i'm going to do with him, I can't afford to have him trained again, and i'm worried he'll bite my youngest niece, who is just a hair short of turning a year old. I dunno, should i bite the bullet and give him up? Or should i keep him? I do love my dog, but i want to keep my family safe too..

Is he just like it in the house or is he the same when you take him for walks? Also, how old is he and has he been neutered? I'm just asking as he could be showing territorial behaviour over the house and this would probably be worse in a male dog. If he hasnt been neutered it might be best to try that as it has lots of health benefits too as he gets older and by reducing his testosterone levels his behaviour may improve afterwards. It might also be worth getting an animal behaviourist/trainer round to the house but none of these options are cheap or necessarily work. It could also be a fear response or he could be behaving like this for a variety of other reasons. You have to try to be stern with him and set down rules which you are consistent in how you act when he crosses them but it is better not to be aggressive towards them as he might just be aggressive back. With the hedgehog, this is likely to be partly instict and so all I can really say is it might be best to keep them totally separate if you can

Have you thought about training him yourself? Look up dog training in google.