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When they invent a dog breed that just wants to be a companion and not part of a pack with a pecking order, I'll get a dog.
There are many breeds whose only "job" is to be a companion - think of the Royals' traditional choices, like Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Corgis, Pomeranians, etc. Most toy dogs are companion breeds, in fact, except that I wouldn't personally trust a Chihuahua as far as I could throw it.
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Yup, cats are easier. I have no idea why anyone would want a difficult pet. My definition of a pet is something that keeps me company. I'll wake up to a pair of green eyes and a pair of yellow eyes tomorrow morning. Of course, they really just want to be fed and know that I have opposable thumbs and can open the cans of cat food, lol. At least they're not like M (the obnoxious cat who saved my brother's life). If she wanted to eat and I wasn't up, she just hopped on the counter and ran the can opener until someone came to feed her.
Really? I have 3 cats, and they're MUCH more demanding and (in one case) vicious than my dog... I love them all, but Cyrus in particular is an evil little jerk! I wouldn't ever let him around a child, but as somebody who believes in lifelong responsibility for pets, I'd probably have to develop a system of confinement/separation if I had a child in his lifetime. Thankfully he's getting old, as am I, so the likelihood of that happening is rather slim.
Yeah, because it's the DOG'S fault she decided to have children. No offense to the parents, I just hate when dogs are killed or dumped for a choice the OWNER made... and if they aren't aware of (or able to control) the possible ramifications/risks, maybe they shouldn't be a dog owner with kids. Pick one - I did, LOL.
And you are right...it is not the dogs fault we decided to have kids. We thought she would adapt and be a part of our family. Like I said before this is a dog who we raised and love very much. It breaks our heart that she is like this when the family dynamics change. But she is set in her ways and she prefers older children or no children at all. So continue to train while we wait for our relative to arrive to take her to her new home. Whether it is temporary or permanent that is yet to be determined by her.
My husbands family raised Westies for many years but this began later in my husbands life not as a child. We weren't aware that she would be like this until the Vet pointed it out.
And you are right...it is not the dogs fault we decided to have kids. We thought she would adapt and be a part of our family. Like I said before this is a dog who we raised and love very much. It breaks our heart that she is like this when the family dynamics change. But she is set in her ways and she prefers older children or no children at all. So continue to train while we wait for our relative to arrive to take her to her new home. Whether it is temporary or permanent that is yet to be determined by her.
My husbands family raised Westies for many years but this began later in my husbands life not as a child. We weren't aware that she would be like this until the Vet pointed it out.
Please know, I was actually praising your sense of responsibility - in case you thought I was ragging on you for the situation. I completely understand your position, and commend you for at least trying to find a reasonable solution. In the meantime, I trust you know how to keep both dog & child safe in your household.
Case in point: My friends had an Alaskan Malamute the husband had owned since he was a puppy, and this dog was his BEST friend in the world... they eventually had children, and one day the dog attacked their young son (leaving him with pretty bad facial wounds). To be honest I wasn't surprised, as I once lived with this dog, and knew he wasn't kid-friendly & barely even human-friendly outside of his pack. Luckily I was part of that pack! Following the attack they didn't kill or discard the dog, but did make the decision to have the grandparents care for him instead - until he died about 2 years ago. While I questioned their decision to have kids even around that dog in the first place, at least they found a mutually acceptable compromise. That's called being responsible, just as I hope you'd all be if your HUMAN child became aggressive or unruly. Or would you take them out back with a shotgun?
And obviously if a dog suddenly becomes VICIOUS, it isn't a good pet to have around children... but I have a hard time believing that a gentle, loving dog will turn aggressive for no reason. There's always a reason behind that behavior, and it's the owner's duty to figure out the cause (and hopefully address it). If you absolutely can't solve the issue, at least have the courtesy of finding them a good re-home yourself - shooting/euthanizing or tossing them in a shelter is not the answer.
I want to add to this (cause everything else was SPOT ON!) that dogs don't "suddenly just turn" either. Except in cases of medical illness/injury there are ALWAYS warning signs. There's usually only 3 causes of agression, genetics (bad parents, and can be fixed by research of breeders), bad training (IMO 98% fall into this catagory), and illness/injury (in which case, regular vet checks can lessen this risk.).
Honestly, if I ever had a dog with human agression issues, a vet check would be the first thing, then intensive training, and if all that failed, death.
Okay let me get this right... if your child showed aggression or was out of control you would kill it too? Why is it okay to kill or give away a dog for aggresion and out of control behavior ? I am just so confused on how these posts have gone...this is a nine day old baby and 5 dogs....it just blows my mind how quick people are to judge animals for their look and their name, I guess I am just a diffeent type of person and feel that with a loving caring home any breed or any animal can be an awesome pet!
If the dogs are so great, why'd they kill the baby???
The fact is, if you don't watch them, these dogs will kill. If they didn't, we wouldn't need to watch them and our kids around them. It is because they are dangerous that we have to monitor our children around them.
Like it or not, some breeds are more dangerous than others.
this is amazingly ignorant.....15 years ago they were the #1 house pet...labs bite way more kids than pits do.....please use facts and not a biased opinion based on media coverage
Gave you a rep for that. Banning the breed is a difficult thing to do politically, but forcing people who want to own these beasts to pay up for the privilege might be a good middle ground.
HELLO STATTISTICS???? they are not the dog most likely to attack at all.....they were bread to not be human aggressive as a breed. the human agressive ones are do to poor breeders and poor owners period. Not to mention that "pit bulls" are even a breed. that term encompases 3 seperate breeds and most random dog bites (thoose other than a family pet, which makes up 70%) are based on peoples ability to properly ID dog breeds.
I would say the same about parents and paying up to insure their children!
whole other topic but since when is insurance something you can force on people?
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No offense to the parents, I just hate when dogs are killed or dumped for a choice the OWNER made... and if they aren't aware of (or able to control) the possible ramifications/risks, maybe they shouldn't be a dog owner with kids. Pick one - I did, LOL.
