Dog attacks: 'Devastated' dog lover's warning for prospective owners after she had to put down her St Bernards

A dog lover forced to put down her two pups after they snapped and attacked her is urging prospective buyers to investigate their would-be dog's bloodlines before committing.

Oxford couple Rachel and Paul Adams bought two St Bernard dogs - named Dave and Alan - for £3,600 in February 2022. The pair were experienced dog owners with a history of working with large dogs from their time running a rescue centre - with St Bernards growing up to 75cm tall and weighing up to 80kg.

They were initially delighted with the pups, but within weeks they noticed antisocial behaviour towards people and other animals. Despite eight months of training and behaviour work, they decided to put the dogs down after two attacks on Rachel. They now believe Dave and Alan may have come from a dubious source.

"We will never get over having to make that decision [to put them down]," Ms Adams told SWNS. "We were both utterly devastated, but we had no choice in the end. Both attacks came from nowhere. It makes my blood run cold to think of them... But otherwise the boys were very loving with Paul and I."

The two dogs had been frightening and aggressive for some time, but their behaviour got "worse and worse", she said. "We couldn't take them out, or leave them, or have people round. I couldn't use the hoover, or the hose. They were frightened and would have attacked.

"In the end we had to do what we did to protect people in our locality and, of course, myself and family... If they had ever got out it would have been a tragedy for anyone that they came across."

After awhile the dogs, both weighing around 50kg, couldn't be left unsupervised, as they would attack the other family dogs. The couple couldn't have their grandkids over to visit anymore, and despite "dog proofing" their seven-acre property, Dave and Alan eventually became too scared to leave a ten-by-ten foot area.

In October, they attacked Ms Adams when she was getting their breakfast, slamming her to the ground and biting at her. They dragged her outside - ripping off her clothes. She was able to fight them off with a metal bin and run back inside.

"The attack came out of nowhere, and [afterwards] they were so loving, like nothing had happened," she said. "You can't predict fear aggression, they can be terrified of a new thing each day, that day it was me they feared."

The couple decided to keep trying for a month, but two days later the dogs tried to attack Rachel again. They were put down that afternoon.

"I honestly thought that second attack was going to be my end. It was so ferocious," Ms Adams continued. "It absolutely broke our hearts for Paul to drive them to the vet that afternoon, but we had no choice. It wasn't fair on them either. They could have had a beautiful life with us, but they were too scared to go anywhere or enjoy any of it, and we couldn't change that."

She believed bad breeding was behind the problem. "People have been knowingly breeding from aggressive dogs and that's unforgivable," she said. "St Bernards are usually loving gentle dogs."