Alright, as most of you know I have a 7 year old retired hunting Beagle named Beau. He's a great dog and I've had him for about 6.5 years. I got him when he was 6 months old after my SBT/APBT cross Brandi was put down. He's hands down one of the best dogs I've ever owned. A real pleasure to work with, great prey-drive, great family pet. He has one quirk and that WAS food aggression, I broke him of that one REAL quick. He snapped at me one time when we first got him, he got a swift kick to the head, and never did it again. No I don't beat my dog, an ass slap once in a blue moon is it. But anyways...he's been a great dog over the last 6.5 years. But now I'm stuck on what to do. See in my household we're on a crate and rotate system thanks to my mom's stupid ass westie. He starts the fights and Beau finishes them. And each time that they've fought was MY MOTHER'S FAULT. She leaves the doors open, or ALLOWS HER dog in BEAU'S/MY room. And then it begins, most of the time Wrigley the westie will bark and lunge to get to Beau (It's only Beau he has an issue with) and Beau will look at him unammused and walk off, but the minute Wrigley jumps him, Beau tears him up each and every single time.
About a month ago, while I was in Florida for a month to clear my head after a really bad break-up with my boyfriend of 3 years, my mom had Beau out on his zip-line and he slipped his harness, (I chain him on his stillwater collar...due to him being an escape artist) and Wrigley was outside on his chainspot and he spotted Beau, Beau saw him and went for it. The fight lasted about 30 minutes, and when my mom went to pick HER dog up, Beau re-directed and caught my mother's thumb and about took it off. He backed off after that and cowered and ran into the house and into his crate. This sealed the deal for me.
I want Beau in the dirt, mom refuses it. Not for the bite, but because I'm about to be in the Army and this proved to me, my mother cannot handle MY dog, when I'm not around. I want what is best for my family and my dog. He's lived a good life, and it wouldn't be fair to let him live at home on a crate and rotate system while I'm not there to manage it. By law he's mine, the tags and everything are in my name. But my mom does not want me to re-home him or have him put him down. How can I convince her, it's for the best. It's killing me to make this choice, but I don't really trust many people to handle a dog of his calibur (He's a high prey-driven dog, and doesn't listen to anyone but me! And he's not for the average pet owner, he's a working dog, not a pet...and yes I know I'm talking about a beagle). So my question is would it be fair to just let him run free at the rainbow bridge or give my mom a chance and see how it goes?