[OT] Baby biting dogs and the aunties who love them...

[Kahuna Burger]

So having aquired house and job, my next step was to seriously look into a doggie. What to do, puppy or rescue, beagle or aussie... how to find it, what to tell my cat, a bold new world of explorations.

Then I get the call from my best friends.

The Small Badly Wired But Means Well Dog has snapped at and lightly bitten the Wonderful Baby And Fullfillment Of Their Life Dreams. All parties agree that it isn't SBWBMWD's fault in a moral sense. WBAFOTLD is just getting the hang of standing and is constantly falling and catching himself on things. He's bigger than SBW and he fell on her, causing a somewhat understandable panic reaction. But at the same time "This Just Won't Do". And since SBW has, well, issues, placement with anyone else isn't really an option unless its, yup, me.

Now on one hand, I love SBWBMWD. She's not the perfect dog, but we're very close. She's also good with cats, cheap to feed and generally obedient. On the other hand, she's smaller than my SO wants, has a knee problem and can't run agility like I want to, and is, well... badly wired. I do not fear her biting houseguests, but the dance of introduction will have to be done with each new person to enter her field of vision. And she doesn't like other dogs.

So I throw my dilemma at the wisdom of EN World... not that any rational advice is likely to dent my brainless love and need to nurture those with issues....

Kahuna burger

 

[alsih2o]

are you getting a dog to fulfill a specific vision of oyu and a dog?

this is common, and not neccesarily a bad thing if you have some latitude.

are you getting a dog for companionship and to provide a home?

if so, get this dog.


and remember, the best gift you can get your dog is a dog to play with

 

[Arravis]

Get a dingo ;P


Seriously... most of the time it's best to speak with your vet when you introduce a dog to a new baby. There are ways of doing this that make it an easier transition and can avoid many of the problems.

 

[Storm Raven]

and is, well... badly wired. I do not fear her biting houseguests, but the dance of introduction will have to be done with each new person to enter her field of vision. And she doesn't like other dogs.

Get a training collar. Before new people enter the field of vision, put her on the collar a short leash. When she goes into he dance, snap back quick on the collar once to express disapproval of the dance, and then ignore her until she has all four feet on the ground and is calm. Only then should you pay attention to her. The dance will go away after a month or two of this treatment.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

With thanks for the training advice, SBWBMWD's owners and I are all animal profressionals. She has been through years of training, and has overcome many of her puppyhood issues (she was a pound dog whose feral mother had to be shot by animal control to get to her and her littermates). When I call her badly wired, I'm not entrely kidding - there's a plateau of where training can and has taken her.

The introduction of her and WBAFOTLD went very well - better than any of us could have hoped for, really. She loves him and puts up with a great amount of flailing, tugging etc. But she is small and has a bad leg, and when he falls on her back, she's goign to react. I'm not usually fatalistic about training issues, but WBA can't understand at this age that he can't grab onto his wonderful dog when he's falling, and SBW can't understand that its ok to be fallen on... Since the incident, they've been gating SBW away from WBA's crawling area, but neither of them is happy with that situation...

Kahuna burger

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Get a dingo ;P

heh, we like to call SBW "dingo-dog" so that advice doesnt contridict with this...

Kahuna burger

 

[frankthedm]

So the dog gives a deserved chomp to a kid and now it has to go?

The dog probably did the parents a favor teaching the kid that falling on dogs is a BAD idea, but no "bad doggie we weren't keeping the spoor of our loins in check and because you DARED to do so We're getting rid of you."

Its pathetic how often this happens and the parents almost always blame the dog even when the kid tortured the thing.

I would say take the dog, but i do think being a child biter is a redeeming quality for a cute little puppy.

 

[Arravis]

Kahuna... you seem better qualified to answer your own question, then any of us, lol.

I know for me alot of it has to do with the fact that I have a one-bedroom apartment shared by a wonderful fiancee, two evil cats, and one dog that has hidden all of Saddam's chemical weapons in her.. umm.. well, nevermind.

My point is that you have to look at your own situation and see if it's something you can handle... if not, you simply can't and don't feel bad for it.

 

[der_kluge]

Get a Shih-tzu. Despite whatever preconceived notions of this breed you may have, they have excellent personalities, make wonderful pets, hardly ever bark, and are wonderful with kids.

 

[blackshirt5]

Take the dog, and put up a pic, it sounds cute.

Then get it a Labrador Retriever for companionship. It'll rub off on the SBW.