All dogs are "potentially" aggressive. If the dog is actually aggressive and is actually a threat to the small children, the dog should be humanely euthanized by its owners, not pawned off on an adoption center.

Do they live with the grandchildren? Can't they put the dog in a closed bedroom or crate until the grandchildren leave?

It's sad to hear that they dislike their dog. IT actually sounds like they do have some feelings for this animal since they are concerned he will be euthanized. I think they need to try to bond with this dog and work on behavior issues and speak to a professional before determining the dog is too aggressive and must be euthanized.

They may feel like they have invested a lot of money in the dog and not getting a good return on that investment in terms of companionship. Well they are going to save a lot of money inthe future if they find the dog a new home. I think the best option though is to spend more time bonding with the dog and traning.

"Do they live with their grandchildre?" LOL! Their daughter, her husband, and grandchild plus one on the way live with THEM! And, the husband (a.k.a. "the Felon") just got his first job in years.
They actually got the dog for their grandson - when he was a baby, as you do.

*****They hate the dog. She is "skittish" and MAY be prone to agressive behavior. ***

Is there any wonder why the dog is skittish?! They hate her, the dog knows this and who knows how they treat her when she's around them. You didn't say she IS aggressive.......only that DB says she might be.

Be honest with your brother and tell him to quit guessing what the outcome will be and take the dog in for evaluation. His continuing to keep her in a home that hates her will eventually lead to a worse situtation.........mainly for the dog.
I don't think he's qualified to determine the true mentality/personality of the dog. Instead, let the shelter make the decision.
You could always print out these responses and give them to him!

Is the adopton center a no-kill shelter (this usually means they put down only aggressive or terminally ill pets)?

Have you offered to take her and rehome her?

Annz,
They say the have already put too much money into him, but they have never taken him to be trained. They are the kind of people who would rather write a check than spend any actual time on a problem. I believe that next time I am with them I will try question them in a manner of being innocently curious, to try to lead them down the path of having the dog evaluated. Our local shelter is not a no-kill, but they would take the time to evaluate the pet, determine it's physical status and find out if the pet can be adopted out.
I just hear stories every night on the news where some poor child is attacked by a dog that never showed any agression before.
As far as my family taking the dog in - I have a fairly good idea of how much work a dog takes, and my 4 cats would dimply not allow me to devote that much attention away from them and their needs :)

Yeah that sounds like they got a lot on their plate right now.

If they aren't willing to meet the dog's needs, and that includes love, then it's neglect. Time to find a new home, perhaps someone looking for an older pet or someone without kids. Remind them of all the money they will save.

Did they adopt a dog from a rescue group? If so, most rescues want their dogs returned to them if there's a problem.(Remember the Ellen situation of a few months ago?)

What have they spent so much money on?

I hope you can convince them to invest in some training for both themselves and the dog. Sounds like everybody would benefit from it.

If they prefer to write checks at the problem, then why don't they send the dog to doggie day care? By me there are some that will even pick up the dog for you. Many of them offer structured play with some training included, it's a great release of energy for the dogs and when my friends pick them up at the end of the day the dogs sleep the minute they get home. If they aren't willing to train the dog then they can easily pay someone else to.

You can show them a picture of my son. I'll e-mail it to you if you want. He was mauled by our dog, which we loved but should have given up because she was aggressive. When our son was born, she was protective of him. But when he started to crawl she became jealous and nervous around him. I was reading books about dog aggression, talked to my husband about giving her up but he didn't want to. I felt like I'd be the bad guy if I gave up the dog so I kept her and tried to work with her. One day my son crawled past me as I was doing laundry and grabbed the dog's paw while she was sleeping. He ended up with 175 stitches in his face and nearly lost his eye. He had plastic surgery. Now, 11 years later, he still has the scars but thankfully, he also has my freckles which act as camoflauge. You wouldn't notice the scars unless you knew about the accident. The dog had to be put down after being quarantined for 2 weeks. I've never been able to forget it or forgive myself. I had post traumatic stress syndrome for 2 years after. We never thought we'd have another dog after that but several years later fell in love with a family member's dog and they gave him to us. He was the best thing that could have happened because we learned to trust dogs again. He was older when we got him and died last year. We now have a wonderful, sweet, gentle goldendoodle who loves the kids. It would have been sad if we'd never been able to have a dog again. I still have guilt over my son's scarred face but I'm happy he's not afraid of dogs. Share my story with your brother and help them find a good home for the dog, someone who will love it. They can get another dog some day, one that will play with their grandchildren, not chew their faces off.
good luck!