How vicious would a dog have to be for you to return it?

[Anarchy]

By return it, I mean to the shelter - assume that it's a rescue dog.
Say that said rescue dog gets very protective over food and will try to attack if approached when eating. Most times. Say it's unpredictable. And it's happy and innocent-looking when it's about to go out for a walk or when someone returns home, but at other times it growls and wrinkles its nose and just generally looks threatening.
It sits on your knee sweetly at times; at times it'll be night and you'll be trying to go upstairs to get to bed but every time you move to stand it'll growl. You don't know if it'll try to attack or not.
One night, you were coming up the stairs and it tried to attack you.
It comes in your room and stays under your bed and say you're annoyed at it and want it out - well, sometimes, if you make to walk out, it'll walk out without a fuss; over times it won't and it'll growl when you get too close or try to move it.

It'll look 'guilty' when shouted at but that doesn't change its behaviour in the long run.
If you accidentally step on it, it'll attack you. Or not. Sometimes it goes to attack you but stops itself just before.
It gets very excitable at timed and runs energetically through the house or plays with its toys or chases its tail, or it might take its energy out on playfighting with you, which involves biting a little too hard.
It is playful and looks very happy when not 'grumpy', and it's only just over a year old.
Would you return it?

 

[creatureoflight]

Sounds like the dog has some sort of problem and you need to get it to a trainer or back to the shelter if you don't have the money for that type of thing

 

[Anarchy]

Yeah, well, it's my sister's dog, unfortunately. No-one in my family will have it returned. Just wondering if I'm overreacting or not. It's bitten me a few times, but my parents always say that it's my fault for getting close to it when it's 'grumpy'. Suppose it probably is a lot of the time. I want companionship so much that I guess I annoy the dog too much. Still, if I had my way, I'd have it returned and get my own dog. But , that's not gonna happen.

 

[creatureoflight]

Personally, I couldn't deal with a biting dog and I would really want a dog that is more calm in nature. :/ But then, I'm not exactly the animal whisperer

 

[Anarchy]

Haha, neither am I. I would also like a calm dog, though. I can't really deal with my sister's dog. I like it when it's happy but when it's threatening...I can be quite terrified of it. My arm has been hurting most of the day from where it bit me after I approached it when its bone was nearby. Guess I should have learned my lesson by now but I still approach the damn thing because I'm so isolated.
I miss the late family dog. I was only 3 or 4 when it died, but I always remember it as a really gentle dog.

 

[creatureoflight]

Haha, neither am I. I would also like a calm dog, though. I can't really deal with my sister's dog. I like it when it's happy but when it's threatening...I can be quite terrified of it. My arm has been hurting most of the day from where it bit me after I approached it when its bone was nearby. Guess I should have learned my lesson by now but I still approach the damn thing because I'm so isolated.
I miss the late family dog. I was only 3 or 4 when it died, but I always remember it as a really gentle dog.

is your family interested in getting some kind of help for this dog? because honestly, the fact that it bites you is kind of unacceptable

 

[FTL.Wanderer]

Would you return it?

I realize many will think I'm not supposed to ask this question, but would you mind sharing what kind of dog you're talking about?

 

[Anarchy]

No. My sister just insists that "it's a good dog, really". She's very smitten with it. My parents joke that I provoke it; they think that I'm the one who needs to change their behaviour. Which is right. I'd stop approaching it altogether but it's about the only company I have, even though I barely spend time with it. But I play with it sometimes. Which involves me running around while it playfully tries to eat my shoes.
My mum says that its behaviour is improving: it will be calm some times but it's barely ever significant.
It bit my sister too, and my parents were talking about sending it back after that, but that was just talk. They'd never upset my sister like that. That was partly my fault, though: I'd hit my sister because she bumbed into me and I have personal space issues, and that startled the dog.
I've tried to argue about getting it sent back but they're not going to even properly consider it unless it starts attacking other dogs. They sent my rescue dog back because of that.
My sister had to wear a plaster when she was bit, but my parents eventually said, "Well, she doesn't need to be sent back - she's never drawn blood before."
It can be quite the vicious dog, but I guess I am to blame for approaching it all.

Though, you don't really need to purposely approach it to have it attack you. My sister doesn't like it sleeping on her bed because she worries that it'll attack her when she moves.

 

[Anarchy]

@FTL.Wanderer
It's a mix-breed medium-sized dog that used to live on the streets in Romania. No-one has any idea what type of mix-breed it is. It has a bushy tail and thick wiry fur and a tan coat - doubt there's any trace of staffie or anything like that.

 

[FTL.Wanderer]

Under no circumstance would I live with or near a biting animal. Period. This is the one blessing of living alone--even if, like you, OP, I'm very lonely. I don't have to accept dangerous circumstances from the people nearest to me.

 

[Anarchy]

I admire your refusal to put up with such things. In theory, I wouldn't put up with such a dog...but reality is different. I put up with it because it's the closest thing to a companion I have, vicious and all. I dislike it in general, but not when it's calmer. I sometimes think that my parents are unreasonable for allowing such a dog in the house, but at this point, I don't know if it is unreasonable or if I'm just blowing things out of proportion.

 

[creatureoflight]

I admire your refusal to put up with such things. In theory, I wouldn't put up with such a dog...but reality is different. I put up with it because it's the closest thing to a companion I have, vicious and all. I dislike it in general, but not when it's calmer. I sometimes think that my parents are unreasonable for allowing such a dog in the house, but at this point, I don't know if it is unreasonable or if I'm just blowing things out of proportion.

I don't think you're blowing things out of proportion, I think you see things the way they really are!!

 

[Anarchy]

Thanks. I think that too most of the time. I must seem to the general public as if I have such low self-esteem, but ironically, I am the most arrogant person I know. I still doubt myself, though, because I'm the only one who has a problem with my parents and even my twin sister doesn't.
So, I'm stuck between hating my family and thinking that everything that they do is irrational, and wondering if they are acting alright but if I'm just too sensitive. Sometimes I wonder if they are emotiobally abusive, but then, I'm the person who still feels upset at the memory of my mum rushing 'reading time' when I was around six, so... perhaps they are averagely consdierate but I'm hellishly sensitive.

 

[FTL.Wanderer]

I admire your refusal to put up with such things. In theory, I wouldn't put up with such a dog...but reality is different. I put up with it because it's the closest thing to a companion I have, vicious and all. I dislike it in general, but not when it's calmer. I sometimes think that my parents are unreasonable for allowing such a dog in the house, but at this point, I don't know if it is unreasonable or if I'm just blowing things out of proportion.

I hope I didn't come off as critical. I really don't mean to be. I've made the absolute worst choices in "friends" my whole life b/c I've been desperate for companionship. So I've put up with abusive people, one who stole my entire life savings. I get "the closest thing to a companion I have." I meant that I personally am frightened of aggressive animals (scratching cats, biting dogs...) so just don't have it in me to be around them. I also watch a lot of YouTube videos in which owners of violent dogs--some that have mauled or even killed other people--defend their dogs. It scares me that other people can be both irresponsible (placing others at risk) AND STILL make excuses when something horrible happens. Maybe I'm just a wuss.

Anyway, best of luck to you. Thanks for not taking offense.

 

[Anarchy]

There's nothing to take offence at - you didn't come across as critical at all. I can relate to what you write; I haven't been around people I've disliked for companionship myself, but I might at this point. I guess it's the opposite way round to your situation - you wouldn't put up with aggressive dogs and I wouldn't put up with people who I disliked. I admire that you don't put with aggressive dogs because I don't think you should put up with any being that's not nice to be around. I'm glad that I made that decision with people. But, it's hard to apply that to all aspects of life, which is part of why it's admirable. So, I guess I can only apply that attitude to people but if I were to apply that to dogs as well I wouldn't have any being to be around; so I guess it's my subconscious decision to put up with dogs.
Argh, I'm rambling here. I wish that I could just stay away from the dog like you do with such dogs and I do with such humans, but maybe I'm just too much of a wuss for that as well.
Best of luck to you too.

 

[BurningLights]

Sounds like the dog has been abused in the past, personally, knowing that, I would look into measures of how to approach and deal with dogs that have been abused, I wouldn't return if I know I had the tools and ability to deal with such a dog. If it's something that your not prepared to deal with then yeah, return it, but if you can deal with the problems, and help for the animal to overcome it's issues with food and it's over agressivness then understand that this type of behaviour is going to happen and be prepared for it.
Dogs, like humans can have a form of PTSD. Things will trigger them, like food, the dog probably had to learn to be protective over it's food it was scarce.
He's probably triggered at night because that's when he was abused, if he was a street dog then assholes at night probably abused him, or maybe the owner would beat him at night.